Astronomy and Computing

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History

The importance of astronomical software to generating research results has grown, and indeed, much of modern research depends on software. [2] Though occasionally discussed casually, the idea for a journal devoted to computational methods in astronomy was formally discussed at the Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) XX conference in a Birds of a Feather session in 2010, where it was demonstrated that the major astronomy publications are often reluctant to include purely computational articles, though other journals may be more accepting. [3] The publication of computational methods is seen as an important step to bring those who write research software into the academic credit production system. [4]

The development of Astronomy & Computing was presented in 2012 in a poster session at the Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) XXII conference, [5] and the journal's first issue was published in February, 2013. [6]

Related Research Articles

The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is an online database of over 16 million astronomy and physics papers from both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed sources. Abstracts are available free online for almost all articles, and full scanned articles are available in Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) and Portable Document Format (PDF) for older articles. It was developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and is managed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

GNU Data Language

The GNU Data Language (GDL) is a free alternative to IDL, achieving full compatibility with IDL 7 and partial compatibility with IDL 8. Together with its library routines, GDL is developed to serve as a tool for data analysis and visualization in such disciplines as astronomy, geosciences, and medical imaging. GDL is licensed under the GPL. Other open-source numerical data analysis tools similar to GDL include Julia, Jupyter Notebook, GNU Octave, NCAR Command Language (NCL), Perl Data Language (PDL), R, Scilab, SciPy, and Yorick.

Aladin Sky Atlas

Aladin is an interactive software sky atlas, created in France. It's allowing the user to visualize digitized astronomical images, superimpose entries from astronomical catalogues or databases, and interactively access related data and information from the SIMBAD database, the VizieR service and other archives for all known sources in the field.

CP Lacertae 1936 Nova seen in the constellation Lacerta

CP Lacertae was a nova, which lit up on June 18, 1936 in the constellation Lacerta. It was discovered independently by several observers including Leslie Peltier in the US, E. Loreta in Italy, and Kazuaki Gomi, a Japanese barber who discovered the nova during the 19 June 1936 total solar eclipse.

WW Aurigae Binary star in the constellation Auriga

WW Aurigae is an eclipsing binary star system in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has a combined maximum apparent visual magnitude of 5.86, which is bright enough to be dimly visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 11.0 mas, it is located 297 light years from the Earth. The system is moving further away with a heliocentric radial velocity of −9 km/s, having come to within 212.5 ly some 3.12 million years ago.

Kenneth Irwin Kellermann is an American astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. He is best known for his work on quasars. He won the Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society in 1971, and the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 2014.

Theta Persei Star in the constellation Perseus

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HD 17925 Star in the constellation Eridanus

HD 17925 is a variable star in the equatorial constellation of Eridanus. It has the Gould designation 32 G. Eridani and the variable star designation EP Eri. The star has a yellow-orange hue and is dimly visible to the naked eye in good seeing conditions with an apparent visual magnitude that varies from 6.03 down to 6.08. It is located nearby at a distance of 34 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +18 km/s. It is a likely member of the Local Association of nearby, co-moving stars. The spectrum shows a strong abundance of lithium, indicating that it is young star. This likely makes its point of origin the nearby Scorpio–Centaurus Complex.

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Target (project)

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NGC 127 Lenticular galaxy in Pisces

NGC 127 is a lenticular galaxy that was discovered on November 4, 1850, by Bindon Stoney, the same day he discovered NGC 126 and NGC 130. NGC 127 is a gas-rich, star-forming galaxy showing emission lines. It is an interacting companion to the peculiar, edge-on galaxy NGC 128, and the pair are connected by a bridge of material. The south-east part of NGC 127 is asymmetrical in the direction of NGC 128. It may have recently passed the more massive NGC 128, from which an infall of gas is flowing onto NGC 127.

V752 Centauri Star in the constellation Centaurus

V752 Centauri is multiple star system and variable star in the constellation of Centaurus. An eclipsing binary, its apparent magnitude has a maximum of 9.10, dimming to 9.66 during primary eclipse and 9.61 during secondary eclipse. Its variability was discovered by Howard Bond in 1970. From parallax measurements by the Gaia spacecraft, the system is located at a distance of 410 light-years from Earth.

LQ Hydrae Variable star in the constellation Hydra

LQ Hydrae is a single variable star in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It is sometimes identified as Gl 355 from the Gliese Catalogue; LQ Hydrae is the variable star designation, which is abbreviated LQ Hya. The brightness of the star ranges from an apparent visual magnitude of 7.79 down to 7.86, which is too faint to be readily visible to the naked eye. Based on parallax measurements, this star is located at a distance of 59.6 light years from the Sun. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 7.6 km/s.

References

  1. "Astronomy and Computing Editorial Board".
  2. Weiner, Benjamin; Blanton, Michael R.; Coil, Alison L.; Cooper, Michael C.; Davé, Romeel; Hogg, David W.; Holden, Bradford P.; Jonsson, Patrik; Kassin, Susan A.; Lotz, Jennifer M.; Moustakas, John; Newman, Jeffrey A.; Prochaska, J. X.; Teuben, Peter J.; Tremonti, Christy A.; Willmer, Christopher N. A. (2009). "Astronomical Software Wants To Be Free: A Manifesto". Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Position Papers, No. 61. 2010: 61P. arXiv: 0903.3971 . Bibcode:2009astro2010P..61W.
  3. Gray, N.; Mann, R. G. (July 2011). "A Journal for the Astronomical Computing Community?". Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XX. 442: 655. arXiv: 1103.1982 . Bibcode:2011ASPC..442..655G.
  4. "Scientific software production: incentives and collaboration". Proceedings of the ACM 2011 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work: 513–522. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  5. Mann, R. G.; Accomazzi, A.; Budavári, T.; Fluke, C.; Gray, N.; O'Mullane, W.; Wicenec, A.; Wise, M. (October 2013). "Astronomy and Computing: A New Journal for the Astronomical Computing Community". Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXII. 487: 7. Bibcode:2013ASPC..475....7M.
  6. "Astronomy and Computing: First Issue Now Available" . Retrieved 1 December 2013.