New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 9-34
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From page 9... ...
These dramatic discoveries came about through the application of modern technology and human ingenuity to the ancient craft of observing the sky. We have explored the cosmos, not just by observing through the tiny visible window used by our eyes, but also by exploiting the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves with wavelengths larger than a house to gamma rays with wavelengths 1,000 times smaller than a proton.
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From page 10... ...
To achieve these objectives, a complementary effort of space-based, ground-based, and foundational, core research is required. Cosmic Dawn: Searching for the First Stars, Galaxies, and Black Holes We have learned much in recent years about the history of the universe, from the big bang to the present day.
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From page 11... ...
Not only do the stars and gas commingle, but the central black holes also merge. Amazingly, it should be possible to detect waves in the fabric of space-time -- gravitational waves -- that result from the dramatic unions when galaxies and black holes are young and relatively small.
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From page 12... ...
In other cases, we can learn about planetary systems by measuring infrared and radio emission from giant disks of gas out of which planets can form. Finally, in a most important development, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope have found the spectral lines of carbon dioxide, water, and the first organic molecule, methane, in the atmospheres of orbiting planets.
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From page 13... ...
Yet another opportunity to study fundamental principles comes from precisely observing the behavior of black holes. Black holes are commonly found in the nuclei of normal galaxies and are born when very massive stars end their stellar lives.
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From page 14... ...
, the agency-projected budget is flat in FY2010 dollars, which allows little to no opportunity for new activity over the entire decade, given the obligations to support existing facilities. The optimistic budget used by the committee supposes growth in purchasing power at a rate of 4 percent per year, the so-called doubling scenario that is being applied to the overall NSF budget.
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From page 15... ...
The resulting program emphasizes certain capabilities for U.S. leadership, including all-sky synoptic imaging on the ground and in space, large-aperture telescopes, exploration of non-electromagnetic portals to the universe, technology and software, publicprivate and international partnerships, frequent opportunities for new mediumscale instrumentation on the ground and in space, and interdisciplinary work, especially work involving connections between astrophysics and physics.
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From page 16... ...
It will employ three distinct techniques -- measurements of weak gravitational lensing, supernova distances, and baryon acoustic oscillations -- to determine the effect of dark energy on the evolution of the universe. An equally important outcome will be to open up a new frontier of exoplanet studies by moni toring a large sample of stars in the central bulge of the Milky Way for changes in brightness due to microlensing by intervening solar systems.
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From page 17... ...
Explorer Program Augmentation The Explorer program supports small and medium-size missions, selected through competitive peer review, that are developed and launched on roughly 5-year timescales. The Explorer program enables rapid responses to new discoveries and provides platforms for targeted investigations essential to the breadth of NASA's astrophysics program.
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From page 18... ...
This survey recommends that the annual budget of the astrophysics component of the Explorer program be increased from $40 million to $100 million by 2015. The categorization of the recommended Explorer program augmentation as a large-category activity reflects the total cost of the augmentation for the decade 2012-2021, and its high ranking is motivated by the committee's view that expand ing the Explorer program is a very effective way to maximize scientific progress for a given outlay.
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From page 19... ...
Because of IXO's high scientific importance, a technology development program is recommended for this decade with sufficient resources -- estimated to be on the order of $200 million -- to prepare IXO for favorable consideration in the next survey in 2020. The committee thinks that allowing IXO, or indeed any major mission, to exceed $2 billion in total cost to NASA would unacceptably imbalance NASA's astrophysics program, given the present budgetary constraints.
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From page 20... ...
The committee The estimates that an additional $100 million will be required for the mission-specific development. Inflation Probe Technology Development Program Detecting the distinctive imprint on the cosmic microwave background caused by gravitational waves produced during the first few moments of the universe would provide evidence for the theory of inflation and open a new window on exotic physics in the early universe.
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From page 21... ...
Astrophysics Theory Program� To enhance the scientific return from operating � missions and inform the investment in new ones, an augmentation of $35 million to the current funding level for the decade is recommended. the Definition of a Future Ultraviolet-Optical Space Capability� To prepare for a future major ultraviolet mission to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, it will be necessary to carry out a mission-definition program.
