Related papers: Scientific Computing in the Cavendish Laboratory a…
A discussion of the history of scientific computing for Radio Astronomy in the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge in the decades after the Second World War. This covers the development of the aperture synthesis technique…
This paper examines the historical dimension of gender bias in the US computing workforce. It offers new quantitative data on the computing workforce prior to the availability of US Census data in the 1970s. Computer user groups (including…
All but a few digital computers used for scientific computations have supported floating-point and digital arithmetic of rather limited numerical precision. The underlying assumptions were that the systems being studied were basically…
Computation, the use of a computer to solve, simulate, or visualize a physical problem, has revolutionized how physics research is done. Computation is used widely to model systems, to simulate experiments, and to analyze data. Yet, in most…
We introduce statistical techniques required to handle complex computer models with potential applications to astronomy. Computer experiments play a critical role in almost all fields of scientific research and engineering. These computer…
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…
In the late 80s and 90s, theoretical physicists of the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics designed and developed several specialized computers for challenging computational problems in the physics of phase transitions. These computers…
For centuries, the rich nocturnal environment of the starry sky could be modelled only by analogue tools such as paper planispheres, atlases, globes and numerical tables. The immersive sky simulator of the twentieth century, the…
(ABRIDGED) This dissertation concerns the use of CCDs for for X-ray astronomy. Part I of this thesis focuses on the calibration of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), one of the two primary focal plane instruments on the Chandra…
We present statistics on the research productivity of astronomical telescopes. These were compiled by finding papers in which new data were presented, noting which telescopes were used, and then counting the number of papers, number of…
INAF Trieste Astronomical Observatory (OATs) has a long tradition in information technology applied to Astronomical and Astrophysical use cases, particularly for what regards computing for data reduction, analysis and simulations; data and…
Gender bias in computing is a hard problem that has resisted decades of research. One obstacle has been the absence of systematic data that might indicate when gender bias emerged in computing and how it has changed. This article presents a…
Coded mask instruments have been used in high-energy astronomy for the last forty years now and designs for future hard X-ray/low gamma-ray telescopes are still based on this technique when they need to reach moderate angular resolutions…
Visualisation of data is critical to understanding astronomical phenomena. Today, many instruments produce datasets that are too big to be downloaded to a local computer, yet many of the visualisation tools used by astronomers are deployed…
The eighteenth century saw a flourishing of scientific and philosophical thought throughout Scotland, known as the Scottish Enlightenment. The accomplishments of prominent male figures of this period have been well documented in all…
The gender gap in computer science (CS) research is a well-studied problem, with an estimated ratio of 15%--30% women researchers. However, far less is known about gender representation in specific fields within CS. Here, we investigate the…
The emergence of quantum computing technology over the last decade indicates the potential for a transformational impact in the study of quantum mechanical systems. It is natural to presume that such computing technologies would be valuable…
Bold colour images from telescopes act as extraordinary ambassadors for research astronomers because they pique the public's curiosity. But are they snapshots documenting physical reality? Or are we looking at artistic spacescapes created…
The SunPy Project developed a 13-question survey to understand the software and hardware usage of the solar physics community. 364 members of the solar physics community, across 35 countries, responded to our survey. We found that…
We present a set of computing tools and techniques that every researcher can and should adopt. These recommendations synthesize inspiration from our own work, from the experiences of the thousands of people who have taken part in Software…