Andre HECK - Böcker

This is a fully revised edition of the best-selling Introduction to Maple. The book presents the modern computer algebra system Maple, teaching the reader not only what can be done by Maple, but also how and why it can be done. The book also provides the necessary background for those who want the most of Maple or want to extend its built-in knowledge. Emphasis is on understanding the Maple system more than on factual knowledge of built-in possibilities. To this end, the book contains both elementary and more sophisticated examples as well as many exercises. The typical reader should have a background in mathematics at the intermediate level. Andre Heck began developing and teaching Maple courses at the University of Nijmegen in 1987. In 1989 he was appointed managing director of the CAN Expertise Center in Amsterdam. CAN, Computer Algebra in the Netherlands, stimulates and coordinates the use of computer algebra in education and research. In 1996 the CAN Expertise Center was integrated into the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam, into what became the AMSTEL Institute.The institute program focuses on the innovation of computer activities in mathematics and science education on all levels of education. The author is actively involved in the research and development aimed at the integrated computer learning environment Coach for mathematics and science education at secondary school level.

This text reviews the changes brought about in the field of astronomy by the release of the Hipparcos catalogue. Chapters by leading experts detail the various approaches of one of the most challenging cosmological issues: the scale of the universe. After summarizing the contribution of the Hipparcos satellite itself, the volume starts with chapters concerning the primary distance indicators (Classical Cepheids, RR Lyrae stars, Miras, subdwarfs). Then our present knowledge of the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud is reviewed, as well as extragalactic distance determinations with a group of chapters dedicated to secondary indicators. The role of the microlensing surveys is also presented as well as the up-to-date results of stellar evolution theory, together with a frank admission of their limits.

A review of how astronomical information is handled, made available and tuned to various audiences, including education and public outreach. The information flow in astronomy is illustrated from source (cosmic objects) to end (mankind's knowledge). The contributing authors have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily specializing in astronomy, while providing specific detailed information as well as pointers and bibliographical elements. There are also "lessons learned" sections where authors make a critical review of the experience gained.

Providing over 140,000 separate entries, this text collects together abbreviations, acronyms, contractions and symbols within astronomy, related space sciences and other related fields. Included are separate sections devoted to Greek letters, mathematical symbols and special signs and characters. Besides astronomy and space sciences, related fields such as: aeronautics; aeronomy; astronautics; atmospheric sciences; chemistry; communications; computer sciences; data processing; education; electronics; engineering; energetics; environmental; geodesy; geophysics; information handling; management; mathematics; meteorology; optics; physics; remote sensing and so on.

This volume offers a collection of chapters dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community. Examples include: characteristics of organizations, publication studies, research indicators, space science planning, research communication, and public outreach. The experts contributing to this book aim to provide specific detailed information in an accessible way. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography of publications related to socio-astronomy and to the interactions of the astronomy community with society at large.

This is the second volume under the title "Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy" (OSA). These books are intended to cover a large range of fields and themes: in practice, they aim to consider all aspects of astronomy-related life and environment in the spirit of sharing specific expertise and lessons learned. The book offers a collection of chapters dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community: characteristics of organizations, operational techniques, strategies for development, conference series, co-ordination policies, observing practicalities, computing strategies, sociology of large collaborations, publications studies, research indicators, research communication, public outreach, creativity in arts and sciences, and so on. The text aims to be accessible to those not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy, while providing specific detailed information and sometimes enlightening "lessons learned" sections. The book concludes with an updated bibliography of publications related to socio-astronomy and to the interactions of the astronomy community with the society at large.

This is the third volume under the title "Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy" (OSA). These OSA books are intended to cover a large range of fields and themes. In practice, all aspects of astronomy-related life and environment are considered in the spirit of sharing specific expertise and lessons learned. This text offers a collection of chapters dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community: characteristics of organizations, strategies for development, operational techniques, observing practicalities, educational policies, public outreach, journal and magazine profiles, publication studies, sociology of large collaborations, research communication, evaluation procedures, quality assurance, research indicators, national specificities, contemporary history and so on. The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy, while providing specific detailed information and sometimes enlightening "lessons learned" sections.The book concludes with an updated bibliography of publications related to socio-astronomy and to the interactions of the astronomy community with the society at large.

