Related papers: High-Impact Astronomical Observatories
Strong gravitational lensing enables a wide range of science: probing cosmography; testing dark matter models; understanding galaxy evolution; and magnifying the faint, small and distant Universe. However to date exploiting strong lensing…
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) surveyed 14,555 square degrees, and delivered over a trillion pixels of imaging data. We present a study of galaxy clustering using 900,000 luminous galaxies with photometric redshifts, spanning between…
In January of 1985, more than 40 years ago, a group of astronomers met with NASA officials to map out the future of NASA space astronomy. Their efforts led to the Great Observatories program, linking four powerful space telescopes to study…
The growing negative impact of the visibility of satellites in the night sky is influencing the practice of astronomy and astrophotograph, both at the amateur and professional levels. The presence of these satellites has the effect of…
We review the relatively new, internet-enabled, and rapidly-evolving field of citizen science, focusing on research projects in stellar, extragalactic and solar system astronomy that have benefited from the participation of members of the…
The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is a world-leading astronomical observatory, where the italian partnership has played an important role in increasing the telescope's productivity, both through an optimized observing strategy and through…
With an initial requirement to make observations a minimum of 5-10 years, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has continued to operate well for 30 years. It has relied upon five servicing missions to repair and replace essential components. Since…
In the last decade a new generation of telescopes and sensors has allowed the production of a very large amount of data and astronomy has become, a data-rich science; this transition is often labeled as: "data revolution" and "data…
This article describes astrometric science that can be done with the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors and presents some recent science results. We outline how these data are modeled, acquired, and calibrated. We next show how…
The number of satellites launched into low earth orbit has almost tripled (to over 4000) in the last three years due to the increasing commercialisation of space. Satellite constellations with a total of over 400,000 satellites are proposed…
The discovery of extra-solar planets is arguably the most exciting development in astrophysics during the past 15 years, rivalled only by the detection of dark energy. Two projects unite the communities of exoplanet scientists and…
Radio astronomy commenced in earnest after World War II, with Australia keenly engaged through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. At this juncture, Australia's Commonwealth Solar Observatory expanded its portfolio from…
Gravitational-wave (GW) astrophysics is a rapidly expanding field, with plans to enhance the global ground-based observatory network through the addition of larger, more sensitive observatories: Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. These…
We advocate for a mission concept study for a space telescope dedicated to solar system science in Earth orbit. Such a study was recommended by the Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS) report "Getting Ready for the Next…
Like many areas of astrophysics and cosmology, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will be transformational for almost all the applications of strong lensing, thanks to the dramatic increase in the number of known strong lenses by two orders of…
The success of an astronomical facility is measured by its scientific impact. A principal metric for this impact is the ensemble of peer-reviewed publications based on the observational data obtained by the facility. We present a…
Gravitational-wave astronomy has revolutionized humanity's view of the universe, a revolution driven by observations that no other field can make. This white paper describes an observatory that builds on decades of investment by the…
Public engagement (PE) initiatives can lead to a long term public support of science. However most of the real impact of PE initiatives within the context of long-term science policy is not completely understood. An examination of the…
In this talk I focus on how the modelling of the mass-observable relation and the halo mass function can impact the accuracy and precision of cosmological constraints inferred from galaxy clusters. I present a new analysis of clusters…
This article is a second analysis step from the descriptive arXiv:2001.10952 preprint. This work is aimed to arise awareness to the scientific astronomical community about the negative impact of satellites' mega-constellations and put in…