Related papers: UN/ESA Workshops on Basic Space Science: An Update…
Spanish astronomy has grown rapidly during the 1990s. The number of papers published per year has doubled, to about 4% of the world total. The number of high-impact papers, however, remains constant at about 1% of the world total. Papers…
Sky surveys represent a fundamental data basis for astronomy. We use them to map in a systematic way the universe and its constituents, and to discover new types of objects or phenomena. We review the subject, with an emphasis on the…
Fundamental changes are taking place in the way we do astronomy. In twenty years time, it is likely that most astronomers will never go near a cutting-edge telescope, which will be much more efficiently operated in service mode. They will…
This white paper presents an analysis of Astro2020 science priorities and NASA's future astrophysics mission architecture, advocating for a coordinated fleet of \$1--2B missions, smaller than typical Flagship observatories, but…
Time-domain astronomy (TDA) is facing a paradigm shift caused by the exponential growth of the sample size, data complexity and data generation rates of new astronomical sky surveys. For example, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST),…
Advances in space weather science and small satellite (SmallSat) technology have proceeded in parallel over the past two decades, but better communication and coordination is needed among the respective worldwide communities contributing to…
In 2015 the Institute of Physics and Astronomy of the Universidad de Valpara\'iso in Chile received as a donation the Bochum 0.61-meter telescope. Here we preset the ongoing project to convert this senior member of La Silla Observatory to…
(modified from published version) Twelve years ago the Catalina Sky Survey discovered Earth's first known natural geocentric object other than the Moon, a few-meter diameter asteroid designated 2006 RH120. Despite significant improvements…
This Report summarizes findings and recommendations from the Kavli-IAU workshop on "Probing the Universe from far-infrared to millimeter wavelengths: future facilities and their synergies" which took place from 26 to 28 March 2024 in…
The proposed US Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) Program would secure national open access to at least 25% of the observing time on the Thirty Meter Telescope in the north and the Giant Magellan Telescope in the south. ELTs would advance…
This work addresses the development of the astronomical observatory all through history, from an architectural point of view, as a building in relation to the observing instruments and their functioning as a heterogeneous work center. We…
The discovery of a biosphere on another planet would transform how we view ourselves, and our planet Earth, in relation to the rest of the cosmos. We now know Earth is one planet among eight circling our sun; our sun is part of a swirling…
The Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) using radio telescopes is an area of research that is now more than 50 years old. Thus far, both targeted and wide-area surveys have yet to detect artificial signals from intelligent…
I review the status of science with wide field surveys. For many decades surveys have been the backbone of astronomy, and the main engine of discovery, as we have mapped the sky at every possible wavelength. Surveys are an efficient use of…
Astrophysics spans an enormous range of questions on scales from individual planets to the entire cosmos. To address the richness of 21st century astrophysics requires a corresponding richness of telescopes spanning all bands and all…
This is a summary of my lectures during the 2011 IAC Winter School in Puerto de la Cruz. I give an introduction to the field of stellar populations in galaxies, and highlight some new results. Since the title of the Winter School was {\it…
Recent studies have shown that not only primary school students but also their future teachers reach science courses with pre-constructed and consistent models of the world surrounding them. These ideas include many misconceptions which…
Telescope and detector developments continuously enable deeper and more detailed studies of astronomical objects. Larger collecting areas, improvement in dispersion and detector techniques, and higher sensitivities allow detection of more…
The operation of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) marks a transformative moment in humanity's capacity to detect and characterize interstellar objects (ISOs). With projections indicating an increase…
"El Cielo de Salamanca" ("The Sky of Salamanca") is a quarter-sphere-shaped vault 8.70 metres in diameter. It was painted sometime between 1480 and 1493 and shows five zodiacal constellations, three boreal and six austral. The Sun and…