This volume offers a unique review of how astronomical information handling (in the broad sense) evolved during the course of the 20th century, and especially during its second half. It is a natural complement to the book "Information Handling in Astronomy" published in the same series. The scope of these two volumes includes not only dealing with professional astronomical data from the collecting instruments (ground-based and space-borne) to the users / researchers, but also publishing, education and public outreach. In short, the information flow in astronomy is thus illustrated from sources (cosmic objects) to end (mankind's knowledge). The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy while providing specific detailed information, as well as plenty of pointers and bibliographic elements. Especially enlightening are some "lessons learned" sections.

Astronomers communicate all the time, with colleagues of course, but also with managers and administrators, with decision makers and takers, with social representatives, with the news media, and with the society at large. Education is naturally part of the process. Astronomy communication must take into account several specificities: the astronomy community is rather compact and well organized world-wide; astronomy has penetrated the general public remarkably well with an extensive network of associations and organizations of aficionados all over the world. Also, as a result of the huge amount of data accumulated and by necessity for their extensive international collaborations, astronomers have pioneered the development of distributed resources, electronic communications and networks coupled to advanced methodologies and technologies, often much before they become of common world-wide usage. This book aims to fill a gap in the astronomy-related literature by providing a set of chapters not only of direct interest to astronomy communication, but also well beyond it.The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in communication techniques while providing specific detailed information, as well as plenty of pointers and bibliographic elements.

This book offers a unique collection of chapters dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community: characteristics of organizations, society activities, strategies for development, operational techniques, observing practicalities, environmental constraints, educational policies, public outreach, journal and magazine profiles, publication studies, electronic-media problematics, research communication, evaluation and selection procedures, research indicators, national policies and specificities, expertise sharing, contemporary history, and so on.

When working in the highly technical fields of astronomy and the related space sciences, the practitioner is constantly confronted with a baffling array of different abbreviations, acronyms, contractions and symbols. The identification and differentiation of these terms is a task which, all too often, can prove to be a near impossible one. With about 200,000 entries, StarBriefs Plus represents the most comprehensive and accurately validated collection of abbreviations, acronyms, contractions and symbols within astronomy, related space sciences and other related fields. As such, this invaluable reference source (and its companion volume, StarGuides Plus) should be on the reference shelf of every library, organization or individual with any interest in these areas. Besides astronomy and associated space sciences, related fields such as aeronautics, aeronomy, astronautics, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, communications, computer sciences, data processing, education, electronics, engineering, energetics, environment, geodesy, geophysics, information handling, management, mathematics, meteorology, optics, physics, remote sensing, and so on, are also covered when justified. Terms in com

StarGuides Plus represents the most comprehensive and accurately validated collection of practical data on organizations involved in astronomy, related space sciences and other related fields. This invaluable reference source (and its companion volume, StarBriefs Plus) should be on the reference shelf of every library, organization or individual with any interest in these areas. The coverage includes relevant universities, scientific committees, institutions, associations, societies, agencies, companies, bibliographic services, data centers, museums, dealers, distributors, funding organizations, journals, manufacturers, meteorological services, national norms & standard institutes, parent associations & societies, publishers, software producers & distributors, and so on. Besides astronomy and associated space sciences, related fields such as aeronautics, aeronomy, astronautics, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, communications, computer sciences, data processing, education, electronics, engineering, energetics, environment, geodesy, geophysics, information handling, management, mathematics, meteorology, optics, physics, remote sensing, and so on, are also covered where appropriate. A

Anyone who doubts that astronomy is enjoying a golden age has only to browse the pages of Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy, Vol.

Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory is quite an interesting place for historians: several changes of nationality between France and Germany, high-profile scientists having been based there, big projects born or installed within its walls, and so on.Most of the documents circulating on the history of the Observatory and on related matters have however been so far poorly referenced, if at all. This made necessary the compilation of a volume such as this one, offering fully-documented historical facts and references on the first decades of the Observatory history, authored by both French and German specialists.The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in the details of European history.Several appendices conclude the book: lists of council members and of Observatory scientific personnel, as well as a compendium of the institutional publications until the year 2000.

