Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Observatory'
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REYNOSO, RAUL REYES. "OBSERVATORY DESIGN." The University of Arizona, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/555336.
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Utting, Muriel. "The Perth Observatory, 1940-1962." Thesis, Utting, Muriel (1999) The Perth Observatory, 1940-1962. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1999. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/51552/.
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Following the worldwide economic depression of the 1930s and the war years of the early forties the Perth Observatory was left in a rather dilapidated state. Its principal activities during this period were the time service and seismology and the former was a valuable contribution to the war effort. However due to economic constraints the Observatory staff had been reduced to two and this was barely sufficient to maintain these essential services.
With the retirement of the second Government Astronomer for Western Australia, H.B. Curlewis, in 1940 a young surveyor Hyman Solomon Spigl, was appointed as his replacement. He faced a daunting task of reviving the fortunes of the Perth Observatory in a difficult economic climate. However, he applied himself to the task and soon succeeded in having the Perth Astrographic Catalogues printed in Europe. This was a huge task involving the analysis of hundreds of photographic plates collected over 40 years of careful study. These plates were analysed at the Royal Edinburgh Observatory as a result of Spigl’s persistence and dedication. The Perth Astrographic Catalogues are now universally recognised as a valuable contribution to astronomy and their publication kept faith with a commitment made by the first Government Astronomer, Ernest Cooke in 1896.
Spigl also succeeded in maintaining and modernising the time service and this was an essential requirement for a modem industrial society. He fought tenaciously to retain the seismology service but the Commonwealth Government eventually took over control of this from the State, partly for defence purposes. Subsequently he tried to develop some scientific work in seismology at the Observatory but this was stifled by politics and a shortage of funds.
As the economic climate improved in the fifties, Spigl directed his efforts towards developing new projects for the Perth Observatory. He negotiated with American astronomers to install a Markowitz Moon Camera on the 13” astrographic refractor. This was used to determine the Moon’s position accurately by star occultations with the aim of deriving absolute measures of latitude and longitude. The project was of considerable interest to mapping agencies in Australia and overseas and this project was part of an international effort coordinated by the United States. Spigl made several visits to the USA for consultations on this project and other international cooperative ventures.
One of these was the international satellite tracking project known as Moonwatch, which began in the late fifties. This involved collaboration between the Perth Observatory and the Astronomical Society of WA in tracking the orbits of the first Earth satellites. This was a subject of great public interest and also of significance for defence purposes. This collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers was an excellent example of how high quality astronomical research could be carried out at a minimum cost.
Through these efforts Spigl built support in the community for astronomy and the Perth Observatory began to expand again in the late fifties. New staff were appointed and plans were made for the eventual move from Kings Park to Bickley. Unfortunately, H.S. Spigl died in 1962, at the age of 51, at the height of his career, and his work was completed by his assistant B.J. Harris.
This thesis explores the role of Spigl as a scientist interacting with Government, industry and the public to maintain a complex scientific institution in a difficult economic and political climate. It examines the difficulties that he faced in dealing with agencies and leaders who had short-term priorities and a lacked understanding of the long-term needs of scientific research. The success of Spigl's efforts despite these obstacles illustrates the skill required of scientists these days in managing major research facilities.
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江育明 and Yuk-ming Simon Kong. "Redevelopment of the Hong Kong Observatory." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1994. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31982013.
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Taylor, Emma. "Source associations for the virtual observatory." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/30816.
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This thesis presents investigations into different methods of associating astronomical sources detected at different wavelengths, and describes the development of a tool for AstroGrid to enable users to associate sources in a fully automated manner. We describe detailed investigation into the likelihood ratio method through the association of a population of far-infrared sources from the FIRBACK survey with optical counterparts from the INT Wide Field Survey. This is a challenging association problem since the far-infrared sources have a large positional error due to the poor resolution of the instrument and their relatively long wavelength. We compare two different variants of the likelihood ratio method in detail, and use the better one to derive optical counterparts for the far-infrared sources. The scientific benefits of associating multiwavelength data are illustrated through an investigation into the nature of the FIRBACK sources. These are identified with not only an optical counterpart but also with data at up to nine further wavelengths. Their properties are examined through the comparison of their observed spectral energy distributions with predictions from radiative transfer models which simulate the emission from both cirrus and starburst components. The far-infrared sources are found to be 80 per cent star-bursting galaxies with their starburst component at a high optical depth. It is common situation in astronomy to wish to investigate a source population for which we have no prior knowledge about the properties of the source counterparts expected at another wavelength, for example through observations with a new instrument. In such a case it is necessary to estimate the counterpart magnitude distribution to use the likelihood ratio association method. Since little was known about the FIRBACK sources prior to these investigations their optical magnitude distribution had to be estimated in order to assign them optical IDs. To alleviate this problem we have developed a new astronomical application of a machine learning technique known as the EM algorithm which is used in the field of informatics. This is able to ‘learn’ the source magnitude distribution iteratively. The algorithm is tested on the FIRBACK sources and also radio sources from the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey catalogue and is found to be a very effective association method.
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Esslingar, Hans Paul. "An astronomical observatory near Beaufort-West." Thesis, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33393.
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Kong, Yuk-ming Simon. "Redevelopment of the Hong Kong Observatory." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1994. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B2594678x.
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Suc, Vincent. "Design of a portable observatory control system." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/663912.
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In this thesis, we synthesize the development of a new concept of operation of small robotic telescopes operated over the Internet. Our design includes a set of improvements in control algorithmic and hardware of several critical points of the list of subsystems necessary to obtain suitable data from a telescope.
We can synthesize the principal contributions of this thesis into five independent innovations:
- An advanced drive closed-loop control: We designed an innovative hardware and software solution for controlling a telescope position at high precision and high robustness.
- A complete Telescope Control System (TCS): We implemented a light and portable software using advanced astronomical algorithms libraries for optimally compute in real-time the telescope positioning. This software also provides a new multiple simultaneous pointing models system using state machines which allows reaching higher pointing precision and longer exposure times with external guiding telescopes.
- A distributed software architecture (CoolObs): CoolObs is the implementation of a ZeroC-ICE framework allowing the control, interaction, and communication of all the peripherals present in an astronomical observatory.
- A patented system for dynamic collimation of optics: SAPACAN is a mechanical parallel arrangement and its associated software used for active compensation of low-frequency aberration variations in small telescopes.
- Collimation estimation algorithms: A sensor-less AO algorithm have been applied by the analysis of images obtained with the field camera. This algorithm can detect effects of lousy collimation. The measured misalignments can later feed corrections to a device like SAPACAN.
Due to the constant presence of new technologies in the field of astronomy, it had been one of the first fields to introduce material which was not democratized at this time such as Coupled Charged Devices, internet, adaptive optics, remote and robotic control of devices. However, every time one of these new technologies was included in the field it was necessary to design software protocol according to the epoch’s state of the art software. Then with the democratization of the same devices, years after the definition of their protocols, the same communication rules tend to be used to keep backward compatibility with old - and progressively unused- devices. When using lots of cumulated software knowledge such as with robotic observing, we can dig in several nonsenses in the commonly used architectures due to the previously explained reasons.
The described situation is the reason why we will propose as follows a new concept of considering an observatory as an entity and not a separated list of independent peripherals. We will describe the application of this concept in the field or robotic telescopes and implement it in various completely different examples to show its versatility and robustness.
