Related papers: Enabling and Enhancing Astrophysical Observations …
At time of writing, large language models (LLMs) are beginning to obtain the ability to design, execute, write up, and referee scientific projects on the data-science side of astrophysics. What implications does this have for our…
Astronomy and related fields are at the forefront of science and technology; answering fundamental questions and driving innovation. Although blue-skies research like astronomy rarely contributes directly with tangible outcomes on a short…
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…
In what capacity are affective augmentations helpful to humans, and what risks (if any) do they pose? In this position paper, we outline three works on affective augmentation systems, where our studies suggest these systems have the ability…
Relativistic positioning systems are interesting {\em technical objects} for applications around the Earth and in the Solar system. But above all else, they are basic {\em scientific objects} allowing developing relativity from its own…
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…
Data volumes from multiple sky surveys have grown from gigabytes into terabytes during the past decade, and will grow from terabytes into tens (or hundreds) of petabytes in the next decade. This exponential growth of new data both enables…
The field of time-domain astronomy has experienced unprecedented growth due to the increasing deployment of robotic telescopes capable of autonomous, round-the-clock sky monitoring. These instruments have revolutionized the detection and…
This two-part review examines how automation has contributed to different aspects of discovery in the chemical sciences. In this second part, we reflect on a selection of exemplary studies. It is increasingly important to articulate what…
CubeSats have the potential to expand astrophysical discovery space, complementing ground-based electromagnetic and gravitational-wave observatories. The CubeSat design specifications help streamline delivery of instrument payloads to…
We present an Open Educational Resource system that instructors can use to assign automatically graded, randomized, and scaffolded assessment questions for astronomy classes.
In the paper we define and characterize the asynchronous systems from the point of view of their autonomy, determinism, order, non-anticipation, time invariance, symmetry, stability and other important properties. The study is inspired by…
Astrophysical measurements away from the 1 AU orbit of Earth can enable several astrophysical science cases that are challenging or impossible to perform from Earthbound platforms, including: building a detailed understanding of the…
This article looks at philosophical aspects and questions that modern astrophysical research gives rise to. Other than cosmology, astrophysics particularly deals with understanding phenomena and processes operating at "intermediate" cosmic…
The paper is focused on the discussion of the phenomenon of transitional chaos in dynamic autonomous and non-autonomous systems. This phenomenon involves the disappearance of chaotic oscillations in specific time periods and the system…
Machine learning has rapidly become a tool of choice for the astronomical community. It is being applied across a wide range of wavelengths and problems, from the classification of transients to neural network emulators of cosmological…
Testing of autonomous systems is extremely important as many of them are both safety-critical and security-critical. The architecture and mechanism of such systems are fundamentally different from traditional control software, which appears…
We describe the development of a system for an automated, iterative, real-time classification of transient events discovered in synoptic sky surveys. The system under development incorporates a number of Machine Learning techniques, mostly…
The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) grew up with and has been riding the waves of the Information Age, closely monitoring and anticipating the needs of its end-users. By now, all professional astronomers are using the ADS on a daily…
A computational system is called autonomous if it is able to make its own decisions, or take its own actions, without human supervision or control. The capability and spread of such systems have reached the point where they are beginning to…