When I wasa child, growing up in South America,I often went camping in the wild and hence had direct access to the wondrous Southern sky; the Southern Cross was all mine at the time. Little did I know then that the study of the sky would take such a huge importance in my life, and that in the end astronomy and astrophysics would in many ways become my country and my religion. I have lived in several di?erent countries, and when asked my nationality, I am always very tempted to reply: astronomer. I started as a theorist, and my only dream in my youth was to spend nights thinking and calculating, with paper and pencil, and to have the impression by dawn that I had understood something new. So at the time astronomy was seen or dreamt by me as a solitary endeavour, with periodic encounters with my wise adviser and professors; it is this model that I adopted when doing my PhD work. My generation has lived through many revolutions of all kinds. Those in astronomy, I believe, remain particularly remarkable, and I am a true product of them. Now, I elect to live and work in large organizations, and to share my endeavours with many people. And I relish the series of Andr´ e Heck on Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy, which help us recover our memories, reconstitute our own story, and read with glee about our neighbouring or far-away colleagues.

Astronomy isthemostancientsciencehumanshavepracticedonEarth. Itisascienceofextremesandoflargenumbers:extremesoftime–fromthe big bang to in?nity –, of distances, of temperatures, of density and masses, ofmagnetic?eld,etc.Itisasciencewhichishighlyvisible,notonlybecause stars and planets are accessible in the sky to the multitude, but also - cause the telescopes themselves are easily distinguishable, usually on top of scenic mountains, and also because their cost usually represent a subst- tialproportionofthenation’sbudgetandofthetaxpayerscontributionsto that budget. As such, astronomy cannot pass unnoticed. It touches on the origins of matter, of the Universe where we live, on life and on our destiny. It touches on philosophy as well as on religion. Astronomy is the direct c- tactofhumankindwithitsoriginsandtheimmensityofuniversalnature.It is indeed a science of observation where experimentation is practically - possible and which is ruled by mathematics, physics, chemistry, statistical analysis and modelling, while o?ering the largest number of veri?cations of the most advanced theories of fundamental physics such as general r- st ativity and gravitation. At the beginning of the 21 century astronomy is clearly a multidisciplinary activity touching on all aspects of science. It is therefore logical that in the past and still now, astronomy has attracted the most famous scientists, be they pure observers, mathematicians, physicists, biologists, experimentalists, and even politicians.

The first two editions of this book have been very well received by the com­ munity, but so many revisions ofthe Maple system have occurred since then that simply reprinting the out-of-stock book would not do anymore. A ma­ jor revision of the book was inevitable, too. The wording "major revision" must be taken seriously because I not only corrected typographical errors, rephrased text fragments, and updated many examples, but I also rewrote complete chapters and added new material. In particular, the chapter on differential equations now discusses Liesymmetry methods, partial differen­ tial equations, and numerical methods. Linear algebra is based throughout the book on the packages LinearAlgebra and VectorCalculus, which re­ place the deprecated package linalg. Maple users are strongly advised to do their work with the new packages. The chapter on simplification has been updated and expanded; it discusses the use of assumptions in more detail now. Last, but not least, a new chapter on Grabner basis theory and the Groebner package in Maple has been added to the book. It includes many applications of Grabner basis theory. Many of the Maple sessions have been rewritten so that they comply with the most recent version of Maple. As a result of all this work, hardly any section in the book has been left untouched. vi Preface to the Third Edition From the Preface of the Second Edition The first edition ofthis book has been very wellreceived by the community.

This book gives a synthesis of the state of the art in artificial intelligence in astronomy and astrophysics, presents its current applications and points out directions of future work. The individual chapters report on the application of artificial intelligence techniques for large astronomical surveys, for processing cosmic ray data, for facilitating data reduction using image processing systems, for telescope scheduling, for observatory ground support operations, for observation proposal preparation assistance, and for scientific applications such as stellar spectral and galaxy morphology classification. The new field of connectionism (neural networks) is also surveyed. The book is designed to be self-contained: a glossary of terms used in this area is provided and an index of terms, acronyms and proper names completes the book.

