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We attempt to dissolve the measurement problem using an anthropic principle which allows us to invoke rational observers. We argue that the key feature of such observers is that they are rational (we need not care whether they are…
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…
Spectroscopy is one of the most important tools that an astronomer has for studying the universe. This chapter begins by discussing the basics, including the different types of optical spectrographs, with extension to the ultraviolet and…
We assess how physically realistic the ''simulation hypothesis'' for this Universe is, based on physical constraints arising from the link between information and energy, and on known astrophysical constraints. We investigate three cases:…
Astronomical researchers often think of analysis and visualization as separate tasks. In the case of high-dimensional data sets, though, interactive exploratory data visualization can give far more insight than an approach where data…
Anomalies drive scientific discovery -- they are associated with the cutting edge of the research frontier, and thus typically exploit data in the low signal-to-noise regime. In astronomy, the prevalence of systematics --- both "known…
In this paper, we develop a virtual laboratory for measuring human trust. Our laboratory, which is realized as a web application, enables researchers to show pre-recorded or live video feeds to groups of users in a synchronized fashion.…
The present work describes a website designed for remote teaching of optical measurements using lasers. It enables senior undergraduate and postgraduate students to learn theoretical aspects of the subject and also have a means to perform…
E-Laboratories are important components of e- learning environments, especially in scientific and technical disciplines. First widespread E-Labs consisted in proposing simulations of real systems (virtual labs), as building remote labs…
We present a summary of the major contributions to the Special Session on Data Management held at the IAU General Assembly in Prague in 2006. While recent years have seen enormous improvements in access to astronomical data, and the Virtual…
Astronomy is increasingly encountering two fundamental truths: (1) The field is faced with the task of extracting useful information from extremely large, complex, and high dimensional datasets; (2) The techniques of astroinformatics and…
Space debris is a major threat to the satellite infrastructure. A collision with even small particle, e.g. 1 cm of size, can cause a catastrophic event when the parent body, spacecraft or upper stage, will break up into hundreds of…
I briefly discuss the challenges presented by attempting to modify general relativity to obtain an explanation for the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. Foremost among these are the questions of theoretical consistency - the…
Here follows a preliminary report on the construction of fake millimeter and sub-millimeter skies, as observed by virtual instruments, e.g. the COBRA/SAMBA mission, using theoretical modeling and data extrapolations. Our goal is to create…
As human space exploration evolves toward longer voyages farther from our home planet, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) becomes increasingly important. Haptic teleoperations are one of the technologies by which such activities can be…
Modern astronomical experiments are designed to achieve multiple scientific goals, from studies of galaxy evolution to cosmic acceleration. These goals require data of many different classes of night-sky objects, each of which has a…
The road to becoming an astronomer is exciting, but often fraught with danger and conflicting messages. A PhD student is inundated with catch-phrases such as "publish or perish" and "it's not about the quantity, but the quality of work".…
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…
Suppose that advanced civilizations, separated by a cosmological distance and time, wish to maximize their access to cosmic resources by rapidly expanding into the universe. How does the presence of one limit the expansionistic ambitions of…
High-quality, usable, and effective software is essential for supporting astronomers in the discovery-focused tasks of data analysis and visualisation. As the volume, and perhaps more crucially, the velocity of astronomical data grows, the…