Astronomy Literature Research Articles

Galactic ChitChat: Using Large Language Models to Converse with Astronomy Literature

We demonstrate the potential of the state-of-the-art OpenAI GPT-4 large language model to engage in meaningful interactions with Astronomy papers using in-context prompting. To optimize for efficiency, we employ a distillation technique that effectively reduces the size of the original input paper by 50%, while maintaining the paragraph structure and overall semantic integrity. We then explore the model’s responses using a multi-document context (ten distilled documents). Our findings indicate that GPT-4 excels in the multi-document domain, providing detailed answers contextualized within the framework of related research findings. Our results showcase the potential of large language models for the astronomical community, offering a promising avenue for further exploration, particularly the possibility of utilizing the models for hypothesis generation.

Contemporary Haqiqī Calculation: Analysis of Rinto Anugraha's Lunar Eclipse Calculation Methods

Classical Islamic astronomy literature that discusses eclipse calculations still uses the ḥaqiqī bi al-taqrīb method with low accuracy. In its development, Islamic astronomical literature studies the calculation of lunar eclipses with high accuracy, including Mekanika Benda Langit work by Rinto Anugraha. This article aims to analyze the calculation method and accuracy of the Rinto Anugraha lunar eclipse and compare it with Jean Meeus, Bao Lin Liu, and Alan D. Fiala's calculations NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Using bibliographic research and descriptive-comparative methods, the author finds that the method of calculating the lunar eclipse of Rinto Anugraha is contemporary haqiqī. The calculation of the lunar eclipse proposed by Rinto Anugraha is based on Jean Meeus' lunar eclipse calculation, and slight modifications are using NASA data. Rinto Anugraha's lunar eclipse calculation has a high level of accuracy because it has the most significant average difference of 3 minutes 36 seconds in the penumbral eclipse begins stage with the results of the lunar eclipse calculations from Jean Meeus, Bao Lin Liu and Alan D. Fiala, and NASA. Anugraha's contemporary calculation method has implications for simplifying the lunar eclipse calculation formula and the range of lunar eclipses that can be calculated further.

Knowledge discovery through text-based similarity searches for astronomy literature

The increase in the number of researchers coupled with the ease of publishing and distribution of scientific papers (due to technological advancements) has resulted in a dramatic increase in astronomy literature. This has likely led to the predicament that the body of the literature is too large for traditional human consumption and that related and crucial knowledge is not discovered by researchers. In addition to the increased production of astronomical literature, recent decades have also brought several advancements in computational linguistics. Especially, the machine-aided processing of literature dissemination might make it possible to convert this stream of papers into a coherent knowledge set. In this paper, we present the application of computational linguistics techniques to astronomy literature. In particular, we developed a tool that will find similar articles purely based on text content from an input paper. We find that our technique performs robustly in comparison with other tools recommending articles given a reference paper (known as recommender system). Our novel tool shows the great power in combining computational linguistics with astronomy literature and suggests that additional research in this endeavor will likely produce even better tools that will help researchers cope with the vast amounts of knowledge being produced.

A Comparative Study on Interpretation of Planet from Al-Quran and Astronomy Views

Abstract The interpretation submitted by the translator of mashaf Quran against the pronouncement of al-kawkab and al-kawakib means ‘star’. Based on the studies from the modern astronomy, both words refer to a planet. The study of the meaning of al-kawkab and al-kawakib is about explaining more appropriate meanings based on the context of Islamic astronomy. The main objective of this study is to identify the meaning of al-kawkab and al-kawakib terms in al-Quran and to analyze the correlation between Quranic commentaries with modern discoveries of planets in the solar system. Methods of comparison between the views of Quranic commentaries and modern astronomy are highlighted with reference based on classical and contemporary tafseers, and modern astronomy literature. The study found that there are four passages that discuss physical characteristics of planets. In addition, the reason that may be adduced to explain appropriate translations for the words al-kawkab and al-kawakib as ‘planet’ is based on the majority of Quranic commentaries and research on the difference in physical nature of planets and stars. In conclusion, the is no difference between Quranic commentaries and modern astronomy related to planets and their features. Thus the pronouncement of al-kawkab and al-kawakib in the Quran refers to a planet, not a star.

