Europe's quest for the universe
Auteur : Lodewijk Woltjer
Traducteur : Ed. en anglais
Date de saisie : 18/01/2006
Genre : Sciences et Technologies
Editeur : EDP sciences, Les Ulis, France
Collection : Références astronomiques
Prix : 35.00 € / 229.58 F
ISBN : 978-2-86883-813-1
GENCOD : 9782868838131
- La présentation de l'éditeur
THE LARGE EUROPEAN INSTRUMENTS developed for observing the Universe, from the Sun and planets to its most remote reaches, form the principal subject of this book. Some of the more striking results obtained or anticipated on the ground or in space at radio, infrared and visible wavelengths and in X-, gamma-ray and cosmic-rays are covered. The roles of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are stressed, but national initiatives are also touched upon. Input into the research system in the form of financing and personnel and output as publications are evaluated. The time frame covered extends from around 1980 tilt about 2020. While this book centers on European developments, com arisons with what others are doing are included.
After the war Europe in science had taller behind the US. Thanks to European cooperation equality has again been reached. Through ESO's Very Large Telescope and ESA's missions, like the Infrared Space Observatory, X- and gamma-ray satellites, Mars Express and others, Europe is fully and independently present at the forefront. The need to integrate the scientists and engineers from the new EU countries go to the overall organization of European science is noted, an integration which ultimately could extend even further eastward.
This book addresses a Ovide audience : astronomers and space scientists, students, politicians involved in science funding, amateur astronomers and the educated public with an interest in the science and technology achievable by European cooperation.
Lodewijk WoLvER studied at Leiden University in Holland. Chairman at the Astronomy Department at Columbia University, he became Director General of ESO tram 1975-1987. He has been chairman of the ESA Space Science Advisory Committee and President of the International Astronomical Union. For several years now he has been associated with the Observatoire de Haute Provence and also with the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri in Florence.
- Les premières lignes
Extrait de la préface :
«What a magnificent title, "Europe's quest for the Universe", for the opening of this new book by Professor Woltjer, which presents and expands on two grand themes.
Since the days of Copernicus, Galileo, Tycho Brahe and Kepler, as a research community Europe bas been at the cutting edge of science, in its incessant quest to understand the universe we lire in.
In this book we trace the history and development of more recent institutions such as the ESA and ESO. This is thanks to the great ski11 and experience of the author who, by writing this work, passes on the fruits of a unique and exceptional career...»
Extrait de l'introduction :
«The progress of science depends on the technological development of its instrumentation. This is particularly true for the astronomical sciences where the study of remote objects requires sophisticated and costly detection techniques. In this book I shall analyze some of the large European astronomical projects, both on the ground and in space, their development during the last two decades, and their prospects in the future. While scientific progress is intimately related to technology development, both are contingent on professionals and funding, and I shah consider the situation with regard to both of these.
This book is addressed to a varied audience : scientists who wish to see what is happening outside their own domain, students who look for fruitful areas of thesis research, functionaries who need some background for decision making, amateur astronomers interested in knowing what is going on in the profession, and also to an educated public that wants to get the flavor of what is behind the newspaper articles reporting scientific results and to know how European activities compare to what is being done elsewhere. The more detailed description of the development of the VLT, ESO's Very Large Telescope, illustrates how a large technological project gets underway and alter some pitfalls reaches completion...»
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