Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy

Anyone who doubts that astronomy is enjoying a golden age has only to browse the pages of Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy, Vol. 5. Our golden age is defined not only by the enormity of new discoveries of dark energy, dark matter, extra-solar planets, and the evolution of Mars, but also by the breadth, diversity, and creativity within our community. This volume records our history, in a period of such rapid change and growth that individual astronomers are hard-pressed to keep abreast of their own fields and neighborhoods, much less of developments world-wide. Since the 1950's, changes in the landscape of astronomy are manifold. We have witnessed two epochs of big telescope construction, the 4-meter class telescopes of the '60s and '70s and the 8-to lO-meter class telescopes of the '90s, continuing through today. We accomplished the transition from photographic to digital data, and we continue to improve the size and sen sitivity of astronomical detectors. We have witnessed the flowering of radio astronomy and the opening of the full electromagnetic spectrum through space astronomy. We have seen the growth of national and international astronomy facilities, and a dramatic broadening of the accessibility of data, both through observing facilities available through open competition based on scientific merit and through deep, rich archives of data.

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Klappentext

This book is the fifth volume under the title Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy (OSA). These OSA Books are intended to cover a large range of fields and themes. In practice, one could say that all aspects of astronomy-related life and environment are considered in the spirit of sharing specific expertise and lessons learned.

This book offers a unique collection of chapters dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community: characteristics of organizations, strategies for development, operational techniques, observing practicalities, educational policies, public outreach, publication studies, research communication, evaluation procedures, research indicators, national specificities, contemporary history, and so on.

The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy while providing specific detailed information and sometimes enlightening 'lessons learned' sections. The book concludes with an updated bibliography of publications related to socio-astronomy and to the interactions of the astronomy community with the society at large.

This book will be most usefully read by researchers, teachers, editors, publishers, librarians, 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.

The book includes a CD-ROM containing the visionary and fascinating work of L. PeSek as a space artist.

"More than anything else, Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy is about change, recording where we've been and how we have evolved, and extrapolating to where we will be in the coming decades." Caty Pilachowski, outgoing President of the AAS

Inhalt
• Astronomy in Antarctica.- • Optical Astronomy in Post-Apartheid South Africa: 1994 to 2004.- • The Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC): Its Role in Leading the Development of Spanish Astrophysics.- • The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes from a Historic Perspective.- • Astronomy in Ireland.- • Switzerland towards ESA and ESO: Diversity, Perseverance, and Diplomacy.- • Observing in Service Mode: The Experience at the European Southern Observatory.- • The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS).- • Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology in the Max Planck Society.- • Statistics on Women in the IAU Membership.- • The A&A Experience with Impact Factors.- • The Public Impact of the Hubble Space Telescope: A Case Study.- • Astronomy for Blind and Visually-Impaired People.- • Popularization of Astronomy in the Netherlands.- • Ludek Pesek's Role as Space Artist.- • Ruminations on the Evolving Universe and a Creator God.- • Updated Bibliography of Socio-Astronomy.