Frequentist nonparametric goodness-of-fit tests via marginal likelihood ratios

A nonparametric procedure for testing the goodness of fit of a parametric density is investigated. The test statistic is the ratio of two marginal likelihoods corresponding to a kernel estimate and the parametric model. The marginal likelihood for the kernel estimate is obtained by proposing a prior for the estimate’s bandwidth, and then integrating the product of this prior and a leave-one-out kernel likelihood. Properties of the kernel-based marginal likelihood depend importantly on the kernel used. In particular, a specific, somewhat heavy-tailed, kernel K0 yields better performing marginal likelihood ratios than does the popular Gaussian kernel. Monte Carlo is used to compare the power of the new test with that of the Shapiro–Wilk test, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and a recently proposed goodness-of-fit test based on empirical likelihood ratios. Properties of these tests are considered when testing the fit of normal and double exponential distributions. The new test is used to establish a claim made in the astronomy literature concerning the distribution of nebulae brightnesses in the Andromeda galaxy. Generalizations to the multivariate case are also described.

AN ACCOUNT OF INDIAN ASTRONOMICAL HERITAGE FROM THE 5th CE to 12th CE

Astronomical observation is the beginning of scienti c attitudes in the history of mankind. Accordingto Indian tradition, there existed 18 early astronomical texts (siddhantas) composed by Surya, Pitamahaand many others. Varahamihira compiled ve astronomical texts in a book named panchasiddhantika,which is now the link between early and later siddhantas. Indian scholars had no practice of writing theirown names in their works, so, it is very dicult to identify them. Aryabhata is the rst name noticed,in the book Aryabhatiya. After this point most astronomers and astro-writers wrote their names in theirworks.In this paper I have tried to analyze the works of astronomers like Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brah-magupta, Bhaskara I, Vateswara, Sripati and Bhaskaracharya in a modern context and to obtain anaccount of Indian astronomical knowledge.Aryabhata is the rst Indian astronomer who stated that the rising and setting of the Sun, the Moon andother heavenly bodies was due to the relative motion of the Earth caused by the rotation of the Earth aboutits own axis. He also estabished the ‘yuga’ theory (one Mahayuga = 432000 years). Varahamihira com-piled panchasiddhantika and wrote Brihatsamhita. Brahmagupta is the most distinguished astronomerknown to us. His two major works are i) Brahmasphutasiddhanta and ii) Khandkhadaka. Bhaskara Iwas the follower of Aryabhata. His three known works are Mahabhaskariya, Laghubhaskariya and Aryab-hatiyabhasya. Vateswara follows Aryapaksha and Saurapaksha. His master work is Vateswarasiddhanta.Sripati, in his siddhantasekhara, gives the rules for determining the Moon’s second inequality. BhaskaraII wrote the most comprehensive astronomical work in Indian astronomy. The result of these works is theaccount of the Indian astronomical heritage. These works are written in the Sanskrit language. A veryfew of these manuscripts have been translated in English but many are yet to be done. So, it is necessaryto translate these astronomical texts into English with proper commentary for modern scholars. Thispaper will be helpful in this work.Key words: proper commentary, relative motion of earth, siddhanta, yuga1. INTRODUCTIONVedic texts are the oldest literature of astronomy, di-vided by contents and chronology into four; the Samhi-tas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas-Upanisads and Vedangas.The Rigveda is the oldest and most important of thesamhitas. The Yajurveda is of two types; Sukla (white)and Krisna (black); both contain a large number ofverses interpreting contemporary knowledge includingastronomy. Samveda and Atharvaveda are another twosamhitas containing similar content to Rigveda, as wellas medicine. The important Brahmana texts are theAittiriya, Satpatha, and Taittiriya; containing astro-nomical knowledge belonging to the Vedic age. Ac-cording to D. Pingree, Brahmasiddhanta, an astronom-ical text is included in Vishnudharmottarapurana. TheVedic people recognized two types of knowledge; in-http://pkas.kas.orgferior knowledge (aparavidya) and superior knowledge(paravidya). To nd the right time for religious, agri-cultural and other social festivals, for recording of re-currence of repeated events from movement of planets,Moon, seasons, etc. paravidya was applied. Many reli-gious festivals in India are still found to be associatedwith the phases of the Moon (tithi). India, like Egyptand Mesopotemia, originally had a lunar calendar inthe time of the Indus civilization. In Vedic times, recti- cation started, and the Sun gradually assumed greaterimportance. Consequently, the attempt in the Vedic pe-riod to associate the lunar months in a more or less xedfashion with the agricultural seasons led to the devel-opment of a luni-solar calendar. Various mathematicaland trigonometrical tables were formulated for betterresults, but it took a long span starting from remoteantiquity up to the advent of the siddhantic texts.Vedanga Jyotisha is the rst complete astronomical705