First of all, we will give a short introduction of the astronomical concepts which will be used all along the document, in a second part, we will expose a state of the art of the current solutions used in the different subsystems of an observing facility and explain why they fail in being used in small telescopes. The principal section will be dedicated to detail and explain each of the five
innovations enumerated previously, and finally, we will present the fabrication and integration of these solutions. We will show here how the joint use of all of them allowed obtaining satisfactory outstanding results in the robotic use of a new prototype and on the adaptation on several existing refurbished telescopes. Finally, we dedicate the last chapter of this thesis to resuming the conclusions of our work.En esta tesis, presentamos el desarrollo de un nuevo concepto de operación de telescopio robótica operados a través de Internet. Nuestro diseño incluye un conjunto de mejoras de los algoritmos de control y hardware de varios puntos críticos de la lista de subsistemas necesarios para obtener datos de calidad científica con un telescopio. Podemos sintetizar las principales contribuciones de esta tesis en cinco innovaciones independientes: - Un control de motor avanzado en bucle cerrado: Diseñamos un hardware y software innovadores para controlar la posición y movimiento fino de un telescopio con alta precisión y alta robustez. - Un software de control de telescopio (TCS) integrado: Implementamos un software ligero y portátil que ocupa bibliotecas de algoritmos astronómicos avanzados para calcular de manera óptima y en tiempo real la posición teórica del telescopio. Este software también proporciona un software innovador de modelo de pointing múltiples simultáneos. Esto permite alcanzar una mayor precisión de seguimiento y así ocupar tiempos de integración más importante ocupando un telescopio de guía mecánicamente apartado al telescopio principal. - Una arquitectura de software distribuido (CoolObs): CoolObs es una implementación de software ocupando la plataforma de desarrollo ZeroC-ICE la cual permite el control, la interacción y la comunicación de todos los periféricos presentes en un observatorio astronómico. - Un sistema patentado para la colimación dinámica de la óptica: SAPACAN es un sistema mecánico de movimiento paralelo y su software asociado. Se puede ocupar para compensar activamente las aberraciones ópticas de bajo orden en pequeños telescopios. - Algoritmos de estimación de colimación: Se desarrolló un algoritmo de óptica adaptiva sin sensor en base al análisis de imágenes obtenidas con una cámara cerca del plano focal del telescopio. Este algoritmo puede detectar efectos de mala colimación de las ópticas. Los desajustes, una vez medidos, pueden posteriormente ser aplicados como correcciones a un dispositivo como SAPACAN. Astronomía es un terreno propicio al desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías y, debido a esto, los protocolos de comunicación entre periféricos pueden ser obsoletos porque se han escritos en etapas tempranas de existencia de estas nuevas tecnologías. Las mejoras se han hecho de a poco para mantener la compatibilidad de los sistemas ya existentes, ocupando un planteamiento general de la problemática de control de telescopios robóticos, proponemos un nuevo concepto de observatorio robótico visto como una entidad y no una lista de periféricos independientes. A lo largo de esta tesis, describiremos la aplicación de este concepto en el campo de telescopios robóticos e implementarlo en varios sistemas independientes y variados para mostrar la versatilidad y robustez de la propuesta.
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Romalo, David N. "An interference monitor for a radio observatory." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28514.
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This thesis describes the design, construction, and testing of a radio-frequency interference monitoring system for use with the synthesis array telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, B.C. The system is designed to provide continuous, automated surveillance of the radiospectrum around 408 MHz. Interfering signals are characterized and catalogued according to strength, duration, frequency, and direction. Although the monitor is presently a very useful tool for detecting and finding sources of interference, it is ultimately intended to communicate directly with the telescope's control computer, so that sporadic bursts of interference can be removed automatically.
The system can detect a weak interfering signal that is within 5 dB of the smallest signal that can contaminate the astronomical observations. The smallest signal was calculated based on the following conditions, considered to be the case for which a synthesis telescope is most sensitive to interference, i.e., the worst case:
a) observing at high declination (towards the North Pole), so that the fringes of the synthesis telescope are too slow to reduce the effects of the interference, and
b) with the interference present continuously during the observation.
These weak signals can be detected in the presence of other signals, nearby in frequency, which are up to 40 dB stronger, i.e., the dynamic range of the monitor is 40 dB. The monitor consists of an antenna system, a computer-tunable radio receiver, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectrum analyzer, and a microcomputer for control and data analysis. Everything except the microcomputer hardware was built as part of the project.
A thorough survey of the literature on the design of dedicated FFT machines was required. It was discovered that there had been no investigation of the design details for fixed-point FFT machines which are required to do long integrations. In such situations, fixed-point errors limit the performance of the machine. A computer simulation of the Welch process was developed to analyze the effects of these errors and to optimize the design. Some new results concerning the detectability of small signals are presented.
The FFT spectrum analyzer is used to estimate the power spectrum of 500 kHz-wide sub-bands using Welch's method of modified periodograms. It computes 256-point transforms in real-time with a resolution of 3.91 kHz (corresponding to one FFT every 512 μsec). This is comparable to the speed of a large array processor but at a fraction of the cost. Since the FFT is equivalent to a bank of contiguous filters, it can analyze the spectrum in much less time than the single swept filter found in most commercial spectrum analyzers, i.e., it is much more sensitive.
The analyzer was specially designed and built using recently-available digital integrated circuits. The design draws upon several high-speed architectural concepts including pipelining, parallel arithmetic, and hard-wired control. Except for expensive array processors, the analyzer is much faster than any commercial FFT processors or FFT-based spectrum analyzers.
As part of the antenna system, an array of helical antennas was designed and constructed, its characteristics were investigated and found to be suitable for the present application, and a method of remotely switching them on and off was devised.
One more note - the radio spectrum is becoming more and more cluttered with man-made signals. Unprotected radio astronomy bands are being adversely affected and radio astronomers are turning to FFT spectrometers to cope with the relatively large interfering signals. The work herein on FFT-based design is applicable in such cases.Applied Science, Faculty of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of
Graduate
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Slack, Nathan William. "Simulations for the International X-ray Observatory." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1576/.
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The subject of this thesis is the simulation of X-ray cluster surveys and related issues, with a focus on the research that can be conducted with the International X-ray Observatory (IXO), or a similar next-generation X-ray observatory. A general purpose X-ray image simulator has been developed. It uses a modern cosmological simulation and cluster scaling relations to produce simulated cluster images that are well motivated by theory and observation. A distribution of point sources and various instrumental effects are also included. The simulator is complemented by a source identification method. The IXO selection function is mapped over a varying surface brightness parameter space. Simulated IXO surveys are used to explore the biases present in X-ray cluster surveys. These reveal that it is necessary to correct for biases using a detailed and carefully applied selection function to recover the true evolution of the luminosity-temperature relation. This is crucial for shallow surveys. Simulations of IXO using different angular resolutions are found to have only a minor effect on the number and distribution of detected clusters.
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Thompson, Robert. "Commercially Hosted Orbiting Carbon Observatory (CHOCO) Concept." Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School, 2009. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/433.
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The primary purpose of this Integrative project is to determine whether the mission objectives for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) could effectively be met on a persistent global basis via a commercially hosted payload concept. NASA's OCO satellite mission was designed to ""make the first space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide ""(Corporation, 2007). The OCO satellite, was destroyed during a failed launch attempt February 2009. The satellite was intended to be a science demonstration satellite with spot coverage and a delayed revist rate. In order for this important mission to be performed in an operational utility (e.g. Kyoto Treaty monitoring) it will be necessary that carbon emissions be measured with persistent global coverage. One potential cost-effective and medium risk solution to meeting the original OCO scientific mission may be achieved by hosting atmospheric carbon dioxide sensors on commercial satellites. An OCO replacement based upon multiple hosted payloads could potentially developed and launched for less than the cost of the first OCO standalone system and is tolerant to single case launch or on-orbit failures. This proposed Integrative Project will document the mission analysis, requirements derivation, trade studies, technology readiness, risk assessment, and ethical considerations necessary to determine whether the proposed hosted payload concept is technically feasible and potentially cost effective.
