Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Proceedings of Colloquium 98 of the Iau, June 20-24, 1987

ISBN-13: 9783540502302 / Angielski / Miękka / 1988 / 237 str.

Storm Dunlop; Michele Gerbaldi

Opis

IAU Colloquium No. 98 The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy was held in Paris, at the Chaillot-Galliera Conference Centre, on 20-24 June, 1987. A total of 250 participants - professional and amateur astronomers - came from 27 different countries. It was the first time that such a meeting had been organized under the aus- pices of the International Astronomical Union, and the arrangements in Paris were made by the Societe Astronomique de France, which was founded one hundred years previously by Camille Flammarion, so the 100th anniversary of the SAF was also celebrated. Nine commissions of the lAU co-sponsored the meeting; it also received support from the following associations: AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers), BAA (British Astro- nomical Association), IOTA (International Occultation Timing Association), SRBA (Societe Royale BeIge d'Astronomie). The Chairman of the Scientific Organizing Committee was Prof. J. -C. Pecker, and the names of other members who shared in the work of organizing the Collo- quium are: Dr P. Couteau (France), Cmdr H. D. Howse (U. K. ), Dr M. Gerbaldi (France), Prof. J. Kleczek (Czechoslovakia), Dr I. Kozai (Japan), Dr J.Mattei (U. S. A. ), Dr S. Nakano (Japan), Dr G. Taylor (U. K. ), Dr V. Trimble (U. S. A. ) The Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee was Dr P. Simon, the then President of the SAF, who organized all the events in Paris, helped by P. de la Cotardiere and A. Chenevez.

