Russian project: “The Moon - 2012+”

Natalia Petrova & Alexander Gusev

The realization of the modern long-time programs of comprehensive investigation of the Moon in the framework: "SMART-1" (ESA, 2003+), "SELENE" (JAXA, 2007), "Chandrayaan" (India, 2008), "CHANG'E-I" (CNSA, 2007), "LRO" (NASA, 2008), and “Luna Glob” (Russia, 2012) are aimed at obtaining of broad information about lunar gravity field, precision position in the inertial coordinate system, geometrical and dynamical figure and lunar interior: qualitative parameter, Love number, core’s radius, core’s density etc. The Project “The Moon - 2012+” is directed on the decision of fundamental problems of celestial mechanics, selenodesy and geophysics of the Moon connected to carrying out of complex theoretical researches and computer modeling:

1. Spin-orbital longtime evolution and physical librations the multilayered Moon:

a) construction of the analytical theory of rotation of the two / three-layer Moon and reception on its basis of physical libration tables for their application at processing precision supervisions; construction of a lunar annual book. b) The analysis of spin - orbital evolution of the early Moon, an estimation of internal energy dissipation, modeling of the long-term mechanism of maintenance free librations the Moon.

2. Geodynamics of a lunar core:

the analysis of differentiation of a lunar core, detailed elaboration of plume-tectonics of a mantle and a core of the early Moon, evolution of a boundary layer a core - mantle, reconstruction of gravitational and viscous - mechanical interaction of a lunar core and a mantle, resonant dissipation of internal energy, calculation free and forced nutations a lunar core, free fluctuations of system a core - mantle.

3. Selenodesy of lunar far - side:

the decision of a return problem lunar gravimetry, construction of geodynamic model of a lunar crust, a mantle and a core, border Moho, reconstruction initial mascons on the Moon, creation precision topographical and gravitational models of the Moon on modern supervision.

Long Wavelength Telescopes on the Moon?

Heino Falcke, ASTRON (Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy)

Everyone wants to go to the moon, but beware! The lunar far-side is a radio-protected site according to the internationally binding “Radio Regulations” of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Radio astronomy is traditionally ground-based and the ground on the lunar far-side is the perfect site: a stable surface, shielded from any artificial interference and, virtually undisturbed by any ionosphere. Unfortunately a lunar observatory involves a long commute and ground-breaking is somewhat expensive. The solution may come from the phased-array technique recently developed for the next generation of radio telescopes like LOFAR and the SKA. Many small, robust and lightweight dipoles make up an extremely agile “software telescope” without any moving parts. All one needs is cheap ride. A European study conducted by EADS and ASTRON indicates that a single Ariane V launch could suffice. This would allow astronomers to build the first imaging telescopes ever in the frequency range below the terrestrial ionospheric cut-off (≤10-30 MHz) thus opening up the last completely unexplored frequency range in astronomy. So, if one goes to the moon, why not do something useful?

Exciting Episodes in the History of Radio Astronomy

Wayne Orchiston, James Cook University, Australia, Ken Kellermann, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, USA

Radio astronomy is a comparatively recent phenomenon: it was only seventy-five years ago that Karl Jansky broadened our astronomical horizons and brought new meaning to the term ‘multiwavelength astronomy’ when he first identified extra-terrestrial radio emission.

He was followed soon after by that great individualist, the late Grote Reber, whose exploits in radio astronomy and other fields, and his frequent clashes with officialdom, are delightfully portrayed in a long paper that appeared recently in the conference volume celebrating Woody Sullivan’s 60th Birthday.

While Jansky and Reber can be considered the founding fathers, it was WWII developments in radar technology that provided the maternal touch which nourished this new-born scientific infant and guaranteed its long-term survival.

Independent wartime discoveries of solar radio emission by Australian, British, German, and New Zealand radar operators were cloaked in secrecy and only became known after the cessation of hostilities, but full details of these pioneering endeavours have only emerged more recently as a result of archival and historical investigations conducted by members of the IAU’s Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group.

One of these remarkable scientists was Dr Elizabeth Alexander (Figure 1), who unwittingly became the world’s first female radio astronomer. In 1942 she substituted strife-torn Singapore for the relative safely of her husband’s native New Zealand, and although armed with a Cambridge Ph.D. in geology went on to head the nation’s radar research group. Apart from investigating radar responses from surfacing whales and flocks of low-flying sea gulls, and anomalous reflections associated with fohn-like winds, throughout 1945 she researched 200 MHz solar radiation emission recorded at five different NZ radar stations (Figure 2), and in her ‘Top Secret’ reports established a clear correlation between this non-thermal solar noise and sunspots.

Maintaining a full-time job whilst bringing up three young children as a solo parent may not seem remarkable today, but it certainly was in 1945, and to compound matters Elizabeth laboured under the impression that her husband had perished in Singapore. Towards the end of the war she was amazed—and delighted—to learn that he had somehow survived the horrors of Changi. The family subsequently was reunited, and she returned to her original role as Government Geologist of Singapore.