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From page 22... ...
Ground Projects -- Large -- in Rank Order Ground Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) LSST is a multipurpose observatory that will explore the nature of dark energy and the behavior of dark matter, and will robustly explore aspects of the time variable universe that will certainly lead to new discoveries.
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From page 23... ...
astronomy and astrophysics community to an optical-infrared 30-meter-class adaptive optics telescope is strongly recommended. Two U.S.-led projects, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
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From page 24... ...
Plans are underway to capitalize on recent sci entific advances by building a large facility that uses light created as gamma rays interact with the atmosphere and that will achieve an order-of-magnitude greater sensitivity compared to current telescopes. This new gamma-ray observatory will detect a wide variety of high-energy astrophysical sources and seek indirect evidence for dark matter annihilation.
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From page 25... ...
ATI supports instrumentation and technology development, including computing at astronomical facilities in support of the research program. The current level of funding is roughly $10 million per year, which the committee proposes to increase to $15 million per year to accommodate key opportunities, including, especially, adaptive optics development and radio instrumentation.
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From page 26... ...
This increase should include the sup port of new opportunities in Laboratory Astrophysics. Gemini Augmentation The imminent withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK)
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From page 27... ...
Partnership in Astronomy and Astrophysics Research The opportunities described in the reports from the survey's Program Prioritization Panels on optical and infrared and on radio, millimeter, and submillimeter astronomy from the ground; on electromagnetic observations from space; and on particle astrophysics and gravitation are compelling. Having reviewed so many opportunities for building research facilities and instruments that would be dependent on multiple approaches to collaborative science, the committee was easily convinced of the value of a continued emphasis on forging new and strong partnerships.
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From page 28... ...
Although the impetus for public support for the astronomy and astrophysics research enterprise will always be primarily the quest for an ever-deepening knowledge of our universe, as discussed elsewhere in this report that public support also produces significant additional benefits for the nation and its people. CONCLUSION: Astronomy is a pure science, driven by human curiosity.
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From page 29... ...
These benefits include its role in capturing the public's attention and thereby promoting general science literacy and proficiency, its service as a gateway to science, technol ogy, engineering, and mathematics careers, and a number of important and often unexpected technological spin-offs. The field of astronomy and astro physics deserves inclusion in initiatives to enhance basic research, such as the America COMPETES Act.
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From page 30... ...
RECOMMENDATION: The American Astronomical Society and the Ameri can Physical Society, alongside the nation's astronomy and astrophysics departments, should make both undergraduate and graduate students aware of the wide variety of rewarding career opportunities enabled by their edu cation, and be supportive of students' career decisions that go beyond aca demia. These groups should work with the federal agencies to gather and disseminate demographic data on astronomers in the workforce to inform students' career decisions.
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From page 31... ...
NASA currently supports widely used curated data archives, and similar data curation models could be adopted by NSF and DOE. Laboratory Astrophysics Another important component of the astrophysical infrastructure is the ability to carry out crucial measurements in the laboratory that are relevant to interpreting observations from astronomical environments.
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From page 32... ...
RECOMMENDATION: NASA and NSF support for laboratory astrophysics under the Astronomy and Physics Research and Analysis and the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants programs, respectively, should continue at current or higher levels over the coming decade because these programs are vital for optimizing the scientific return from current and planned facilities. Missions and facilities, including DOE projects, that will require significant amounts of new laboratory data to reach their science goals should include within their program budgets adequate funding for the necessary experi mental and theoretical investigations.
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From page 33... ...
investment in future facilities. Gemini is an international partnership that constructed and now operates two 8-meter optical-infrared telescopes, one in the Northern Hemisphere, the other in the Southern Hemisphere.
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From page 34... ...
RECOMMENDATION: NSF should work with the solar, heliospheric, stellar, planetary, and geospace communities to determine the best route to an effective and balanced ground-based solar astronomy program that main tains multidisciplinary ties. Such coordination will be essential in develop ing funding models for the long-term operation of major solar facilities such as the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope and Frequency-Agile Solar Radiotelescope, and in the development of next-generation instrumenta tion for them along with the funding of associated theory, modeling, and simulation science.
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