Spis treści

I Historical.- Amateur Astronomy from Its Origins to Camille Flammarion.- Camille Flammarion (1842–1925): Founder of the Société Astronomique de France.- The Historical Contribution of Amateurs to the Study of Double Stars.- Twentieth-Century Amateur Astronomy.- Criteria for Identifying an Astronomer as an Amateur.- Johannes Hevelius: Polish Seventeenth-Century Brewer and Astronomer.- Eugène Antoniadi (1870–1944) and Planetary Observation.- Investigating Astronomy’s History.- Charles Boyer and the Rotation of Venus.- The Amateur and Eclipsing Binary Stars.- Amateur Astronomy in Poland: Past and Present.- Giovanni Battista Lacchini: An Amateur Astronomer from Italy.- The Instruments of H.E. Dall.- Roberts of Lovedale and Eclipsing Binary Stars.- Seventeenth-Century Solar Observations: Fundamental Results with Amateur Instruments.- Sailors and Astronomy.- The Map of the Heavens at the Chateau de Saint-Jean-de-Chepy.- Amateur Astronomy in France, 1789–1830: Two Examples.- Some French Amateurs of the 2nd Half of the 19th Century.- Comet Halley in 1910 in Franche-Comté: or Collective Memory at Fault.- A Renowned, Yet Forgotten Astronomer: Marcel de Kerolyr.- Historical Session: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Yesterday and Today.- II Observational Methods.- Amateur Astronomers and the IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams and Minor Planet Center.- Contributions of Amateur Astronomers to Variable-Star Observing.- Observations of Comets, Minor Planets and Meteors in Japan.- Amateur Astronomers’ Contribution to the HIPPARCHOS Programme.- The S. A. F. Double Star Section’s Contribution to the INCA-HIPPARCHOS Programme.- Working with Amateur Astronomers.- Amateur Astronomers and the Hubble Space Telescope.- The T.60 Operation at Pic du Midi.- The Effects of Light Pollution on Amateur Astronomy.- An Amateur CCD Camera.- A Spectrograph for the T.60 at Pic du Midi.- Using an Image-Intensifier in Astronomy.- Amateur Polarimetric Research.- Searching for Variables, and Constructing a Slit-less Spectroscope.- Solar Spectroscopy with a CCD.- Obtaining Extraterrestrial Dust by Balloon Probes.- Making a Telescope Mirror.- Searching for Comets.- Achievements in Astronomical Video Data Collection.- Video Grazing Occultations.- An Improved Method of Photographic Measures of Double Stars.- The Scientific Merit of Amateur Astrophotography.- Reduction of Variable-Star Observations Using Basicode.- Image Digitizer.- “Comet” Software.- Refining the Orbit of Visual Double Stars.- Reliability and Accuracy of Astronomical Observations by Amateurs.- Trying to Reduce Errors in Visual Estimates of Variable Star Magnitudes.- III Observations and Results.- Photographic Observation of Stellar Occultations.- Studying “Luna Incognita”: The Region Near the South Pole.- Asteroid and Cometary Occultations.- Astrometric Measurements of Rarely-Observed Minor Planets.- Video Recordings of Asteroidal Occultations.- Space Exploration of Comets and the Evolution of Amateur-Professional Cooperation.- The Contribution of Amateur Astronomers to Cometary Observation.- New Method of Statistical Analysis of Cometary Light-Curves Applied to P/Halley.- P/Halley: The Disconnection Event of 1986 April 11.- A Study of Disconnection Velocities in the Plasma Tail of P/Halley.- Analysis of the Light-Curve of Comet P/Halley in 1985–1986.- New Trends in the Discovery of Comets by Amateurs.- Amateur Astronomers and the Recovery of Periodic Comets.- Shape and Frequency of Outbursts of P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1.- Astrometry of Comet Halley.- Observation and Analysis of Comet Tails.- Photometric Analysis of the Solar Corona on 1984 November 22/23.- Chromospheric Eruptions Observed with a Wide Slit.- Amateur/Professional Cooperation in 2 Solar Studies.- The IOTA Expedition Results from the Total-Annular Eclipse in Gabon, 1987.- Meteor Studies.- The “Sonate” Campaign.- Two Solar Observation Programmes.- Long-term Monitoring of Solar Activity by Amateur Astronomers.- The Moonwatch Program: A Model for Amateur Contributions to the ISY.- Study of Variable Stars.- The Contribution of Amateur Astronomers to the Study of Variable Stars.- Professional/Amateur Cooperation in the Study of Variable Stars as Illustrated by the Fourth Edition of the GCVS.- Amateurs and the Search for Supenovae.- The U.K. Nova/Supernova Search Programme.- GEOS — Groupe Europeen d’Observations Stellaires.- GEOS Results for PX Cephei.- The French Network for Observing Comets and Small Solar-System Bodies.- Amateurs’ Contribution to the PHEMU85 Campaign Observing Mutual Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites.- Wanted: An International Jovian-Satellite-Phenomenon Centre.- The European Section of IOTA: Scientific Programme Coordination and Results.- The Role of the Amateur in Modern Astronomy.- IV Popularization.- Meeting the Public: Popular Observatories.- Comet Halley: A Media Event.- A Planetarium for Astronomy.- Astronomical Publications.- Problems in Publishing a Popular Journal in a Small Country.- Methods of Popularizing Astronomy in Various Countries.- Opening the Sky to Everyone.- Interesting Business in Astronomy.- Preparing Astronomical Videotapes.- Transmission of Astronomical Data and Information by the A.F.A. Videotext System.- The Solar System Promenade.- The Open Sky Underground.- Teaching Astronomy in Schools.- Teaching Astronomy and the Vital Role of the True Amateur.- Astronomical Education in Poland.- Astronomy and Computing in Spanish (Aragon) High Schools.- The Planetarium at the Palais de la Découverte.- The Starlab Mobile Planetarium in the Mid-Pyrenees.- The Planetarium at a School in Nice.- The Planetarium as a Medium for Teaching Astronomy.- Twenty Years of the Japan Amateur Astronomers’ Convention.- Astronomy in the Big Apple.- The Activities of Astronomical Clubs.- The Flammarion Astronomical Society of Montpellier.- A Decade of Organized Work in Venezuela.- The Bochum Observatory.- The Triel Observatory.- The Bruno-H.-Bürgel Observatory.- The Strasbourg Observatory.- Feeding the Five Thousand.- Efforts by the Instituto de Astrophisica de Canarias to Publicise Astronomy.- Tailor-Made Messages: Astronomical Information for Diverse Audiences.- The Role of the Observatoire de Paris, Meudon in Providing Astronomical Information.- Observations — Concluding Remarks.- International Astronomical Union — Colloquium 98 General Session.- List of Participants.