A significant secondary objective of this project is to document lessons learned from the recently initiated US Air Force Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) project and apply them to the Orbiting Carbon Observatory program. The two programs primary payloads have significant similarities including mass, volume, thermal requirements, power requirements, sensor type, and focal plane technology. The OCO sensor design and the CHIRP sensor are both refractive-optic based infrared sensors with very similar cryocooler requirements and detectors. This association allows lessons learned from the CHIRP proposal technical evaluation to be applied in a non-military sensitive context. Ultimately the design similarity paired with the scientific openness of the NASA science community should adequately document the application of lessons learned from the CHIRP technical evaluation to an important scientific mission for the global community.
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Xiong, Guan-Zhu. "Infrared space observatory spectroscopy of extreme carbon stars." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape9/PQDD_0017/MQ48055.pdf.
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Moffat, Bryce. "The optical calibration of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/NQ63439.pdf.
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Moore, Robert D. Jr. "A New Look at Hard Labor Creek Observatory." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2012. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/phy_astr_theses/15.
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This document presents a study of astronomical observing conditions of Hard Labor Creek Observatory. Analysis of factors such as sky brightness, astonomical seeing, and patterns in the level of cloudiness at the site are presented. Characteristics of the observatory's Apogee Alta U230 camera are also measured and calculated. These characteristics include loss of linearity in the CCD's response to light, read noise, gain, dark current, and stability in the camera's bias levels. The camera is also used in conjunction with the 20-inch RC Optics telescope to determine the system's pixel scale and a set of limiting magnitudes for the Johnson-Cousins photometric filters that are used with the camera. Observations of a transit of known transiting exoplanet Qatar-2 b as well as observations of the open cluster Messier 29 are also performed to demonstrate the ability of the equipment to perform precise photometric observations.
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Tsui, Tyron. "Through-going muons at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7317.
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This thesis presents results from the through-going muon analysis at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. Over 1229.26 days, 77376 direct cosmic ray muons above cosθ > 0.4 and 514 neutrino-induced muons in the range -1 < cosθ < 0.4 were detected. A log-likelihood analysis was performed on the neutrino-induced muons to produce a flux measurement and constrain atmospheric neutrino mixing parameters. The best-fit oscillation values were Δm² = (2.6±2.0) × 10⁻³ eV², sin²2θ = 1.0±0.1. The observed muon flux was found to be (2.48±0.25) × 10⁻¹³ cm⁻²s⁻¹sr⁻¹ resulting in an overall flux normalization 1.22±0.09 times the theoretical estimates from the Bartol group. The quoted uncertainties are 1-D marginalized. The no-oscillation hypothesis was ruled out at 99.8% confidence level. The observed number of direct cosmic ray muons was converted into a vertical depth intensity. The resulting fits to the intensity as a function of depth were I₀ = (0.93±0.05) × 10⁻⁶ cm⁻²s⁻¹sr⁻¹, x = 2.33±0.31 km.w.e. and α = 5.62±0.40.
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Li, Yuanzhi. "Superconducting filter designs for Jodrell Bank astronomy observatory." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.560819.
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With the increasing radio communications activities of recent years, the radio spectrum is becoming intensely crowded and this trend is set to increase at an extraordinary rate. Radio astronomy is particularly sensitive to interference of this type. A high temperature superconducting (HTS) filter, at the front-end of the receiver, has the potential to effectively eliminate the interference from adjacent bands. Such a filter will have negligible loss, have extremely sharp filter skirts and be small enough to fit into the current low temperature systems. HTS microwave filters started to emerge during the early 1990s, and since then much effort has been put into filter designs for narrow band applications. However, there are still not many wide band HTS filters reported. Here we are interested in a wide band filter for radio astronomy applications. Four HTS microstrip filters have been designed according to the specification from Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory. Among them, a nine-pole Chebyshev HTS wideband filter has been fabricated and tested. Good agreement between simulated and experimental results has been obtained. The filter has also been tested in Jodrell Bank radio astronomy. The telescope receiver system test showed that the HTS filter contributed negligible noise to one of the receiving channels when compared to the other channel without an HTS filter. The prototype filter is to be used on the Lovell Telescope in Jodrell Bank Observatory.
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Henrion, Andrea. "The urban observatory : spatial adjustment-perception in space." Virtual Press, 1997. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1116357.
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This thesis develops a creative Project, the "Urban Observatory", situated on a traffic island in the center of Chicago on Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue along the Chicago River. The aim of the building is to inspire and motivate people to experience the city from a different standpoint and to raise the inhabitant of the city to a different level of perception.The purpose of this study was to explore everyday circumstances and observations of an individual place, the American City and the search for its true genius loci. The main intention is to explore and visualize issues about culturally based differences in behavior and perception of people living in place of 'super scale' and 'high technology' on one side and abandonment and destruction on the other side. The study of the American City and its inhabitants results in an experimental design for an Urban Observatory, an architectural formulation standing in opposition to an architecture of change and fragmentation, an architecture of lost and senseless space. Furthermore the study researches the urban American fabric in practice as well as in theory. The intensive study of the writings of Malcolm Quantrill, Richard Sennett, Toni Hiss and others were the base for developing ideas about how people perceive and react consciously and unconsciously to a specific environment.This helped to identify the frame of the architectural exploration, in order to focus on ideas about: what is architecture of observation in the urban context, and what is the idea of perception in its spatial form?A journal of the design process (sketches, writings), models of varying scale and detail, drawings, photographs, etc. are the working tools to shape the idea of a building and fusing all aspects in a final project.Department of Architecture
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Simoes, Alexander James Gaspar. "The observatory : designing data-driven decision making tools." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76532.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-56).
Creative usages of graphics to encode information date back to at least the beginnings of the industrial revolution. It is also around that same time that a gap between the wealthiest of nations and least begins to develop. How can we use techniques of visualization complimented with vast amounts of data to provide a lens by which we may understand economic development? The amount of computing power and data available at our finger tips is increasing everyday. This thesis will introduce The Observatory as a tool that combines big data with interactive visualizations as a means for discerning the patterns found in economic development over the past 50 years. The tool draws on influences from other interactive visualizations tools as well as theory and literature from the field of complexity economics. The impact of this tool has already begun to emerge with its proliferation online and usage by experts in the field of development economics.
by Alexander James Gaspar Simoes.
S.M.
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Bobra, Monica Godha. "The endless mantra : innovation at the Keck Observatory." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39439.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-30).
A study of historical, current, and future developments at the Keck Observatory revealed a thriving philosophy of innovation. Intended to defy obsoletion and keep the observatory competitive over long time scales, this philosophy continues to resonate with Keck Observatory scientists. The Keck Observatory consists of two 1 0-meter telescopes situated near the apex of Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii. Three main innovations keep the observatory competitive. The observatory contains the first modem active optics-controlled segmented primary mirror, principally designed by Dr. Jerry Nelson. Though it currently reigns as the world's largest aperture at 10 meters, monolithic mirror supporters still question its viability. The observatory also links both primary mirrors together as a single 20-meter telescope using interferometry. Finally, the observatory employs both a natural and laser guide star adaptive optics system. Forward-thinking Keck scientists, however, are researching multi-conjugate adaptive optics systems. As a result of its innovations, Keck has retained its position as a major player in the realm of observational astronomy for over a decade.
by Monica Godha Bobra.
S.M.
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Fong, Wen-fai. "Extrasolar planet transit photometry at Wallace Astrophysical Observatory." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/44460.
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Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-43).
