Very Long Baseline Interferometry

Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Author: Marcello Felli
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400924283

The quest for high resolution has preoccupied radio astronomers ever since radio waves were first detected from space fifty years ago. This venture was par ticularly stimulated by the discovery of quasars, and led to the development of interferometer techniques using baselines of transglobal dimensions. These meth ods have become known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Arrays of radio telescopes situated all over the Earth (or even in space) are regularly used for researches in radio astronomy, reaching resolutions as small as a fraction of a milli arcsecond. The technique also allows the measurement of the positions of the radio telescopes to a few millimeters and so VLBI has become a major tool in geodesy and the study of the rotation of the Earth. VLBI has now passed the pioneer stage and is becoming a standard facility available to astronomers and geodesists, requiring the coordination of the operations of indpendently owned radio telescopes around the world. In Europe observatories from England, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden and The Netherlands are coordinated in their VLBI activity by the European VLBI Network Consortium (EVN). The Programme Committee of the EVN allocates time to scientific projects on a routine basis three times a year. The Unites States has a similar arrangement of a network of independent radio observatories, and joint experiments using 'Global Network' are often made.

Open Skies

Open Skies
Author: Kenneth I. Kellermann
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 652
Release: 2020-01-01
Genre: Astronomy
ISBN: 3030323455

This open access book on the history of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory covers the scientific discoveries and technical innovations of late 20th century radio astronomy with particular attention to the people and institutions involved. The authors have made extensive use of the NRAO Archives, which contain an unparalleled collection of documents pertaining to the history of radio astronomy, including the institutional records of NRAO as well as the personal papers of many of the pioneers of U.S. radio astronomy. Technical details and extensive citations to original sources are given in notes for the more technical readers, but are not required for an understanding of the body of the book. This book is intended for an audience ranging from interested lay readers to professional researchers studying the scientific, technical, political, and cultural development of a new science, and how it changed the course of 20th century astronomy.

Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy

Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy
Author: A. Richard Thompson
Publisher: Wiley-Interscience
Total Pages: 568
Release: 1986-04-28
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

A unified description of the theory and practice of radio interferometry and synthesis mapping techniques as they apply to astronomy and geology. Beginning with an historical review, it goes on to provide a detailed description of all aspects of radio inferometry, from basic principles through instrumental design to data reduction. Over 450 original papers and monographs are cited.

Very Long Baseline Interferometry of Evolved Binary Systems

Very Long Baseline Interferometry of Evolved Binary Systems
Author: William M. Peterson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2011
Genre: Double stars
ISBN:

Our understanding of the magnetic fields of stars is nearly monopolized by knowledge of our own sun. Very-long baseline radio interferometry (VLBI) provides a means of directly imaging the radio coronae of other stars at a high enough resolution to discern discrete features, something not possible with other observational methods. It also allows the highest positional accuracy of any observational method available. This thesis details the VLBI study of two nearby radio-loud stars in close binary systems. Both systems were observed at numerous epochs spaced over a range of several months with the global-scale radio interferometer array the VLBA-HSA. These observations were combined with archival data from the National Radioastronomy Observatory (NRAO) Archive. The resulting positions, as well as previously published positions, were used to calculate a least-squares solution for all the orbital and astrometric parameters of both systems. This made it possible to determine the position of the physical star with respect to the radio emission in each image. The images of both stars were found to conform to theoretical emission produced by a model dipolar magnetosphere with a filled or partially-filled coronal loop.

Information Handling in Astronomy - Historical Vistas

Information Handling in Astronomy - Historical Vistas
Author: Andre Heck
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2006-04-18
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0306480808

This book offers a unique review of how astronomical information handling (in the broad sense) evolved in the course of the 20th century, and especially during its second half. It will be very useful for researchers, teachers, editors, publishers, librarians, computer scientists, sociologists of science, research planners and strategists, project managers, public-relations officers, plus those in charge of astronomy-related organizations, as well as by students aiming at a career in astronomy or related space science.

Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac

Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac
Author: United States Naval Observatory. Nautical Almanac Office
Publisher: University Science Books
Total Pages: 786
Release: 1992
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781891389450

This well-schooled text provides a detailed description of how to perform practical astronomy or spherical astronomy. It is an authoritative source on astronomical phenomena and calendars.

The Role of VLBI in Astrophysics, Astrometry and Geodesy

The Role of VLBI in Astrophysics, Astrometry and Geodesy
Author: Franco Mantovani
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2005-12-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402024061

A masterly survey of the last 13 years of Very Long Baseline Interferometry, reviewed in light of the most advanced astronomical observations. Topics covered include: Nonthermal emission from extragalactic radio sources; Principles of synchrotron emission in relation to astrophysics; Theory of relativistic jets; Young, powerful radio sources and their evolution; Scintillation in extragalactic radio sources; Radio and optical interferometry; Radio polarimetry; Unified schemes; Deep fields; Tropospheric and ionospheric phase calibration; Supernovae; VLBI for geodesy and geodynamics.