Developing Basic Space Science World-Wide: A Decade of Un/ESA Workshops

ISBN-13: 9789048164516 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 504 str.

Willem Wamsteker; Rudolf Albrecht; Hans J. Haubold

Opis

When the first United Nations/European Space Agency Workshop for Basic Space Science was planned to be held in Bangalore, India (1991) on the invitation of ISRO, few of those involved could expect that a unique forum was going to be created for scientific dialogue between scientists from developing and industrialized nations. As the format of the first workshop was on purpose left free with time for presentations, working sessions, and plenary discussions, the workshop was left to find its own dynamics. After a decade of UN/ESA Workshops, this book brings together the historical activities, the plans which have been developed over the past decade in the different nations, and the results which have materialized during this time in different developing nations. It aims to achieve for development agencies to be assisted in ways to find more effective tools for the application of development aid. The last section of the book contains a guide for teachers to introduce astrophysics into university physics courses. This will be of use to teachers in many nations.
Everything described in this book is the result of a truly collective effort from all involved in all UN/ESA workshops. The mutual support from the participants has helped significantly to implement some of the accomplishments described in the book. Rather than organizing this book in a subject driven way, it is essentially organized according to the common economic regions of the world, as defined by the United Nations (Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Asia). This allows better recognition of the importance of a regional (and at times) global approach to basic space science for the developing nation's world wide. It highlights very specific scientific investigations which have been completed successfully in the various developing nations. The book supplements the published ten volumes of workshop proceedings containing scientific papers presented in the workshops from 1991 to 2002.
Information on the workshops is also available at http: //www.seas.columbia.edu/ ah297/un-esa/index.html http: //www.oosa.unvienna.org/SAP/bss/index.html http: //www.oosa.unvienna.org/SAP/centres/centres.html

Spis treści

The UN/ESA Workshops on Basic Space Science in the Developing Countries.- The International Astronomical Union.- The International Astronomical Union: Historial Perspective.- Astronomy Around the World.- Research and Education in Basic Space Science.- Asia and the Pacific.- Indian Space Programme.- Astronomy in the Philippines.- The Present Status of Astronomy in Sri Lanka.- A Short History of Astronomy in Indonesia.- Space Astronomy in China.- Astronomy in Korea.- Latin America and the Caribbean.- The Astronomical Observatory of Honduras: A Project of International Cooperation.- The Gem Project: An International Collaboration to Survey Galactic Radiation Emission.- The Galactic Emission Mapping (GEM) Project: Summary and Results.- A Centre of Astronomy for Paraguay: A Quest for a Moderate-Sized Telescope.- The Uruguayan Automated and Robotic Telescope “BUSCA”.- Astronomy at the Universidad de Sonora.- Space Sciences in Latin America.- Sub-Saharan Africa.- Astronomy in South Africa.- The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT): A 10 Metre Class Spectroscopic Survey Telescope.- An Inter-African Astronomical Observatory and Science Park on the Gamsberg in Namibia?.- Current Developments in Basic Space Science in Nigeria.- Towards Introducing Space Science in Uganda.- Space Science & Technology in Mauritius Current Status and Future Opportunities.- Western Asia and Northern Africa.- Kottamia Telescope Upgrading.- The Marskhod Egyptian Drill Project.- Small Astronomical Telescopes for Research and Education at Helwan, Egypt.- Astronomy in Saudi Arabia: The Challenges.- The Status of the Network of Oriental Robotic Telescopes Project.- Basic Space Sciences in Jordan.- Small Astronomical Telescope Facilities.- The Role of Public Observatories in Astronomical Observations.- Small Telescopes in Research and Education.- Networking of Small Astronomical Telescope Facilities in Education and Research Programmes on Subjects Such as Variable Stars and Near-Earth Objects.- Single-Site and Multi-Site Photometric Research Programmes for Small Telescopes.- “Hands-on Astrophysics” and Beyond.- CCD Photometry of KZ Hya from the AAO (Paraguay).- Projects for Space Science and Astronomy in Developing Countries.- Chasing the Dream.- Provision of Astronomical Equipment for Developing Countries Through ODA of the Government of Japan.- The Astronomy Digital Library.- The Changing Role of the Telescope in Astronomy.- The World Space Observatory/Ultraviolet (WSO/UV) Project.- Astrophysics for University Physics Courses.- Mechanics: Orbits and Kepler’s Third Law.- More Mechanics of the Solar System.- More Mechanics: Neutron Stars and Clusters of Galaxies.- Thermal Radiation.- The Lives of Stars.- Cosmic Magnetic Fields.- High-Energy Astrophysics, Electromagnetic Radiation.- Mathematical Proofs.