Extrasolar planet transit photometry is a relatively new astronomical technique developed over the past decade. Transit photometry is the measurement of a star's brightness as an orbiting planet passes in front of the star as seen from the Earth. Recently, members of MIT's Planetary Astronomy Lab (PAL) have launched an observing program for extrasolar planet transits at Wallace Astrophysical Observatory (WAO), which houses the 24-inch telescope used in this work. The purpose of this thesis is to enable students and faculty to easily perform transit photometry at WAO and assess the feasibility of transit photometry there. The PAL extrasolar planetary database currently has 36 planetary candidates, 23 of which are observable at WAO due to their positive declinations 6 (in the Northern celestial hemisphere). The maintenance of this database is described. Prediction methods used in Mathematica to determine when transits will occur at WAO for a given period of time are discussed. The transits at WAO are prioritized based on frequency of transit, transit depth and celestial location of parent stars, using the prediction period of 01-20-2008 to 05-30-2008. This prediction period is compared to four others spanning 2007-2009. These results suggest that the best planetary candidates at WAO for the fall are XO-3b, WASP-lb and HAT-P-6b and for the spring are HAT-P-3b, TrES-3 and XO-3b. A typical observing plan is produced based on the planetary candidate TrES-3, including finder charts for the highest frequency transiting planets in Spring 2008. Data reduction and analysis using either the standard IDL routine phot or the "Make_Lightcurve.nb" Mathematica notebook are described. A partial transit of XO2b taken at WAO is presented. Given WAO's recent upgrade by PAL along with the data presented here, the feasibility for successful extrasolar planet transit photometry projects at WAO is high.
by Wen-fai Fong.
S.B.
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Prema, Paresh. "Galaxy formation and evolution using the virtual observatory." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.611697.
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Minerich, Mary J. "Observatory: Instruments for Entropy on a Cincinnati Hillside." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470045238.
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Majewski, Steven R., Ricardo P. Schiavon, Peter M. Frinchaboy, Carlos Allende Prieto, Robert Barkhouser, Dmitry Bizyaev, Basil Blank, et al. "The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE)." IOP PUBLISHING LTD, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/625493.
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The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), one of the programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III), has now completed its systematic, homogeneous spectroscopic survey sampling all major populations of the Milky Way. After a three-year observing campaign on the Sloan 2.5 m Telescope, APOGEE has collected a half million high-resolution (R similar to 22,500), high signal-to-noise ratio (>100), infrared (1.51-1.70 mu m) spectra for 146,000 stars, with time series information via repeat visits to most of these stars. This paper describes the motivations for the survey and its overall design-hardware, field placement, target selection, operations-and gives an overview of these aspects as well as the data reduction, analysis, and products. An index is also given to the complement of technical papers that describe various critical survey components in detail. Finally, we discuss the achieved survey performance and illustrate the variety of potential uses of the data products by way of a number of science demonstrations, which span from time series analysis of stellar spectral variations and radial velocity variations from stellar companions, to spatial maps of kinematics, metallicity, and abundance patterns across the Galaxy and as a function of age, to new views of the interstellar medium, the chemistry of star clusters, and the discovery of rare stellar species. As part of SDSS-III Data Release 12 and later releases, all of the APOGEE data products are publicly available.
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Williams, G. Grant, R. Ortiz, W. Goble, and J. D. Gibson. "The 6.5-m MMT Telescope: status and plans for the future." SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/622514.
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The MMT Observatory, a joint venture of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona, operates the 6.5-m MMT telescope on the summit of Mount Hopkins approximately 45 miles south of Tucson, AZ. The upgraded telescope has been in routine operation for nearly fifteen years and, as such, is a very reliable and productive general purpose astronomical instrument. The telescope can be configured with one of three secondary mirrors that feed more than ten instruments at the Cassegrain focus. In this paper we provide an overview of the telescope, its current capabilities, and its performance. We will review the existing suite of instruments and their different modes of operation. We will describe some of the general operations challenges and strategies for the Observatory. Finally, we will discuss plans for the near-term future including technical upgrades, new instrumentation and routine queue operation of MMIRS and Binospec.
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Porzio, Catherine. "Observation & Light." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/46265.
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Our life experience can be enriched by observation; acknowledging this as a way of "seeing" can positively influence architectural design. This thesis records personal observation of light and looks to historical precedents in which natural light is revered as an element that both defines space and emphasizes importance of place. The culmination of this course of study is a project for light in which a monumental sundial becomes an amphitheater for the town of Newport, Virginia.Master of Architecture
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Burkart, Mark. "Inventing the world, a public observatory for Mauna Kea." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ27570.pdf.
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Jillings, Christopher James. "The electron scattering reaction in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape9/PQDD_0006/NQ42947.pdf.
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Niemietz, Lukas [Verfasser]. "Lightning Detection at the Pierre-Auger-Observatory / Lukas Niemietz." Wuppertal : Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, 2017. http://d-nb.info/1144397537/34.
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Cameron, James R. N. "The photomultiplier tube calibration of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.394012.
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Gordon, James Andrew. "Investigations in preparation for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648406.
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Wan, Chan Tseung Hok Seum. "Simulation of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory neutral current detectors." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9d70d277-7985-4e8a-91b7-5bda9223d991.
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The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), a heavy water Cherenkov experiment, was designed to detect solar Boron-8 neutrinos via their elastic scattering interactions on electrons, or charged current and neutral current (NC) interactions on deuterium. In the third phase of SNO, an array of Helium-3 proportional counters was deployed to detect neutrons produced in NC interactions. A simulation of the current pulses and energy spectra of the main kinds of ionization events inside these Neutral Current Detectors (NCDs) was developed. To achieve this, electron drift times in NCDs were evaluated with a Monte Carlo method, and constrained by using wire alpha activity inside the counters. The pulse calculation algorithm applies to any ionization event, and takes into account processes such as straggling, electron diffusion, and propagation through the NCD hardware. A space charge model was developed to fully explain the energy spectra of neutron and alpha events. Comparisons with data allowed the various classes of alpha backgrounds to be identified, and gave evidence for the spatial non-uniformity of Uranium-238 and Thorium-232 chain nuclei in the counter walls. The simulation was applied to determine the fractional contents of the main types of alpha backgrounds in each NCD string. The number of neutron capture events in the array was extracted via a statistical separation, using Monte Carlo generated alpha background pulse shape parameter distributions and minimal energy information. The inferred total Boron-8 solar neutrino flux is: φNC< = 5.74 ± 0.77 (stat) ± 0.39 (sys) x 106 cm-2s-1 in agreement with Standard Solar predictions and previous SNO results.
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Christou, J. C., G. Brusa, A. Conrad, S. Esposito, T. Herbst, P. Hinz, J. M. Hill, et al. "Adaptive optics capabilities at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory." SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/622008.
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We present an overview of the current and future adaptive optics systems at the LBTO along with the current and planned science instruments they feed. All the AO systems make use of the two 672 actuator adaptive secondary mirrors. They are (1) FLAO (NGS/SCAO) feeding the LUCI NIR imagers/spectrographs; (2) LBTI/AO (NGS/SCAO) feeding the NIR/MIR imagers and LBTI beam combiner; (3) the ARGOS LGS GLAO system feeding LUCIs; and (4) LINO-NIRVANA - an NGS/MCAO imager and interferometer system. AO performance of the current systems is presented along with proposed performances for the newer systems taking into account the future instrumentation.
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Kellerer, Aglaé. "Assessing time scales of atmospheric turbulence at observatory sites." Paris 7, 2007. http://www.theses.fr/2007PA077085.
