Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2008 APS April Meeting and HEDP/HEDLA Meeting
Volume 53, Number 5
Friday–Tuesday, April 11–15, 2008; St. Louis, Missouri
Session B6: Triumphs of 20th Century Astrophysics I: Observatories and Telescopes |
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Sponsoring Units: FHP DAP Chair: Ramanath Cowsik, Washington University Room: Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront (formerly Adam's Mark Hotel), Promenade D |
Saturday, April 12, 2008 10:45AM - 11:21AM |
B6.00001: Lick Observatory, California, and 20th Century Leadership in Optical Astronomy Invited Speaker: With the establishment of the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton in California in 1888 it was immediately established that an observatory located on a relatively high site far from city lights was a far superior location for optical astronomy than the previously common city locations. A few years after its beginning, astronomers at Lick convincingly demonstrated the clear advantage of the reflecting telescope for astrophysical research. Not only was a reflector achromatic over all wavelengths, but it could be made with a small focal ratio that provided high photographic speed. Furthermore, since light did not pass through the optic and it could be supported from behind, it could easily be made in large sizes. Over the first half of the 20$^{th}$ century the establishment of the Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories expanded California's dominance in optical astronomy. Also with the new larger telescopes came major progress in the in design of focal plane instrumentation that allowed these telescopes to be superb tools for astrophysical research. The California observatories of the 20th century were largely independent of Federal funding for operations. Their facilities were were maintained and mostly used by their permanent staffs. This led to a style of doing forefront research that was highly effective, as both long-term survey-type programs and more speculative investigations with less-clear payoffs at the outset could be supported. Also the, the close connection of the scientists doing the research to the development of the telescopes and instruments they used for their research conferred advantages. At present, this style of doing astronomical observational research is a relatively small fraction of all this kind of research. At the end of the 20$^{th}$ century the California pioneering advancement in ground-based optical astronomy was repeated with the creation of the Keck Observatory. A joint project of the University of California and the California Institute of Technology, this observatory features two 10-m telescopes, current the largest general-purpose optical/infrared telescopes in the world. However, California skies were abandoned in favor of a much superior site in Hawaii. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 12, 2008 11:21AM - 11:57AM |
B6.00002: The Scientific Achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope Invited Speaker: I will review the most important scientific achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope. I will cover topics ranging from Dark Energy to Extrasolar Planets. I will also show some of the latest breathtaking images taken by the telescope, and explain briefly how the upcoming servicing mission will enhance Hubble's capabilities. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 12, 2008 11:57AM - 12:33PM |
B6.00003: Large Telescopes and Instrumentation of the Future Invited Speaker: An exciting array of new ground-based facilities may lie in our future. Upcoming or planned wide-field projects will parameterize dark energy, map dark matter, and pinpoint the baryon acoustic oscillations. Large-aperture, narrower-field facilities will trace the formation of galaxies and black holes from extremely early epochs in the universe and unveil the mysteries of planet formation. I will describe some of the plans and the key science cases for the next generation of optical and infrared ground-based facilities. [Preview Abstract] |
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