Never again did she venture into the exciting new field of solar radio astronomy, and although she published a research paper on this work in early 1946, it lay buried in the inaugural issue of NZ electronics journal, and only recently came to the attention of radio astronomers. Elizabeth Alexander’s wonderful story is typical of many illuminating episodes in the annals of early radio astronomy.

If you would like to learn about the founding of the NRAO, or of some of the scientists, ‘primitive’ radio telescopes and amazing discoveries made during the 1950s through 60s, come to the Chamber Room on Wednesday afternoon for the second Science Meeting of the Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group.

Figure 1: Dr F. E. S. Alexander (1908–1958), happened to be in the right place at the right time and unwittingly became the world’s first female radio astronomer.

Figure 2: The Whangaroa Radar Station, one of five involved in the war-time New Zealand investigation of solar radio emission.

Dynamical Flattening of PSR B1828-11

Irina Kitiashvili & Alexander Gusev

An investigation of rotation variations allows studying a structure of a neutron star. Analysis of the time-of-arrival (TOA) pulses fluctuations can be reflection of thin effects of neutron stars rotational dynamics. In observations of radiation from some pulsars: PSR 2217+47, PSR 0531+21, PSR B0833-45, PSR B1828–11, PSR B1642–03 a long periodic fluctuations of TOA pulses with period from 25 to 6136 days were detected. PSR B1828-11 has long-term, highly periodic and correlated variations pulse shape and of the rate of slow-down with period variations approximately 1000, 500, 250 and 167 days. TOA variations of pulsars can be interpreted by three reasons: gravitational perturbation by planetary bodies, peculiarities of a pulsar interior like Tkachenko oscillations and free precession motion, when axis of rotation do not coincide with vectors of the angular moment of solid crust, liquid outer core and crystal core. Four harmonics of pulses variations as precessions and nutations of a neutron star owing to differential rotation of crust, fluid outer core (FOC) and solid inner core (SIC) by Chandler wobble (CW), Inner Chandler Wobble (ICW), Free Core Nutation (FCN) and Free Inner Core Nutation (FICN) can be explained. We have got the estimates of dynamical flattening of the crust, the FOC and the SIC of the pulsar (~10^-9) for known periodic variations of the TOA pulse from PSR B1828-11: P_CW = 167 days, P_ICW = 500 days, P_FCN = 250 days, P_FICN = 1000 days. We have estimates the flatness of crust ~ 0.3 × 10^-9, flatness of FOC ~ 0.6 × 10^-9 and flatness of SIC is ~ 4.7 × 10^-9. We have offered the realistic model of the dynamical pulsar structure and two explanations of the feature of flattening of the crust, the outer fluid core and the inner solid core of the pulsar.

Launch of the Universe Awareness initiative at the General Assembly

Inspiring very young children with the beautiful Universe

Carolina Ödman, Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands

A new educational initiative in astronomy was officially launched at a press briefing at the General Assembly on Tuesday. Universe Awareness (UNAWE) is an international project that will expose underprivileged young children, aged between 4 and 10 years, to the inspirational aspects of astronomy. The team overseeing the development of UNAWE has representatives from 15 countries on 5 continents.

"By conveying a feeling for the vastness and beauty of the Universe UNAWE aims to broaden the minds of the children, to enhance their understanding of the world and to demonstrate the power of rational thought." said George Miley, who pioneered the UNAWE concept together with Claus Madsen of ESO.

The rationale of Universe Awareness is that exposing children to the beautiful images captured by modern telescopes and the vastness of the Universe inferred by modern science will help give them a balanced perspective on the world.

"Wonderment of the night sky has been a source of inspiration throughout the history of humankind. Astronomy has deep roots in most civilizations and as such can help us understand our identity and diversity." said Dr Carolina Ödman, UNAWE project manager.

Successful UNAWE pilot projects were carried out in Venezuela and Tunisia during 2006. The full UNAWE programme will be implemented in 2009 (planned to be the International Year of Astronomy), in at least 4 emerging countries and 4 disadvantaged regions of EU member states. UNAWE has been endorsed by distinguished scientists and international personalities, including 3 Nobel Prize winners.

"Astronomy involves natural sciences and technology and has strong links to philosophy, the arts and human development. Because of its multi-facetted nature, astronomy is a unique discipline for exciting young children and imbuing them with an appreciation of both science and culture." said Claus Madsen from ESO, the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, which is supporting UNAWE.

"Knowledge about the Universe should be a birthright of all children, but access to this knowledge is most difficult in disadvantaged regions and communities throughout the world." said Dr Cecilia Scorza de Appl, Chair of the UNAWE Education sub-committee.

At present UNAWE has contacts, collaborators and contributors in the following countries: Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Venezuela.

