Jan Hendrik Oort
Jan Hendrik Oort

Author: Pieter C. van der Kruit

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-07-16

Total Pages: 726

ISBN-13: 3030178013

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This book is the first thorough and overdue biography of one of the giants of science in the twentieth century, Jan Hendrik Oort. His fundamental contributions had a lasting effect on the development of our insight and a profound influence on the international organization and cooperation in his area of science and on the efforts and contribution of his native country. This book aims at describing Oort's life and works in the context of the development of his branch of science and as a tribute to a great scientist in a broader sense. The astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort from the Netherlands was founder of studies of the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way Galaxy, initiator of radioastronomy and the European Southern Observatory, and an important contributor to many areas of astronomy, from the study of comets to the universe on the largest scales.

The Andromeda Galaxy and the Rise of Modern Astronomy
The Andromeda Galaxy and the Rise of Modern Astronomy

Author: David Schultz

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-04-23

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1461430496

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The Andromeda Galaxy – Messier’s M31 – has an almost romantic appeal. It is the most distant object and the only extragalactic object that is visible to the unaided human eye. Now known to be about 21⁄2 million light-years away, it appears in the sky to be several times the width of the full Moon under good seeing conditions. The Andromeda Galaxy and the Rise of Modern Astronomy examines the astronomical studies of Andromeda and its importance to our developing knowledge of the universe. The book discusses how M31 was described both by the Ancients, but more importantly, by astronomers from the nineteenth century to the present. While at the start of the twentieth century the universe was thought of as a finite cosmos dominated by the Milky Way, the study of Andromeda galaxy shattered that image, leading ultimately to the conception of an infinite universe of countless galaxies and vast distances. Even today, M31 is a major focal point for new astronomical discoveries, and it also remains one of the most popular (and rewarding) celestial objects for amateur astronomers to observe and study. This book reveals the little-known history of M31 and the scientists who study it. For all who are interested in astronomy, the skies, and perhaps even the origins of the universe, The Andromeda Galaxy and the Rise of Modern Astronomy provides a first-of-its-kind accessible, informative, and highly readable account of how the study and observation of this celestial object has driven the development of astronomy from ancient times to the present.

Topics in Interstellar Matter
Topics in Interstellar Matter

Author: Hugo van Woerden

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 9401012547

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Interstellar matter is one of the most active fields of research in present-day astronomy. Observational information spans the full electromagnetic spectrum from gamma rays through rocket-ultraviolet, optical, infrared and millimeter to long radio waves. Results of research in physical chemistry find as much application as mathematical methods. Interstellar matter plays a leading role in studies of our Galaxy and of external galaxies, and contributes increasingly to stellar astronomy. At the 16th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, held in August 1976 in Grenoble, France, the many new developments in this vast field were surveyed in a number of sessions of Commission 34 (Interstellar Matter), mostly jointly with other Commissions of the Union. Separate sessions were devoted to: The hot interstellar gas phase, Interaction of stars and interstellar medium, Interstellar molecules and dust, The large-scale distribution of interstellar matter in the Galaxy, and Interstellar matter in external galaxies. Twenty-four invited review papers were presented and discussed in these sessions. The quality and success of these topical reviews made it seem desirable to make them available to a wider audience. Professor Edith Muller, the new General Secretary of the IAU, enthusiastically supported the idea. Most importantly, the reviewers - who had originally been pro mised that an oral paper was the only requirement - agreed to prepare written versions. I am grateful to Mrs. Muller, to the authors, and to Reidel Publishing for their collaboration in the preparation of this book.

Co-ordination of Galactic Research
Co-ordination of Galactic Research

Author: A. Blaauw

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-07-14

Total Pages: 69

ISBN-13: 1316612708

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This book contains the noted discussions of a conference on the co-ordination of galactic research, which was held in the Netherlands, in June 1953 by the International Astronomical Union. Topics include: 'Overall structure: nuclear region and halo', 'Local structure: distribution of different types of stars in the plane' and 'Proper motions and radial velocities'.