1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910254643003321

Autore

Wynn-Williams Gareth

Titolo

Surveying the Skies [[electronic resource] ] : How Astronomers Map the Universe / / by Gareth Wynn-Williams

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2016

ISBN

3-319-28510-6

Edizione

[1st ed. 2016.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XI, 187 p. 129 illus., 89 illus. in color.)

Collana

Astronomers' Universe, , 1614-659X

Disciplina

520

Soggetti

Observations, Astronomical

Astronomy—Observations

Astronomy

History

Astronomy, Observations and Techniques

Popular Science in Astronomy

History of Science

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

The Five Ages of Astronomy -- The Naked Eye Era -- The Telescope Era -- The Photography Era -- Radio Surveys -- Near-Infrared Surveys -- Far-infrared Surveys -- Ultraviolet Surveys -- X-ray Surveys - Gamma Ray Surveys -- The Gigasurvey Era -- Special Surveys.

Sommario/riassunto

Since the time of Galileo, astronomy has been driven by technological innovation. With each major advance has come the opportunity and enthusiasm to survey the sky in a way that was not possible before.  It is these surveys of discovery that are the subject of this book. In the first few chapters the author discusses what astronomers learned from visible-light surveys, first with the naked eye, then using telescopes in the seventeenth century, and photography in the nineteenth century. He then moves to the second half of the twentieth century when the skies started to be swept by radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma ray telescopes, many of which had to be flown in satellites above the Earth’s atmosphere. These surveys led to the discovery of pulsars, quasars, molecular clouds, protostars, bursters, and black



holes.  He then returns to Earth to describe several currently active large-scale projects that methodically collect images, photometry and spectra that are then stored in vast publicly-accessible databases.  Dr. Wynn-Williams also describes several recent “microsurveys” – detailed studies of small patches of sky that have led to major advances in our understanding of cosmology and exoplanets.  .