For further information:
Dr. Carolina Ödman
Leiden Observatory,
NL – 2333 CA Leiden,
The Netherlands
email: odman@strw.leidenuniv.nl
www.UniverseAwareness.org

Fifty-eight years of scientific friendship

Helen Sim

Last Thursday’s Nuncius Sidereus carried a tribute by František Fárník to Zdeněk Švestka, one of the 20^th century’s leading solar physicists, and an editor of the Solar Physics journal from its founding in 1967 until 2005. Also present at this General Assembly has been Zdeněk’s long-time friend, colleague, and co-founder and co-editor of Solar Physics, Kees (officially: Cornelis) de Jager. Zdeněk and Kees met in 1948, and have enjoyed 58 years of friendship and fruitful scientific cooperation.

Kees was born in the Netherlands but moved to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) when he was five years old. After secondary school he moved to The Netherlands, and studied physics at Utrecht University. His father warned him that there was no money in astronomy, but, nevertheless, that was the direction he decided to head in. He began work in solar spectroscopy under Professor Marcel Minnaert: at the time, the university’s observatory had one of the world’s leading spectrographs. In 1948 he was invited to tour Czechoslovakia. The purpose of the tour was to showcase the achievements of communism, so his hosts were somewhat surprised when he said that, rather than visiting factories, he wanted to see their astronomical facilities. It was during this visit that he met Zdeněk Švestka.

As František Fárník noted, Švestka had begun work at Ondřejov as a “gardener”: of course, this was not really what he was employed to do, but this was shortly after the Second World War, and the position of gardener was the only one officially free at the time. He became an assistant at the observatory and began to work on studies of the Sun. Under his influence, the observatory became a leader in solar observations, and Švestka became president of Commission 10 of the IAU (Solar Activity). In 1963 he was invited to Holland for three months, to Utrecht, where Kees de Jager was now working (and shortly about to become director of the Astronomical Institute Utrecht).

In 1967 Zdeněk and Kees decided that the field of solar physics needed a journal of its own, and that they would found one. Kees was already editing another journal (Space Science Reviews), and knew that the publisher (Reidel) would be willing to publish the planned journal. This venture turned out to be a marathon: Kees stayed as co-editor until 1997, while Zdeněk (as noted above), resigned only in 2005. In about 1990 they were joined by Bob Howard (based in Tucson, Arizona) as the third editor.

After the 1968 Soviet invasion, things became more and more difficult in Prague for Zdeněk, as František Fárník noted. He was forced to move to Holland, to ESTEC. This began a period of seven years of moving from place to place, with no certain future: two years in Holland, two in Germany, three in the USA. Finally, in 1977, Kees, who was now head of the Space Research Laboratory in Utrecht was able to offer his old friend a place at Utrecht. Zdeněk has lived in Holland since that time.

Meanwhile, Kees had been busy. In the 1960s he began moving into stellar research, next to continuing solar work. He became head of the Astronomical Institute Utrecht and also started up Netherlands Institute of Space Research (now SRON). This grew quickly, as the Dutch government was supportive of space research at the time. Kees was General Secretary of the IAU during 1970-73, and president of the international organization for space activities, COSPAR (the ICSU Committee on Space Research) during 1972-78, and then again in 1982-86. As he explains, it was during the Cold War, and the two COSPAR vice-presidents were Russian and American. “They needed a neutral president, and small countries such as Holland were perceived as being neutral,” he said. At first, he was proposed as president by the Americans: this proposal went nowhere, then a year later his name was put forward by the Russians! Heading up COSPAR during this period required the ability to deftly juggle geopolitical interests – as, for instance, in the matter of whether a COSPAR meeting could be held in Israel. Kees clearly relished this period in his life. “I made good friends in both East and West, in both Russia and America,” he said.

Around the same time (1978–1980) Kees also became president of ICSU, the International Council of Scientific Unions (now the International Council for Science), which represents scientific bodies worldwide. This is the highest position any scientist can achieve. After Hale, Spencer Jones and Ambartsumian Kees was the fourth astronomer to take this job.

In the 1980s, Kees switched his field of research to hypergiant stars, writing a book on them. He retired in 1986 and moved in 2003 to a small island, Texel, in the north of Holland. His professional research days were not over, however, for the island is home to an oceanic research institute of some 250 people. “Among many other things they study Sun-climate relationships, and they needed someone who knew about the Sun,” said Kees. So he now researches the Sun’s influence on climate.

Following the ‘Velvet Revolution’ of 1989, Kees and Zdeněk were members (and Kees was also chair) of a committee set up to evaluate the state of Czech astronomy and advise on its direction.

Zdeněk retired in Holland in 1990. He continued to live in Holland, but still worked part-time at UC San Diego in La Jolla, California, until July 2005. Only after 1989 was he allowed to return to Prague. He now visits there frequently.

Like the editor of this newspaper, Jiří Grygar, Kees has been involved in fighting superstition and anti-science. He founded Stichting Skepsis, the skeptics association in Holland, in 1987, and later also founded the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO). While anti-science movements seem to be gaining ground around the world, in the long run, he said, “I believe the Enlightenment will win out”.