Book Review: Fictional Tools in Seventeenth-Century Science, Fictions of the Cosmos: Science and Literature in the Seventeenth Century

FICTIONAL TOOLS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY SCIENCE Fictions of Cosmos: Science and Literature in Seventeenth Century. Frederique Ait-Touati, translated by Susan Emanuel (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 201 1). Pp. ? + 261. $45. ISBN 978-0-226-01 122-6.It is a truism that nothing can exasperate us like things or people we love. And there is much indeed to love in a book by an observant scholar immersed in some of most bracing seventeenth-century writing about space travel, lunar and stellar prospects, and a universe in which a planetary Earth is truly conceived to move. Thus I shall begin here by admiring Frederique Ait-Touati's contributions to our understanding of literature and history of astronomy, only afterwards glancing briefly at her book's exasperating faults.Ait-Touati surveys how fictional tools employed by Johannes Kepler, John Wilkins, William Godwin, Cyrano de Bergerac, Bernard le Bouvier de Fontenelle, Christiaan Huygens, Robert Hooke, and Margaret Cavendish enriched and to a degree enabled science in seventeenth century. Recognizing the incertitude inherent in cosmological discourse, Ait-Touati sketches how fictional poetic . . . were adopted to accredit a discourse with a fragile epistemological and ontological status (p. 191). The poetic responses to which she refers are closely akin to thought experiments such as Einstein's famous imaginative account a century ago of the man in accelerated chest, which illustrates, as well as lending credibility to, his theory of relativity (p. 191). For her part, Ait-Touati aims to describe role played in seventeenth century by what she denominates as imaginary, theoretical, and optical voyages, principal among them lunar tale recounted by Kepler, story-teller par excellence.Kepler's posthumous Somnium (or Dream), according to Ait-Touati, functions as a hypotyposis - a vivid description of a scene, event, or situation, bringing it, as it were, before eyes of hearer or reader (OED). That imagined voyage to Moon delivers a vision of moving Earth, an autopsy in that word's etymological sense of firsthand observation. Thus fiction of Dream servesto dramatize, to visualize, an experiment that cannot be performed on Earth, by imagining physical consequences of displacement of a body in space. In this sense, Dream's fable is a thought-experiment. The role of lunar fiction is then a textual test . . .: What would be consequences of sending a human body into space? What would traveler see from Moon? . . . While it can be realized only in form of a game of fiction, this is a game played according to laws of physics (p. …

On the path density of a gradient field

We consider the problem of reliably finding filaments in point clouds. Realistic data sets often have numerous filaments of various sizes and shapes. Statistical techniques exist for finding one (or a few) filaments but these methods do not handle noisy data sets with many filaments. Other methods can be found in the astronomy literature but they do not have rigorous statistical guarantees. We propose the following method. Starting at each data point we construct the steepest ascent path along a kernel density estimator. We locate filaments by finding regions where these paths are highly concentrated. Formally, we define the density of these paths and we construct a consistent estimator of this path density.