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La vie sur Terre est rendue possible grâce au rideau protecteur que constitue l'atmosphère avec sa masse équivalente à dix mètres d'eau, l'atmosphère est une condition préalable à l'apparition de la vie. Mais ce rideau rend la vie difficile aux astronomes qui préféreraient avoir une vue directe sur l'Univers. Il est donc indispensable de caractériser et de spécifier les conditions atmosphériques qui permettent la meilleure utilisation des systèmes d'optiques adaptatives et des interféromètres - les interféromètres, dont le potentiel est ici illustré à travers les observations d'un système de trois étoiles, δ Velorum. Le temps de cohérence de la turbulence est un paramètre essentiel qui détermine la sensibilité des interféromètres et la performance des systèmes d'optiques adaptatives. Il existe plusieurs instruments qui mesurent le temps de cohérence ou des paramètres reliés, mais tous ces instruments ont des limitations intrinsèques: ou bien ils nécessitent de grands télescopes, ou bien l'analyse des données est complexe, ou encore la méthode n'est sensible qu'à une partie de la turbulence. C'est pourquoi les campagnes de tests de sites et de monitoring reposent principalement sur la mesure du seeing, avec des instruments comme le Differential Image Motion Monitor, DIMM. Pour palier à ce manque, nous avons proposé un instrument pour mesurer le temps de cohérence: le Fast Defocus Monitor, FADE. La méthode consiste à transformer l'image d'une étoile, à travers un petit télescope de 0. 35 m de diamètre, en un anneau fin. La turbulence cause alors des variations temporelles du rayon de l'anneau, dont la vitesse et l'amplitude sont reliées au temps de cohérence et au seeing. Cette méthode est présentée ici avec les résultats de premières observationsThe research brought together in this thesis is concerned with the distortion of astronomical observations due to atmospheric fluctuations. These fluctuations are especially critical for the technique of interferometry whose potential is here exemplified by the study of δ Velorum. The focus of the research is, accordingly, on improved methods to assess the changing viewing conditions at existing observatories, as well as to determine the suitability of potential observatory sites. Site-testing and site-monitoring missions are usually directed at the assessment of the Fried parameter with instruments such as the Differential Image Motion Monitor, DIMM. An estimation of the coherence time requires then, in addition, wind-speed measurements by weather stations. A more refined evaluation is obtained with instruments such as the Multi Aperture Scintillation Sensor, MASS, that measure the altitude profiles of the index structure constant, C 2 n, and the wind speed with a resolution of about 500 m, and infer the coherence time from the integrated turbulence profiles. The main error in the estimated coherence time results from the turbulence below 500 m altitude not being accounted for. To avoid these complexities, we suggest the direct measurement of a quantity proportional to the coherence time. The variance of the defocus velocity is a suitable option, because it can be evaluated through fast and continuous sampling of the atmospheric defocus coefficient. The concept of a Fast Defocus Monitor, FADE, an instrument using a small telescope, some simple optics and a fast camera is described, and first measurements are presented. The final aim is to use FADE for site monitoring and site testing campaigns. A particularly challenging and interesting project will be to monitor the coherence time at Dome C
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CORSINI, DARIO. "The Anticoincidence Detector onboard the Athena X-Ray observatory." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Genova, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11567/929590.
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Bertulli, Scott. "MATLAB-Based Dipole Array Simulator Tool For MIT Haystack Observatory." Link to electronic thesis, 2005. http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/ETD/Available/etd-050505-104840/.
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Dahlberg, Andrew Richard. "All-sky polarization imager deployment at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii." Thesis, Montana State University, 2010. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2010/dahlberg/DahlbergA0510.pdf.
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Doruk, Resat Ozgur. "Nonlinear Controller Designs For A Reaction Wheel Actuated Observatory Satellite." Phd thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609831/index.pdf.
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In this research, nonlinear attitude controllers are designed for a low earth orbit satellite intended to be used in observatory missions. The attitude is represented by the Modified Rodriguez Parameters (MRP) which is a minimal representation providing a fully invertible kinematics. As a difference from the classical satellite models existent in the literature, the model of this work incorporates the dynamics of the reaction wheel (actuator) including a brushless dc motor which is armature controlled. The total model has four group of state vectors which are the attitude, body rates, actuator torque and velocity. The main control approach of this research is developed by utilizing integrator back - stepping which provides a recursive stabilization methodology to the designer. For performance comparison, a second controller based on input output feedback linearization (IOFL) is presented. Both of the approaches produce a torque demand law and this is used for generating a desired reaction wheel velocity command. A reaction wheel controller uses the motor as the actuator and produces the necessary amount of the torque according to the desired wheel velocity command. In addition for the back - stepping based approach, a stability analysis against the external disturbance torques is also provided. Simulations are presented for validating the performance and robustness of the proposed controllers.
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Leiton-Thompson, Roger. "Resolving the cosmic infrared background with the Herschel space observatory." Thesis, Paris 11, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012PA112146.
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Au cours des dernières décennies, l’astronomie infrarouge a changé notre point de vue au sujet de l’évolution des galaxies, en particulier à de grandes distances. Nous avons accès à une grande variété d’informations physiques grâce au domaine spectral infrarouge. Toutefois, les limites de diffraction des instruments infrarouges et l’existence d’un grand nombre de sources font de l’identification individuelle des galaxies une tâché difficile. La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à Résoudre le fond extragalactique infrarouge avec l’observatoire spatial Herschel, à, l’aide de simulations réalistes, correspondant aux images les plus profondes jusqu’ici obtenues en infrarouge lointain. Nous avons étudié l’origine du bruit de confusion dans les images GOODS-Herschel et résolu une partie de fond cosmique infrarouge en galaxies individuelles. De nouvelles techniques ont été développées pour prédire les flux en infrarouge lointain à partir de la connaissance préalable des positions, décalages spectraux et densités de flux des sources dans l’infrarouge moyen. Les images simulées ont été construites en utilisant les flux prédits afin d’évaluer le rôle du bruit local de confusion et d’identifier des sources individuelles. La deuxième partie de la thèse concerne l’étude de la Destruction de grains de poussières par des jets vus en radio. Nous avons étudié les effets des noyaux actifs de galaxies dans le milieu interstellaire, en particulier le mécanisme qui donne lieu à la région des raies étroites dans les galaxies de type Seyfert. Des spectres en infrarouge proche à fente longue a ont été enregistrés sur un ensemble de galaxies Seyfert de type 2 afin de mesurer les raies d’émission de ([Fe II], [P II] et Paβ) qui révèlent la destruction de poussières par les ondes de choc produites par les jets radio. Nous avons constaté que le mécanisme dominant l’ionisation près du noyau des galaxies Seyfert est le champ de rayonnement produit par l’activité du trou noir. Dans la partie extérieure de la région des raies étroites, des ondes de choc induites par des jets de radio contribuent également au budget énergétique du milieu interstellaire et à la destruction des grains de poussière. Cette thèse s’est déroulée en co-encadrement au Service d’Astrophysique du CEA-Saclay et au Département d’Astronomie de l’Université de Concepción, au ChiliDuring the last decades, infrared astronomy has changed our view about the evolution of galaxies, especially at large distances. We have access to large variety of physical information in the infrared bands. However, diffraction limits of the infrared instruments and the existence of a large number of sources makes individualization of galaxies a difficult task. The first part of this thesis is entitled Resolving the Cosmic Infrared Background with the Herschel Space Observatory where, by the use of far-infrared realistic simulations of the deepest infrared images of the Universe, we have studied the origin of the confusion noise in the GOODS-Herschel images and resolved a substantive part of the Cosmic Infrared Background into individual galaxies. New techniques were developed to predict the fluxes in the far-infrared from prior knowledge in the mid-infrared. Mock images were built using those predicted fluxes to evaluate the role of local confusion noise and identify individual sources. The second part of the thesis concerns the study of the Destruction of dust grains by radio jets. We study the effects of active galactic nuclei in the insterstellar medium, in particular in the mechanism that gives rise to the narrow-line region in Seyfert galaxies. Long-slit near-Infrared spectra of a set of type-2 Seyfert galaxies were taken to measure diagnostic emission lines ([Fe II], [P II] and Paβ) that reveal the destruction of dust grains due to the shock waves produced by the radio jets. We found that the dominant mechanism of ionization close to the nuclei of the Seyfert galaxies is the radiation field produced by the back hole activity. In the outer part of the narrow-line region, shock waves induced by the radio jets also contribute to the energy budget of the interstellar medium and sputter the dust grains. This was a co-advising thesis performed in the Service d’Astrophysique CEA-Saclay and the Astronomy Department of the University of Concepción, Chile
