AURA and Its US National Observatories

AURA and Its US National Observatories
Author: Frank K. Edmondson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 1997-03-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521553452

A new source of funding for astronomy stemmed from the creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1950. Astronomers were quick to take advantage of the opportunity to found new observatories. The science and politics of the establishment ,funding, construction and operation of the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) by the Association of Universities for research in Astronomy, (AURA), are here, seen from the unique perspective of Frank K. Edmondson, a former member of the AURA board of directors.

Science in the American Southwest

Science in the American Southwest
Author: George E. Webb
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2002-07-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0816544042

As a site of scientific activity, the Southwest may be best known for atomic research at Los Alamos and astronomical observations at Kitt Peak. But as George Webb shows, these twentieth-century endeavors follow a complex history of discovery that dates back to Spanish colonial times, and they point toward an exciting future. Ranging broadly over the natural and human sciences, Webb shows that the Southwest—specifically Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas—began as a natural laboratory that attracted explorers interested in its flora, fauna, and mineral wealth. Benjamin Silliman's mining research in the nineteenth century, for example, marked the development of the region as a colonial outpost of American commerce, and A. E. Douglass's studies of climatic cycles through tree rings attest to the rise of institutional research. World War II and the years that followed brought more scientists to the region, seeking secluded outposts for atomic research and clear skies for astronomical observations. What began as a colony of the eastern scientific establishment soon became a self-sustaining scientific community. Webb shows that the rise of major institutions—state universities, observatories, government labs—proved essential to the growth of Southwest science, and that government support was an important factor not only in promoting scientific research at Los Alamos but also in establishing agricultural and forestry experiment stations. And in what had always been a land of opportunity, women scientists found they had greater opportunity in the Southwest than they would have had back east. All of these factors converged at the end of the last century, with the Southwest playing a major role in NASA's interplanetary probes. While regionalism is most often used in studying culture, Webb shows it to be equally applicable to understanding the development of science. The individuals and institutions that he discusses show how science was established and grew in the region and reflect the wide variety of research conducted. By joining Southwest history with the history of science in ways that illumine both fields, Webb shows that the understanding of regional science is essential to a complete understanding of the Southwest.

Giant Telescopes

Giant Telescopes
Author: W. Patrick McCray
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2006-04-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674019962

Every night, astronomers use a new generation of giant telescopes at observatories around the world to study phenomena at the forefront of science. By focusing on the history of the Gemini ObservatoryÑtwin 8-meter telescopes located on mountain peaks in Hawaii and ChileÑGiant Telescopes tells the story behind the planning and construction of modern scientific tools, offering a detailed view of the technological and political transformation of astronomy in the postwar era. Drawing on interviews with participants and archival documents, W. Patrick McCray describes the ambitions and machinations of prominent astronomers, engineers, funding patrons, and politicians in their effort to construct a modern facility for cutting-edge scienceÑand to establish a model for international cooperation in the coming era of Òmegascience.Ó His account details the technological, institutional, cultural, and financial challenges that scientists faced while planning and building a new generation of giant telescopes. Besides exploring how and why scientists embraced the promise and potential of new technologies, he considers how these new tools affected what it means to be an astronomer. McCrayÕs book should interest anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the science, technology, and politics behind finding our place in the universe.

Space Exploration and Humanity [2 volumes]

Space Exploration and Humanity [2 volumes]
Author: American Astronautical Society
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 1557
Release: 2010-08-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1851095195

A complete history of human endeavors in space, this book also moves beyond the traditional topics of human spaceflight, space technology, and space science to include political, social, cultural, and economic issues, and also commercial, civilian, and military applications. In two expertly written volumes, Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia covers all aspects of space flight in all participating nations, ranging from the Cold War–era beginnings of the space race to the lunar landings and the Apollo-Soyuz mission; from the Shuttle disasters and the Hubble telescope to Galileo, the Mars Rover, and the International Space Station. The book moves beyond the traditional topics of human spaceflight, space technology, and space science to include political, social, cultural, and economic issues, and also commercial, civilian, and military applications. Produced in conjunction with the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, this work divides its coverage into six sections, each beginning with an overview essay, followed by an alphabetically organized series of entries on topics such as astrophysics and planetary science; civilian and commercial space applications; human spaceflight and microgravity science; space and society; and space technology and engineering. Whether investigating a specific issue or event or tracing an overarching historic trend, students and general readers will find this an invaluable resource for launching their study of one of humanity's most extraordinary endeavors.