A re-assessment of the nearest neighbour alignment of the X-ray isophotes of galaxy clusters

Alignment is defined as the tendency of the distribution of pointing angles between the major axes of clusters and their nearest neighbours to be more concentrated towards small values for small nearest neighbour distances, whereas the distribution is expected to be uniform over all angles at larger distances. Conflicting pronouncements on the reality of this effect have been published in the astronomy literature. A re-assessment of the evidence for alignment is presented, based on three recently published X-ray data sets. We find that whereas there is evidence for alignment, it is not as convincing as previously claimed. In particular, the scale to which the effect has been claimed to extend seems to have been severely overstated.

A generalized product-limit estimator for truncated data

A nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator (NPMLE) of the underlying distribution in the presence of truncation, first published in the astronomy literature by Lynden-Bell in 1971, has received considerable attention in the statistics and biostatistics literature. A limitation of this useful estimator is that it relies on the independence of the variable of interest and of the truncation variable. In this paper, a generalization of this estimator is proposed, which expands the applicability of the estimator by allowing for dependence between the variable of interest and the truncation variable in the presence of a covariate. Weak convergence and asymptotic optimality in the Hajek–Beran sense (Beran, R, 1977, Estimating a distribution function. Annals of Statistics, 5, 400–404.) are shown for this generalized estimator process. A related estimator of the joint distribution of the covariate and the variable of interest is introduced, which shares the asymptotic normality and optimality of the previous estimator. Finally, simulation results are used to compare the generalization to the Lynden-Bell estimator in a variety of situations.

The world-wide telescope.

The world-wide telescope.

Osmanli astronomi literatürü tarihi (History of Astronomy Literature during the Ottoman Period). Ekmeleddin İhsanoğluOsmanli matematik literatürü tarihi (History of Mathematics Literature during the Ottoman Period). Ekmeleddin İlhsanoğlu

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook Reviews Osmanli astronomi literatürü tarihi (History of Astronomy Literature during the Ottoman Period) . Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu Osmanli matematik literatürü tarihi (History of Mathematics Literature during the Ottoman Period) . Ekmeleddin İlhsanoğlu David A. KingDavid A. King Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 92, Number 2Jun., 2001 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/385190 Views: 1Total views on this site Copyright 2001 The History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The E-volution of preprints in the scholarly communication of physicists and astronomers

To learn how e-prints are cited, used, and accepted in the literature of physics and astronomy, the philosophies, policies, and practices of top-tier physics and astronomy journals regarding e-prints from the Los Alamos e-print archive, arXiv.org, were examined. Citation analysis illustrated e-prints were cited with increasing frequency by a variety of journals in a wide range of physics and astronomy fields from 1998 to 1999. The peak e-print citation rate of 3 years observed was comparable to that of print journals, suggesting a similarity in citation patterns of e-prints and printed articles. The number of citations made to 37 premier physics and astronomy journals and their impact factors have remained constant since arXiv.org's inception in 1991, indicating that e-prints have yet to make an impact on the use of the printed literature. The degree of acceptance stated by the journals' editors and the policies given in the journal's instructions to authors sections concerning the citing of e-prints and subsequent publication of papers that have appeared as e-prints differed from journal to journal, ranging from emphatically unacceptable to “why not?” Even though the use of the traditional literature has not changed since arXiv.org began and the policies concerning e-print citation and publication were inconsistent, the number of citations (35,928) and citations rates (34.1%) to 12 arXiv.org archives were found to be large and increasing. It is, therefore, evident that arXiv.org e-prints have evolved into an important facet of the scholarly communication of physics and astronomy.

The E‐volution of preprints in the scholarly communication of physicists and astronomers