Durante las últimas décadas, la astronomía infrarroja ha cambiado nuestra visión sobre la evolución de galaxias, en especial revelando que a grandes distancias (z >1) las galaxias individuales son típicamente Galaxias Infrarrojas Ultraluminosas (cuyas siglas en inglés son ULIRGs por Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies, 1012 < Lbol < 1013 L⊙). Actualmente tenemos acceso a una gran variedad de información física basada en la emisión en bandas espectrales infrarrojas (IR), radiación que en el caso de las galaxias es producida en su mayoría por granos de polvo. Sin embargo, el límite de difracción de los instrumentos infrarrojos junto con el gran número de fuentes de emisión hace de la individualización de galaxias una tarea difícil. La primera parte de esta tesis se titula Resolviendo el Fondo Cósmico Infrarrojo con el Observatorio Espacial Herschel donde, con el uso de simulaciones realistas de las imágenes más profundas del Universo, hemos estudiado el origen del ruido de confusión en las imágenes GOODS-Herschel y resuelto en galaxias individuales una parte sustantiva del Fondo Cósmico Infrarrojo. Nuevas técnicas fueron desarrolladas para predecir los flujos en el infrarrojo lejano a partir del conocimiento a priori en el infrarrojo medio. Las imágenes simuladas fueron construidas usando esos flujos predichos y con ellos evaluar el rol del ruido de confusión local así como identificar fuentes individuales. La segunda parte de la tesis trata del estudio sobre la Destrucción de granos de polvo por chorros en ondas de radio. Este proyecto que se concentró en la observación de galaxias Seyfert y ULIRGS y apunta a entender mejor el ciclo de vida del polvo al estudiar la destrucción de granos en galaxias con nucleos activos y los efectos de la actividad de estas últimas en el medio interestelar, en particular en el mecanismo que da origen a la región de líneas de emisión angostas en las galaxias Seyfert. Se obtuvo espectros infrarrojos de rendija larga de galaxias Seyfert del tipo 2 para medir líneas de emisión ([Fe II], [P II] y Paβ) las cuales revelan la destrucción de granos de polvo debido a las perturbaciones de las ondas de choque producidas por chorros detectados en ondas de radio. Hemos encontrado que el mecanismo dominante de la ionización cerca de los núcleos de las galaxias Seyfers es el campo de radiación producido por la actividad del agujero negro central. En la parte externa de la región de líneas de angostas, las ondas de choque inducidas por los chorros en radio también contribuyen al balance energético del medio interestelar y desintegran los granos de polvo. Esta fue una tesis de co-tutela llevada a cabo en el Departamento de Astronomía de la Universidad de Concepción y en el Service d’Astrophysique del Commissariat á l’Énergie Atomique (CEA), Francia
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Thornewell, Peter Michael. "³He neutral current detectors for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.343004.
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Beauchamp, Eric. "RADON REMOVAL FROM GASEOUS XENON FOR THE ENRICHED XENON OBSERVATORY." Thesis, Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2014. https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/dspace/handle/10219/2148.
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Neutrino oscillation experiments have shown de nite evidence for non-zero neutrino
masses. However, these experiments only tell us about neutrino mass di erences, and nothing
about the absolute masses themselves. The observation of neutrinoless double-beta (0 )
decay, a hypothetical nuclear transition, would provide the rst absolute mass scale measurement
of the neutrino outside of cosmology. This decay would imply the neutrino to be
a Majorana particle, the rst fermion of its kind. 0 decay would also be the rst observation
of lepton number violation. The Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) is currently
searching for 0 decay in 136Xe with a half-life greater than 1025 years.
EXO-200 is the rst experiment of the EXO physics program, which has observed twoneutrino
double beta decay (2 ) in 136Xe for the rst time, with a half-life of 2:165
0:075 1021 years [1]. This is the longest measured half-life to date. EXO is now designing
a 5-tonne scale detector, nEXO, to be sensitive to the inverted-scale hierarchy. Despite the
careful selection of radiopure substances for the detector, the existence of trace levels of
222Rn is inevitable. One of the daughters of 222Rn, 214Bi, can emit photons at the Q-value
for 0 decay, making it a critical background. This dissertation investigates the method
of Rn removal from gaseous Xe through the use of a Cu wool trap.
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Agar, Jon. "Screening science : spatiality and authority at a radio astronomy observatory." Thesis, University of Kent, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.309750.
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Kosiarek, Molly (Molly R. ). "First autonomous telescope at Wallace Observatory : impact and preliminary results." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/114124.
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Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-76).
The construction and characterization of an autonomous telescope began in Fall 2014 at the MIT George R. Wallace, Jr. Astrophysical Observatory. An 11-inch Cassegrain Telescope was assembled in a 10-foot Technical Innovations ProDome. This telescope, the Small AUtonomous Robotic Optical Nightwatcher (SAURON), has the potential to autonomously collect photometric images. Data were taken on T-And0-15785, an eclipsing binary star, in order to test and characterize the system. The out-of-ecliptic R magnitude of T-AndO-15785 was found to be 13.487 ± 0.016. The magnitude changes for the primary and secondary eclipses were found to be 0.72 ± 0.036 and 0.62 ± 0.031 R magnitudes respectively. The telescope, SAURON, is currently able to locate targets and collect data robotically with an observer monitoring from afar.
by Molly Kosiarek.
S.B.
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Martins, Victor Barbosa. "RPCs design, development and tests for the Pierre Auger Observatory." Universidade de São Paulo, 2018. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/76/76132/tde-26092018-083023/.
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The cosmic rays are the most energetic particles in the universe. Their production, propagation, and detection are objects of studies. Surface detectors aim to identify particles from extensive air showers (EAS) which the result from the cosmic-ray interactions with the atmosphere. Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) have shown to be a suitable muon detector to be integrated into the Pierre Auger Observatory. An instrumentation was developed to assembly RPCs in São Carlos (BRA). Data from RPCs already built by our collaborators in Coimbra (POR) were analyzed. The detector efficiency to muons was calculated and is approximately 88%, which is in good agreement with the values quoted in the literature. Direction maps were built to investigate the muon incoming direction and the quantity of matter traversed by the muons. The dependence of the muon flux on the zenith angle was calculated and compared with results from the simulation. A square cosine dependence is expected, though it is seen that the building structure has enough matter to block some of the incident muons and alter the dependence curve. The total muon flux was estimated based on the detector efficiencies and solid angle as 1.6.10−5. mm−2.sr−1. s−1 compared with the literature value of 7.1.10−5 mm−2.sr−1.s−1, which gives an absorption by the building of approximately 77%.Os raios cósmicos são as partículas mais energéticas do universo. Sua produção, propagação e detecção são objetos de estudos. Os detectores de superfície têm como objetivo identificar partículas dos chuveiros atmosféricos extensos (EAS), o qual é o resultado das interações do raio cósmico com a atmosfera. A Câmaras de Placas Resistivas (RPCs) demonstra ser um detector de múons adequado para ser integrado ao Observatório Pierre Auger. Foi desenvolvida em São Carlos (BRA) uma instrumentação para montagem de RPCs. Dados de RPCs já construídas por nossos colaboradores em Coimbra (POR) foram analisados. A eficiência dos detectores para múons foi calculada como sendo de aproximadamente 88%, o que está de acordo com os valores citados na literatura. Mapas de direção foram construídos para investigar a direção de chegada e a quantidade de matéria atravessada pelos múons. A dependência do fluxo de múons com o ângulo zenital foi comparada com os resultados da simulação. Embora uma dependência com o quadrado do cosseno é esperada, foi constatado que a estrutura do prédio tem matéria suficiente para bloquear parte dos múons incidentes e alterar a curva da dependência. O fluxo total de múons foi estimado baseado nas eficiências do detector e no ângulo sólido é de 1.6.10−5 mm−2.sr−1.s−1. Comparado com o valor da literatura de 7.1.10−5 mm−2.sr−1.s−1 resulta em uma absorção pelo prédio de aproximadamente 77% do fluxo de múons.
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Allen, Matthew. "A study of submillimetre galaxies with the Herschel Space Observatory." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2017. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/108565/.