The History of Science in the United States

The History of Science in the United States
Author: Marc Rothenberg
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 637
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 0815307624

Annotation This Encyclopedia examines all aspects of the history of science in the United States with a special emphasis placed on the historiography of science in America. Contains more than 500 entries written by experts in the field.

History of Technology Volume 34

History of Technology Volume 34
Author: Ian Inkster
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-10-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350085618

Despite having undergone major advances in recent years, the history of technology in Latin America is still an understudied topic. This is the first English-language volume to bring together a variety of critical perspectives on the history of technology in Latin America from the early-19th century through to the present day. This special issue, assembled by guest editor David Pretel, brings together a range of experts to explore a plethora of topics in Latin America's technological history. Papers include a study of rural telephony in in 20th-century Latin America; the rise of the 'Techno-class' in modern Brazil; an analysis of the rise and fall of three Caribbean commodities; the history of educational technology in Latin America, and science and technology in Cold War Chile. Special Issue: Technology in Latin American History Edited by David Pretel (Colegio de Mexico, Mexico) and Helge Wendt (Max Plank Institute for the History of Science, Germany)

Astronomy at the Turn of the Twentieth Century in Chile and the United States

Astronomy at the Turn of the Twentieth Century in Chile and the United States
Author: Bárbara K. Silva
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2019-05-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030177122

This Palgrave Pivot tells the transnational story of the astronomical observatory in the hills near Santiago, Chile, built in the early twentieth century through the efforts of astronomers from the Lick Observatory in California. Venturing abroad to learn from largely unmapped Southern skies and, hopefully, answer lingering questions about the structure of the galaxy, they planned a three-year research expedition—but ended up staying for more than twenty-five years. The history of the Mills Expedition offers a window onto the history of astronomy, the challenges of scientific collaboration across national lines, and the political and cultural contexts of early-twentieth-century Chile and the United States.

Literature 1997, Part 1

Literature 1997, Part 1
Author: Astronomisches Rechen-InstitutARI
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 1746
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642517587

Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts is devoted to the recording, summarizing and indexing of astronomical publications throughout the world. Two volumes are scheduled to appear per year. Volume 67 records 10,903 papers covering besides the classical fields of astronomy and astrophysics such matters as space flights related to astronomy, lunar and planetary probes and satellites, meteorites and interplanetary matter, X rays and cosmic rays, quasars and pulsars. The abstracts are classified under more than one hundred subject categories thus permitting quick surveying of the bulk of material published on the same topic within six months. For instance, this volume records 119 papers on minor planets, 155 papers on supernovae, and 554 papers on cosmology.

Sky and Ocean Joined

Sky and Ocean Joined
Author: Steven J. Dick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 636
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521815994

As one of the oldest scientific institutions in the United States, the US Naval Observatory has a rich and colourful history. This volume is, first and foremost, a story of the relations between space, time and navigation, from the rise of the chronometer in the United States to the Global Positioning System of satellites, for which the Naval Observatory provides the time to a billionth of a second per day. It is a story of the history of technology, in the form of telescopes, lenses, detectors, calculators, clocks and computers over 170 years. It describes how one scientific institution under government and military patronage has contributed, through all the vagaries of history, to almost two centuries of unparalleled progress in astronomy. Sky and Ocean Joined will appeal to historians of science, technology, scientific institutions and American science, as well as astronomers, meteorologists and physicists.