Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

Executive Summary
Pages 1-16

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 1...
... . It should be read in conjunction with the preface to this volume of panel reports; the preface explains the relationship between the recommendations of the survey committee and the recommendations of the panels.
From page 2...
... To carry out its mandate, the committee established nine panels with more than 100 distinguished members of the astronomical community. Broad input was sought through the panels, in forums held by the American Astronomical Society, and in meetings with representatives of the international astronomical community.
From page 3...
... To achieve this goal, researchers must pursue a strategy with several elements: · Survey the universe and its constituents, including galaxies as they evolve through cosmic time, stars and planets as they form out of collapsing interstellar clouds in our galaxy, interstellar and intergalactic gas as it accumulates the elements created in stars and supernovae, and the mysterious dark matter and perhaps dark energy that so strongly influence the large-scale structure and dynamics of the universe. · Use the universe as a unique laboratory for probing the laws of physics in regimes not accessible on Earth, such as the very early universe or near the event horizon of a black hole.
From page 4...
... , the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) , and the Astrometric Interferometry Mission (now called the Space Interferometry Mission, or SIM)
From page 5...
... The committee recommends that total project budgets provide for grants for data analysis and associated theory at the rate of 3 percent of the capital cost per year for major facilities and 5 percent per year for moderate ones. On the basis of this model, the committee has included funds for operations, instrumentation, and grants for a period of 5 years in the cost estimates provided in this report for most ground-based initiatives.
From page 6...
... and the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) currently serve as effective national organizations for radio astronomy, and the National Solar Observatory (NSO)
From page 7...
... Adequate support for theory, including numerical simulation, is a cost-effective means for maximizing the impact of the nation's capital investment in science facilities. The committee therefore recommends that · To encourage theorists to contribute to the planning of missions and facilities and to the interpretation and understanding of the results, one or more explicitly funded theory challenges should be integrated with most moderate or major new initiatives.
From page 8...
... International collaboration plays a crucial role in a number of this committee's recommended initiatives, including the Next Generation Space Telescope, the Expanded Very Large Array, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, the Advanced Solar Telescope, and the Square Kilometer Array technology development, and it could play a significant role in other recommended initiatives as well. N EW I NVE5TM E NT5 I N A5TRO N O MY AN D A5TRO PHY5 I C 5 Many mysteries confront us in the quest to understand our place in the universe.
From page 9...
... The committee set the priorities primarily on the basis of scientific merit, but it also considered technical readiness, cost-effectiveness, impact on education and public outreach, and the relation to other projects. The initiatives were divided into three categories major, moderate, and small that were defined separately for ground- and space-based projects based on estimated cost (see Chapter 13.
From page 10...
... d 11 Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)
From page 11...
... Each telescope will have high spectral resolution over a broad energy range, enabling it to study quasars near the edge of the visible universe and to trace the evolution of the chemical elements. The technology issues are well in hand for a start in the middle of this decade.
From page 12...
... It is currently envisaged as a free-flying infrared interferometer designed to study terrestrial planets around nearby stars to find them, characterize their atmospheres, and search for evidence of life and to obtain images of star-forming regions and distant galaxies with unprecedented resolution. The committee's recommendation of this mission is predicated on the assumptions that TPF will revolutionize major areas of both planetary and nonplanetary science and that, prior to the start of TPF, ground- and space-based searches will confirm the expectation that terrestrial planets are common around solar-type stars.
From page 13...
... The committee's second-priority space-based project is the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) , which will be able to detect gravity waves from merging supermassive black holes throughout the visible universe and from close binary stars throughout our galaxy.
From page 14...
... The Advanced Radio Interferometry between Space and Earth (ARISE) mission is an orbiting antenna that will combine with the ground-based VLBA to provide an order-of-magnitude increase in resolution for studying the regions near supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei.
From page 15...
... The committee recommends that the following steps be taken to exploit the potential of astronomy for enhancing education and public understanding of science: · Expand and improve the opportunities for astronomers to engage in outreach to the K-12 community. · Establish more pilot partnerships between departments of astronomy and education at a few universities to develop exemplary science courses for preservice teachers.
From page 16...
... 3~. These jets were first found associated with galactic nuclei using radio astronomy.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.