State Of Astronomy Research Articles

Profile: Michael Merrifield

Michael Merrifield, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, discusses his work on astrophysical dynamics, the state of astronomy in the UK and why he stopped boycotting the RAS.

Patrick O’Brian’s Astronomy

With the opening in the fall of 2003 of the 20th Century Fox motion picture Master and CommanderThe Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul Belany as Jack’s friend and colleague Stephen Maturin, a new generation will be introduced to the maritime novels of the late Patrick O’Brian. Here we explore some possibilities of using parts of these stories to foster student interest in astronomy and to introduce some of the astronomical and other resources on the Internet. This material consists of three major sections. The first describes a number of scenes in the O’Brian books that contain astronomical references, and provides links to sites that contain additional information about the topics mentioned briefly in the novels. These links cover a wide range of topics: definitions of astronomical terms, certain mathematical expressions, geography, historical background, and more. The links are suitable for readers with differing levels of astronomical and general knowledge, though for certain groups, a teacher’s support will be necessary. Brief quotations from the novels illustrate that O’Brian was attuned to the state of astronomy in the early 1800s. The astronomy in O’Brian’s books enters in a number of ways: off-hand remarks, discussions among the characters, mentions of lunar phases, and descriptions of the night sky, including planetary appearances. The second section of the paper shows, through examples based on the novels, how to use freeware to analyze some descriptions of the sky to see if such a configuration actually occurred at the time mentioned, and to determine a possible range of dates during which a particular incident might have taken place. Was Patrick O’Brian writing about a real or fictional world when he created these descriptions? The third section of the text gives several problems drawn from situations in the novels that can be worked out with the techniques described in the second section of this paper. Answers are provided. These problems are best suited to more advanced students who already have a good understanding of such basic astronomical concepts as coordinates and time.

Activities and demographic trends in UK astronomy

The 1998 Demographic Trends Survey represents a snapshot of the astronomical community as it was in February 1998. On the positive side, there was a modest increase in the number of permanent academics in university positions over the five years covered by the survey. However, the survey also highlights several areas of concern. These include: the tension between the expansion in the university research groups on the one hand, and the decrease in PPARC funding for central facilities and grants on the other; the significant fall in the numbers of permanent technical staff in the universities; the lack of women in permanent and senior positions in UK astronomy; and the overall poor job prospects in astronomy for recent PhD students and postdocs. Clive Tadhunter reports on the state of astronomy in the UK.

LV. A discourse on the parallax of the Sun. By the Rev. Thomas Hornsby, M.A. Savilian Professor of Astronomy in the University of Oxford, and F. R. S

The quantity of the Sun's parallax is of such importance both to the theory and practical part of astronomy, that every method of determining it hath been employed by the astronomers of every age. Mr. Flamsteed informs us, in the 92d and 96th numbers of the Philosophical Transactions, that from some observations made upon the planet Mars, he had found the Sun's parallax not to exceed 10 seconds; and Dr. Halley, in a memoir written expressly with a view to ascertain the exact quantity of it, supposes it not to be greater than 12" 1/2. When we consider the imperfect state of astronomy at the time when Mr. Horrox lived, we cannot sufficiently admire the wonderful genius of that young gentleman, who at the age of 24 could collect from his own observations, that the parallax of the Sun did not exceed 14 seconds; while many celebrated astronomers, whose tables were then in the greatest repute, had assigned a parallax of more than two minutes to the Sun, which Kepler had supposed could not be less than 59 seconds, and which Hevelius, who published the admirable treatise of Mr. Horrox, intitled, Venus in Sole visa, fixed at 41 seconds.