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This work uses data from the Herschel Space Observatory and complementary surveys to study how the properties of star forming galaxies have changed over a large redshift range. Using the likelihood ratio technique, infrared counterparts from the VIKING survey are found for a large sample of Herschel ATLAS galaxies over the three GAMA fields. I find that approximately half of all Hershcel ATLAS galaxies have a reliable VIKING counterpart. I find that the fraction of Herschel sources with a reliable VIKING counterparts remains above 30% for Herschel sources at redshifts above z = 3, beyond the VIKING detection limit. We propose that this is the result of observing a large number of gravitationally lensed sources in the Herschel ATLAS survey. I match a sample of Herschel ATLAS sources to the optical Subaru Deep Field (SDF) catalogue, using radio data as an intermediary step to attain accurate positions. I compare this technique with matching Herschel ATLAS sources directly to the SDF catalogue and find that of the common matched sources, 6% of Herschel ATLAS sources are matched to two different SDF sources. I study the star forming properties of Herschel ATLAS and Herschel-GOODS galaxies. I study the two galaxy samples in terms of the galaxy main sequence, Kennicutt-Schmidt relation and the K magnitude-redshift relation. I find that the Herschel galaxies are relatively homogeneous. There is little evidence that the starburst phase of galaxies plays a large role in the star formation history of Herschel galaxies. I find that the star formation efficiency of our starburst galaxies is on average the same as main sequence galaxies, implying that starburst galaxies form more stars due an increased gas mass. The optical images of the Herschel-GOODS sample of galaxies are decomposed in to their bulge and disc components. I find that 67% feature a bulge which is best fit with a low Sersic index profile, suggesting the majority of the population feature a disc-like or pseudo-bulge. I see little evidence of a correlation between the properties of the bulge and the overall star forming properties of the galaxy.
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Knotts, Amy Margaret. "A Landfill Reclamation Project: an Observatory that Observes the Self." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36270.
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"Transparency- the ability to see into and understand the inner workings of a landscape- is an absolutely essential ingredient to sustainability"
-Robert Thayer from "Green World, Green Heart"
Current land filling practices that bury waste and debris below layers of earth and synthetic caps do not take into account the potential of reclamation of the site after the landfill debris has become stable. As development and consumerism increases, the need for land reclamation grows stronger, as earth will succumb to overabundance of human excessiveness. Can a space be created that not only reclaims land, but also exposes what is hidden- in order to educate the public on the importance of recycling and sustainability? Is it possible to design a space that addresses the issues and culture of the past, present and future, particular to a geographic site? Can landscape architects use landscape as an educational medium for self-discovery?Master of Landscape Architecture
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Brückner, Marlen, Michael Lonardi, André Ehrlich, Manfred Wendisch, Evelyn Jäkel, Michael Schäfer, Johannes Quaas, and Heike Kalesse. "Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC)." Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung, 2020. https://ul.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A74381.
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The thermosphere-ionosphere regions are mainly controlled by the solar, but
also by geomagnetic activity. In this case study, the Earth’s ionospheric response to the
25-26 August 2018 intense geomagnetic storm is investigated using the International
GNSS System (IGS) Total Electron Content (TEC) observations. During this major storm,
the minimum disturbance storm time (Dst) index reached -174 nT. We use observations
and model simulations to analyse the ionospheric response during the initial phase and the
main phase of the magnetic storm. A significant difference between storm day and quiet
day TEC is observed. The O/N2 ratio observed from the GUVI instrument onboard the
TIMED satellite is used to analyse the storm effect. The result shows a clear depletion of
the O/N2 ratio in the high latitude region, and an enhancement in the low latitude region
during the main phase of the storm. Furthermore, the Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere
Plasmasphere electrodynamics (CTIPe) model simulations were used. The results suggest
that the CTIPe model can capture the ionospheric variations during storms.Die Regionen der Ionosphären und Thermosphäre werden hauptsächlich von der Sonne sowie auch von geomagnetische Aktivität beeinflusst. In dieser Fallstudie wurde die ionosphärische Reaktion der Erde auf den starken geomagnetischen Sturm vom 25./26. August 2018 unter Verwendung der Gesamtelektronengehaltsdaten (Total Electron Content, TEC) vom Internationalen GNSS Service untersucht. Während dieses großen Sturms wurde ein ”Disturbance Storm Time Index” Dst von -174 nT erreicht. Beobachtungen und Modellsimulationen wurden verwendet, um die ionosphärische Reaktion während der Anfangsphase und der Hauptphase des magnetischen Sturms zu untersuchen. Ein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen TEC während eines Sturmtages und eines ruhigen Tages wurde beobachtet. Das vom GUVI-Instrument an Bord des TIMED-Satelliten beobachtete O/N2 -Verhältnis wurde verwendet, um den Sturmeffekt weiter zu untersuchen. Das Ergebnis zeigt eine deutliche Abnahme/Zunahme des O/N2 Verhältnis in hohen/niedrigen Breiten während der Hauptphase des Sturms. Darüber hinaus wurde das Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere ectrodynamics (CTIPe) Modell verwendet. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das CTIPe-Modell die ionosphärischen Schwankungen während eines Sturms erfassen kann.
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DI, GIULIO CLAUDIO. "The cosmic rays flux from the Pierre Auger Observatory data." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata", 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2108/888.
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L'Osservatorio Pierre Auger sta esplorando i misteri dei raggi cosmici di altissima energia. Questo esperimento è stato concepito da più di dieci anni per esplorare le proprietà dei raggi cosmici più energetici, come il flusso, la distribuzione e la direzione di arrivo, la composizione in massa, il tutto con una elevata significatività statistica e studiando l'intero cielo.
Pochi anni dopo che Penzias e Wilson hanno stabilito l'esistenza del fondo cosmico di radiazione che ha una temperatura media di 2,7 K, Greisen, Zatsepin e Kuzmin previsero la soppressione del flusso dei raggi cosmici di alta energia dovuta alla loro interazione con questo fondo cosmico.
Prima dell’Osservatorio Pierre Auger gli esperimenti AGASA ed Hires hanno ottenuto risultati contrastanti per quanto riguarda questa soppressione. Questi esperimenti utilizzano tecniche di rilevamento differenti. L'esperimento Auger è un rivelatore “ibridio”, nel senso che utilizza per la prima volta entrambe le tecniche. È costituito da due rivelatori progettati per osservare, in coincidenza, lo sciame di particelle che si può sviluppare lungo diversi chilometri quando raggiunge la superficie terrestre. Il rivelatore di superficie (SD) è composto di 1600 stazioni di Cherenkov che campionano il fronte dello sciame a terra. Il rivelatore a fluorescenza (FD) è dotato di 24 telescopi di fluorescenza che rilevano la luce emessa dalle molecole di azoto atmosferico eccitate dallo sciame, mentre attraversa l'atmosfera. Il FD misura il profilo longitudinale dello sciame.
L’Osservatorio nell’emisfero Sud è in Argentina vicino la città di Malargüe ed è stato completato nel Maggio 2008 ed inaugurato nel Novembre 2008. L’Osservatorio è in presa dati in modo stabile dal Gennaio 2004. Durante questo tempo l'esperimento ha accumulato una quantità di dati senza precedenti ed i primi risultati sono stati pubblicati. L'Osservatorio nell’emisfero Nord sarà costruito in Colorado, negli Stati Uniti d'America. Gli osservatori insieme consentiranno una completa copertura del cielo.