To learn how e-prints are cited, used, and accepted in the literature of physics and astronomy, the philosophies, policies, and practices of top-tier physics and astronomy journals regarding e-prints from the Los Alamos e-print archive, arXiv.org, were examined. Citation analysis illustrated e-prints were cited with increasing frequency by a variety of journals in a wide range of physics and astronomy fields from 1998 to 1999. The peak e-print citation rate of 3 years observed was comparable to that of print journals, suggesting a similarity in citation patterns of e-prints and printed articles. The number of citations made to 37 premier physics and astronomy journals and their impact factors have remained constant since arXiv.org's inception in 1991, indicating that e-prints have yet to make an impact on the use of the printed literature. The degree of acceptance stated by the journals' editors and the policies given in the journal's instructions to authors sections concerning the citing of e-prints and subsequent publication of papers that have appeared as e-prints differed from journal to journal, ranging from emphatically unacceptable to “why not?” Even though the use of the traditional literature has not changed since arXiv.org began and the policies concerning e-print citation and publication were inconsistent, the number of citations (35,928) and citations rates (34.1%) to 12 arXiv.org archives were found to be large and increasing. It is, therefore, evident that arXiv.org e-prints have evolved into an important facet of the scholarly communication of physics and astronomy.

Book Review: Ottoman Astronomy: Osmanli Astronomi Literatürü Tarihi (History of Astronomy Literature during the Ottoman Period)

Book Review: Ottoman Astronomy: Osmanli Astronomi Literatürü Tarihi (History of Astronomy Literature during the Ottoman Period)

BOOK REVIEWS

Journal Article BOOK REVIEWS Get access Osmanli Astronomi Literaturu Tarihi (History of Astronomy Literature during the Ottoman Period) Edited by EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU with RAMAZAN ŞEŞEN, CEVAT IZGI, CEMIL AKPINAR, İHSAN FAZLIOGLU. Istanbul: İslām Tarih, Sanat ve Kultur Araştirma Merkezi (IRCICA). 1997. 2 vols. Pp. ccill + 1146. Price HB not given. 92-9063-070-1. Yahya Michot Yahya Michot Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Islamic Studies, Volume 10, Issue 3, September 1999, Pages 361–362, https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/10.3.361 Published: 01 September 1999

FROM STAR CHARTS TO STONEFLIES: DETECTING RELATIONSHIPS IN CONTINUOUS BIVARIATE DATA

Within many ecological systems, relationships between controlling factors and associated response variables are complex. In many cases, the response should vary little when the controlling factor exerts strong effects. Conversely, when the effect of the controlling factor is weak or absent, the response may vary greatly with effects of other factors. Correlation or regression analyses often may not be appropriate for testing these relationships, because variance of the response changes with values of the controlling factor. We suggest using a technique from the astronomy literature, a two-dimensional Kolmogorov-Smirnov (2DKS) test, to detect relationships in bivariate data with these patterns of variance. This technique successfully identified simulated bivariate data composed of paired independent values as having nonsignificant relationships and simulated bivariate data in which mean and variance of y was constrained at high levels of x as having significant relationships. Using these simulations and examples from aquatic and terrestrial systems, we demonstrate that the 2DKS is a robust test for detecting nonrandom patterns in bivariate distributions that commonly arise in many ecological systems.

Indexing: What you find is what you get

A progress report is given on the status of the NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service as an index to the literature of astronomy.

Indexing: what you find is what you get

A progress report is given on the status of the NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service as an index to the literature of astronomy.

Density Estimation with Confidence Sets Exemplified by Superclusters and Voids in the Galaxies

Abstract A method is presented for forming both a point estimate and a confidence set of semiparametric densities. The final product is a three-dimensional figure that displays a selection of density estimates for a plausible range of smoothing parameters. The boundaries of the smoothing parameter are determined by a nonparametric goodness-of-fit test that is based on the sample spacings. For each value of the smoothing parameter our estimator is selected by choosing the normal mixture that maximizes a function of the sample spacings. A point estimate is selected from this confidence set by using the method of cross-validation. An algorithm to find the mixing distribution that maximizes the spacings functional is presented. These methods are illustrated with a data set from the astronomy literature. The measurements are velocities at which galaxies in the Corona Borealis region are moving away from our galaxy. If the galaxies are clustered, the velocity density will be multimodal, with clusters corresponding to modes. Natural candidates for examining the distribution of the data are finite normal mixtures and histograms. The shortcomings of these methods become apparent from the analysis of these data. By finding a confidence set of densities a set of estimates is obtained, ranging from smooth to rough; the number of modes ranges from three to seven. The confidence set of densities is further substantiated by performing nonparametric tests for the number of modes.