Related papers: A possible Harappan Astronomical Observatory at Dh…
An ancient solar observatory is composed by thirteen towers lined on a hill of a coastal desert of Peru. This is the Chankillo observatory. Here we discuss it, showing some simulations of the local sun direction. An analysis of the…
From an anthropological point of view, the whole concept of a "path of progress" in astronomical discovery is anathema, since it implicitly downgrades other cultural perspectives, such as the many "indigenous cosmologies" that still exist…
The previous generation of astronomical instruments tended to consist of single receivers in the focal point of one or more physical reflectors. Because of this, most astronomical data sets were small enough that the raw data could easily…
The voyage of the "First Fleet" from Britain to the new colony of New South Wales was not only a military enterprise, it also had a distinct scientific purpose. Britain's fifth Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, had selected William Dawes,…
In this article we review some key time cycles in ancient Indian astronomy, especially those that have emerged from researches in the past couple of decades expressing knowledge of the changing frame of earth's axis. The article also…
The Ngari (Ali) prefecture of Tibet, one of the highest areas in the world, has recently emerged as a promising site for future astronomical observation. Here we use 31 years of reanalysis data from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis…
The possible discovery of astronomical effects due to precession - such as the shift in the declination of heliacal raising of bright stars or the precession of the equinoxes - is reviewed for various ancient cultures in the world. Although…
It is well known that the best way to understand astronomical data is through machine learning, where a "black box" is set up, inside which a kind of artificial intelligence learns how to interpret the features in the data. We suggest that…
Sumedh Anathpindika surveys astronomy in India and finds a lively and developing community as well as great public interest.
The lunar surface has historically been considered an optimal site for a broad range of astronomical telescopes. That assumption, which has come to be somewhat reflexive, is critically examined in this paper and found to be poorly…
For the first time in history, humans have reached the point where it is possible to construct a revolutionary space-based observatory that has the capability to find dozens of Earth-like worlds, and possibly some with signs of life. This…
I review the operational capabilities of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, including some of the spectacular results obtained by the general observer community. A natural theme of this talk is that Chandra is revealing outflows of great…
Doppler lensing is the apparent change in object size and magnitude due to peculiar velocities. Objects falling into an overdensity appear larger on its near side, and smaller on its far side, than typical objects at the same redshifts.…
The SOFIA telescope as the heart of the observatory is a major technological challenge. I present an overview on the astro-nomical and scientific requirements for such a big airborne observatory and demonstrate the impact of these…
[Abridged] In the late nineteenth century, Mars emerged as one of the most intensively reported astronomical objects in the popular press, driven by favourable oppositions, improved telescopic capabilities and growing speculation regarding…
Observations from near the Eureka station on Ellesmere Island, in the Canadian High Arctic at 80 degrees North, benefit from 24-hour darkness combined with dark skies and long cloud-free periods during the winter. Our first astronomical…
Advances in astronomy are often enabled by adoption of new technology. In some instances this is where the technology has been invented specifically for astronomy, but more usually it is adopted from another scientific or industrial area of…
All four giant planets in the Solar system possess irregular satellites, characterized by large, highly eccentric and/or inclined orbits that are distinct from the nearly circular, uninclined orbits of the regular satellites. This…
The dynamics of systems of two and three planets, initially placed on circular and nearly coplanar orbits, is explored in the proximity of their stability limit. The evolution of a large number of systems is numerically computed and their…
India's largest size 3.6 meter Devashal optical telescope (DOT) was commissioned in the year 2016, though the idea of building it germinated way back in the year 1976. This article provides research accounts as well as glimpses of its…