'Fractal geometry addressesitselfto questions that many people have been asking themselves. It con­ cerns an aspect of Nature that almost everybody had been conscious of, but could not address in a formal fashion. ' 'Fractal geometry seems to be the proper language to describe the complezity of many very compli­ cated shapes around us. ' (Mandelbrot, 1990a) 'I believe that fractals respond to a profound un­ easiness in man. ' (Mandelbrot, 1990b) The catchword fractal, ever since it was coined by Mandelbrot (1975) to refer to a class of abstract mathematical objects that were already known at the turn ofthe 19th century, has found an unprecedented resonance both inside and outside the scientific community. Fractal concepts, far more than the concepts of catastrophe theory introduced a few years earlier, are currently being applied not only in the physical sciences, but also in biology and medicine (Goldberger and West 1987). In the mid-eighties, Kadanoff (1986) asked the question: 'Why all the fuss about /ractals'! '. He offered a twofold answer: in the first place, it is 'because of the practical, technological importance of fractal objects'. Indeed he emphasised the relevance of these structures for materials scientists and oil drilling engineers, in search of structures with novel properties, or models for the flow of oil through the soil. His second answer was: 'Because of the intellectual interest of fractals '.

mso-fareast-font-family: 'PT Sans';">Seine Herangehensweise und die Konzipierung der Ethnomethodologie entspringen fundamental einer Kritik an Auguste Comtes Individualismus, welche zuerst von Émile Durkheim vorgetragen und von Talcott Parsons weiterentwickelt wurde, welcher schließlich Garfinkels Dissertation an der Universität Harvard betreute.

Interest in statistical methodology is increasing so rapidly in the astronomical community that accessible introductory material in this area is long overdue. This book fills the gap by providing a presentation of the most useful techniques in multivariate statistics. A wide-ranging annotated set of general and astronomical bibliographic references follows each chapter, providing valuable entry-points for research workers in all astronomical sub-disciplines. Although the applications considered focus on astronomy, the algorithms used can be applied to similar problems in other branches of science. Fortran programs are provided for many of the methods described.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Gisèle Mersch whose life ended prematurely in June 2002. Back in the 1970s, when few people were using them, Gisèle introduced me to the arcane secrets of then advanced m- tivariate statistical methodologies. I was already involved in more classical statistical studies undertaken at Paris Observatory with Jean Jung: developing and applying maxim- likelihood algorithms to stellar photometric and kinematic data in order to derive absolute luminosities, distances and velocities in the solar neighb- hood. But what could be envisaged with those methodologies was something of another dimension: for the first time, I could really see how to extract information from massive amounts of data without calling for elaborated physical or mechanical theories. Several pioneering applications were developed under Gisèle’s guidance and with her collaboration to study the delicate interface between spect- scopic and photometric data. Thus errors in spectral classifications were investigated as well as predictions of spectral classifications from pho- metric indices (see Heck 1976, Heck et al. 1977, Heck & Mersch 1980 and Mersch & Heck 1980), with very interesting results for the time. Gisèle also took part in studies of period determination algorithms (see Mersch & Heck 1981, Manfroid et al. 1983 and Heck et al. 1985).

This book is filling a gap in the astronomy-related literature by providing a set of chapters not only of direct interest to astronomy communication, but also well beyond it. The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in communication techniques while providing specific detailed information, as well as plenty of pointers and bibliographic elements. This book will be very useful for researchers, teachers, editors, publishers, librarians, computer scientists, sociologists of science, research planners and strategists, project managers, public-relations officers, plus those in charge of astronomy-related organizations, as well as for students aiming at a career in astronomy or related space science.

Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory is quite an interesting place for historians: several changes of nationality between France and Germany, high-profile scientists having been based there, big projects born or installed within its walls, and so on.Most of the documents circulating on the history of the Observatory and on related matters have however been so far poorly referenced, if at all. This made necessary the compilation of a volume such as this one, offering fully-documented historical facts and references on the first decades of the Observatory history, authored by both French and German specialists.The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in the details of European history.Several appendices conclude the book: lists of council members and of Observatory scientific personnel, as well as a compendium of the institutional publications until the year 2000.