L'obiettivo principale di questa tesi è la misurazione dello spettro dei raggi cosmici di energia superiore ai 3 EeV sulla base dei dati registrati presso l'Osservatorio Pierre Auger.The Pierre Auger Observatory is exploring the mysteries of the highest-energy cosmic rays. This experiment was conceived more than ten years ago to explore the properties of the most energetic cosmic rays such as the flux, arrival direction distribution and mass composition, with high statistical significance and covering the whole sky. A few years after Penzias and Wilson established the existence of the cosmic microwave background with a mean temperature of 2.7 K , Greisen, Zatsepin and Kuzmin predicted that a cutoff of the cosmic ray flux at the highest energies is expected due to the interaction of the ultra high energy cosmic rays with the cosmic microwave background photons. Before the Pierre Auger Observatory the AGASA and Hires experiments have obtained differents results about this cutoff. Those experiments use different detection techniques. The Auger experiment is an “hybrid” detector in the sense that uses for the first time both techniques. It consists of two complementary detectors designed to observe, in coincidence, the shower of particles which can be spread along several kilometres when they reach the earth surface. A Surface Detector (SD) composed of 1600 Cherenkov stations samples the front of the shower at ground. A Fluorescence Detector (FD) equipped with 24 telescopes collects the fluorescence light emitted by atmospheric nitrogen molecules excited as the shower is crossing the atmosphere. The FD measure the longitudinal profile of the shower. The Southern Observatory in Argentina near the Malargüe village was completed in May 2008 and inaugurated in November 2008. It is taking data in stable manner since January 2004. During this time the experiment has accumulated an unprecedented statistics and the first results are pubblished. The Northern Observatory will be built in Colorado, USA. Both observatories allow a full sky coverage. The main objective of this thesis is the measurement of the cosmic ray energy spectrum above 3 EeV based on the data recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory.
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Gurnade, Marie-Madeleine. "Circulation de savoirs pluriels et émancipation des acteurs sociaux : le cas d'un observatoire "vivre sa jeunesse" dans une recherche-intervention." Thesis, Toulouse 2, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016TOU20091/document.
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Cette thèse se situe au croisement des réflexions épistémologiques, heuristiques et praxéologiques que soulève la prise en charge des demandes sociales en éducation. Elle est issue d’une recherche commanditée par une collectivité territoriale. Elle s’inscrit dans une recherche-intervention de type accompagnement de la décision politique dans laquelle un observatoire « vivre sa jeunesse » est co-élaboré. Ce dispositif collaboratif, positionné comme tiers-espace socio-scientifique entre le monde scientifique et le monde social provoque deux types de rencontres, d’un côté des chercheurs et des acteurs sociaux et de l’autre, des décideurs politiques et des jeunes citoyens. Cette thèse étudie le processus de circulation des savoirs pluriels en jeu dans une recherche-intervention au travers de ses dynamiques épistémiques d’ordre à la fois socio-cognitif et socio-politique. Le cadre théorique s’est construit sur l’articulation de trois composantes théoriques que sont la sociologie de la traduction, la spirale de connaissances et la notion d’émancipation. Deux dispositifs d’enquête sont mobilisés auprès des jeunes du territoire ainsi que de quatre élus locaux et de quatre jeunes enrôlés dans l’observatoire. Les résultats de ce travail montrent une forme interactive et itérative de co-construction de connaissances et de savoirs qui est rendue possible par leur explicitation, leur partage, leur interaction continue et leur formalisation progressive. Ils révèlent aussi des freins et des leviers à la co-production de savoirs pluri-épistémologiques, c’est-à-dire qui disposent d’une légitimité différente des formes traditionnelles de production de savoirs en comportant à la fois une validité scientifique et sociale. La dimension émancipatrice d’un tel processus cognitif pour les contributeurs enrôlés est également mise en exergue et plus spécifiquement le développement du pouvoir d’agir des jeunes et la légitimation de leur droit à la CitéThis thesis is at the crossroads of epistemological, heuristic and praxeological reflections raised by taking into account social demands in education. It comes from a research commissioned by a local authority. It is part of an intervention-research to accompany a political decision in which a « living ones youth » observatory is co-developed. This collaborative item, positioned as a socio-scientific third way between the scientific world and the social world, provokes two types of meetings, between, on one hand, researchers and social actors and on the other hand, policy makers and young people. This thesis studies the process of movement of plural knowledge involved in an intervention-research through its dynamic epistemic, both socio-cognitive and socio-political, order. The theoretical framework is built on the articulation of three components which are the theoretical sociology of translation, the spiral of knowledge and the notion of emancipation. Two field surveys have been carried out among local youth as well as four local council representatives and four young people enlisted in the observatory. The results of this work show an interactive and iterative form of explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge co-construction is made possible by their explanation, their sharing, their continuous interaction and gradual formalization. They also reveal the drawbacks and forces in the co-production of multi-epistemological knowledge, that is to say, which have a different legitimacy of traditional forms of knowledge production with both a social and scientific validity. The emancipatory dimension of such a cognitive process for enlisted contributors is also highlighted, and more specifically, the development of the empowerment of young people and legitimizing their rights into the community
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Fucetola, Elizabeth N. "Determining meteoroid properties using head echo observations from the Jicamarca Radio Observatory." Thesis, Boston University, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/32016.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
Over 100 tons of material enters the Earth's atmosphere every day, mostly in the form of meteoroids less than a millimeter across. As a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it ablates and forms a plasma. Radars can detect this plasma, which travels at approximately the same speed as the meteoroid, as a head echo. Such observations can determine the speed and trajectory of a meteoroid with high accuracy. A better characterization of these small particles will contribute to our understanding of the Earth's atmosphere, the solar system, and the local interstellar medium. Meteoroids provide a source of heavy metals at high altitudes that impact atmospheric chemistry and physics. Greater knowledge of the composition and masses of meteoroids will help astronomers understand the material within the solar system and the local interstellar medium. This dissertation focuses on meteoroid head echo observations using the 50 MHz radar at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory. These provide high resolution observations in both range and time. We use this data to evaluate methods of determining meteoroid properties and introduce a technique to determine meteoroid mass which involves fitting range and velocity measurements to an ablation model. This technique is compared with some established mass estimation methods, including scattering mass theory. We find the overall mass distribution for observed meteoroids as well as the spatial distribution of these particles. The peak of our mass distribution, at approximately 10^-11 kg, is significantly lower than what is found using specular meteor radars. We illustrate how the spatial distribution varies with meteoroid mass, and how different meteoroid sources appear when different mass ranges are examined. For the smallest meteoroids, only the Apex sources are detected, while all six of the dominant meteor sources are observed with comparable intensity when examining meteors with a mass larger than 10^-9 kg. We also directly compare meteor data taken with the 50 MHz radar to observations using a specular meteor radar in a novel experiment using both instruments simultaneously.
2031-01-02
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Ghezzi, Iván, and Clive Ruggles. "The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo: Archaeoastronomy and Social Organization at the First Solar Observatory in America." Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2012. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/113431.
Full textAbstract:
The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo run north-south along a low ridge within a fourth century BC ceremonial complex in north coastal Perú. From evident observing points within the adjacent buildings to the west and east, they formed an artificial toothed horizon that spanned —almost exactly— the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun. The Chankillo towers thus provide evidence of early solar horizon observations, and of the existence of sophisticated Sun cults, preceding by almost two millennia the Sun pillars of Inca Cusco.Las Trece Torres son un conjunto de estructuras dispuestas en una hilera de orientación Norte-Sur en la cima de una colina en Chankillo, un centro ceremonial del siglo IV a.C. ubicado en la costa norte del Perú. A partir de puntos de observación evidentes en los edificios adyacentes al este y al oeste de las torres, estas estructuras conforman un horizonte artificial "dentado" que comprende, casi exactamente, el arco anual de salida y puesta del Sol. De esta manera, las Trece Torres proporcionan evidencias de la práctica de observaciones solares y un sofisticado culto solar que preceden, por casi dos milenios, a los "pilares del Sol" del Cusco inca.
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Černá, Tereza. "Město pod hvězdami." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta architektury, 2019. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-401806.
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The aim of my thesis is to find and insert a new function to the city of Sumperk in a way as sensitive as possible to the city environment, based on its needs and was beneficial not only for the city itself but also for the bigger region.