When I wasa child, growing up in South America,I often went camping in the wild and hence had direct access to the wondrous Southern sky; the Southern Cross was all mine at the time. Little did I know then that the study of the sky would take such a huge importance in my life, and that in the end astronomy and astrophysics would in many ways become my country and my religion. I have lived in several di?erent countries, and when asked my nationality, I am always very tempted to reply: astronomer. I started as a theorist, and my only dream in my youth was to spend nights thinking and calculating, with paper and pencil, and to have the impression by dawn that I had understood something new. So at the time astronomy was seen or dreamt by me as a solitary endeavour, with periodic encounters with my wise adviser and professors; it is this model that I adopted when doing my PhD work. My generation has lived through many revolutions of all kinds. Those in astronomy, I believe, remain particularly remarkable, and I am a true product of them. Now, I elect to live and work in large organizations, and to share my endeavours with many people. And I relish the series of Andr´ e Heck on Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy, which help us recover our memories, reconstitute our own story, and read with glee about our neighbouring or far-away colleagues.

Research and publications in the field of Astronomy have undergone dramatic changes in the last half-century. While activities just slowed down during World War II in the US and in Latin America, they were very strongly affected by the difficult conditions prevailing among the European belligerent nations. Half a century ago, re­ search activities were mostly confined to observatories (linked or not to universities) and usually separated from the teaching of physical sciences. Hence, directors of observatories played an important role in the choice of the research fields, and "schools" of research appeared at various places, de­ veloping specific instrumentation, reduction techniques and mathematical methods to achieve their scientific goals. Reorganising the research activities after the war was no minor under­ taking, specially because communications were interrupted for over five years and isolated continental Europe from overseas activities. Scarcity of observing instruments (some of them being requisitioned by occupy­ ing armies) , enormous gaps in the available litterature led to local research activities, conducted independently of similar efforts undertaken elsewhere.

Seated in a sun-lit corner of his 17th century Dutch house, his hand touching a celestial globe, Johannes Vermeer's "Astronomer" seems to pon­ der about the mysteries of the universe. We might make the trip to Paris and ask him, in the Louvre, what precisely is on his mind. Unfortunately, there will be no answer. But we do know what his mind was not on. It was not on the approaching deadlines for the proposals he would have to write for getting funds and telescope-time, not on the meeting of the observing programs committee, not on his refereeing duty for the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, nor on his university's tightening budget for science. In the Kapteyn Institute at Groningen I stand face to face with the im­ pressive portrait of J.C. Kapteyn, painted in the year 1918. Seated at his desk he is doing his calculations with pen, pencil and tables, perhaps check­ ing the work of his skilled staff of human computers. Early in his career he had completed his magnum opus, the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung in collaboration with his close friend David Gill at Capetown, South Africa.

We have arrived at the third volume of this useful series on Organiza­ tions and Strategies in Astronomy (OSA). It contains seventeen articles on a wide range of topics, from virtual observatories, astronomy organizations in various communities (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, South Africa), and the role of ground stations in space observatories, to quality assurance in UK higher education. In this foreword, I shall give some views on ideas expressed in this volume, in particular from my personal experience when I was project officer for the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Let me first remind readers that present and future astronomy is in­ creasingly dependent on high-level management. Not everybody knows that the scheduling of the Hubble Space Telescope is performed by a neural­ network software called SPIKE, described in the stimulating workshop New Observing Modes for the Next Centuryl, partly reported in OSA Volume II by 1. Robson. New observing facilities, in space or on the ground, are so complex that they need highly qualified engineers and rigorous management procedures. Each observing hour on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) fa­ cility is worth about EUR 7,000, including the amortization of the capital expenses over 30 years. This does not leave much room for amateurism, neither in the time allocation procedures, nor in the daily telescope control.

I am most grateful to Andr´ e Heck for his invitation to write a foreword to OSA Volume 4 – I will use this valued opportunity to emphasise those topics in Vol. 4 which I consider important even if other topics may be of even greater importance in the universal scale of things. At the outset let me say that I commend Vol. 4 to its readers – it contains much of very great interest for organisations and strategies in astronomy. A topic which I consider to be of very great importance at this time is Adverse Environmental Impact on Astronomy. There are two papers on this topic in OSA 4 – Cohen on Strategies for Protecting Radio Ast- nomy and Schwarz on Light Pollution Control. The growth in the extent of use, the power and spectral demand for radio transmission continues to increase virtually exponentially. The impact on the ‘listening’ services such as radio astronomy has been severe. Only by creativity in developing new techniques for radio noise (including legal transmissions) reduction and by participating fully in the allocation process for radio frequencies has radio astronomy developed to the powerful investigative tool it is today.