Ian Glass

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Ian Stewart Glass (born 5 September 1939 in Dublin, Ireland) is an infrared astronomer and scientific historian living in Cape Town, South Africa.

Contents

Education

Glass was educated at Trinity College Dublin where he was a Foundation Scholar. [1] He obtained his B.A. with first class honours in 1961 and was awarded the Hackett Prize for first place in Natural Sciences. He received his PhD in Physics [2] from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968 for work in x-ray astronomy under George W. Clark.

Infrared astronomy

Since 1970 he has worked in infrared astronomy and instrumentation [3] and he has written the standard textbook on the subject. [4] He worked before 1975 at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and thereafter at the South African Astronomical Observatory. [5]

He is the author or co-author of over 220 scientific papers in journals and conference proceedings and has been cited nearly 10000 times with h-index=56. [6]

With Tom Lloyd Evans, he discovered the period-luminosity relation followed by Mira variable stars. [7] This result has subsequently been refined. [8] [9] Later observations of the Miras in the SgrI Baade's Window field led to an independent estimate of the distance to the Galactic Centre. [10]

In 1973 Feast and Glass [11] discovered the infrared/optical counterpart of the symbiotic binary x-ray source GX1+4. In 1978 Glass located the obscured x-ray source Cir X-1 in the infrared and found that it flared in a cyclic manner associated with its 16.6-day x-ray period. [12]

The role of hot dust in the emission from a Seyfert galaxy (Fairall 9) was demonstrated observationally for the first time by Clavel, Wamsteker and Glass in 1989; [13] these observations were modelled theoretically by Barvainis [14] and provided a strong confirmation of the reverberation model [15] for active galactic nuclei. The photometry was part of a multi-year monitoring programme [16] that showed the ubiquity of infrared variability in these objects.

Work with the ISO satellite and MACHO data showed that all late-type M giant stars exhibit mass-loss and are variable. [17]

The most detailed image of the Galactic Centre (inner Bulge) region before the advent of array detectors was obtained with Catchpole and Whitelock in 1987, [18] showing up extinction patterns that correlated with the intervening molecular clouds.

History of astronomy

In addition to papers on a number of historical themes, Glass has written several books (see below):

"Victorian Telescope Makers" was inspired by the extensive correspondence between Sir David Gill and the Irish telescope maker Sir Howard Grubb that survives at the South African Astronomical Observatory.

"Revolutionaries of the Cosmos" deals with eight figures (Galileo, Newton, Herschel, Huggins, Hale, Shapley, Eddington and Hubble) who revolutionised physical astronomy through the introduction of radical new ideas and techniques.

"Nicolas-Louis de La Caille" concerns the leading observational astronomer of the mid-eighteenth century who was also the first important scientist to visit what is now South Africa (1751–53). Inter alia, he conducted the first telescope sky survey, was a devotee of Newtonian dynamics and a pioneer of the Lunar method of navigation.

Honours, etc

Glass received the Gill Medal [3] of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa in 1999 for his work in the infrared and their McIntyre Award in 2003 for his book on the Grubb Telescope Company (see below).

He is a member of the Royal Society of South Africa, [19] and the International Astronomical Union. [20] He has twice been elected president of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa [21] and in 2016 was made an honorary member thereof.

In 1984–89 he was editor of "Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa".

He has been a visiting professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Nobeyama and Tokyo), an associate of the European Southern Observatory and has worked for various periods at the California Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona, the Institut d'astrophysique de Paris (France), the Observatoire de Besançon, the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (UK) and the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad (India). He has also been an adjunct professor at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.

Books

Related Research Articles

Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers, and falls in between visible radiation, which ranges from 380 to 750 nanometers, and submillimeter waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cepheid variable</span> Type of variable star that pulsates radially

A Cepheid variable is a type of variable star that pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature. It changes in brightness, with a well-defined stable period and amplitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mira variable</span> Type of variable star

Mira variables are a class of pulsating stars characterized by very red colours, pulsation periods longer than 100 days, and amplitudes greater than one magnitude in infrared and 2.5 magnitude at visual wavelengths. They are red giants in the very late stages of stellar evolution, on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), that will expel their outer envelopes as planetary nebulae and become white dwarfs within a few million years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 9</span> Globular cluster in Ophiuchus

Messier 9 or M9 is a globular cluster in the constellation of Ophiuchus. It is positioned in the southern part of the constellation to the southwest of Eta Ophiuchi, and lies atop a dark cloud of dust designated Barnard 64. The cluster was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on June 3, 1764, who described it as a "nebula without stars". In 1783, English astronomer William Herschel was able to use his reflector to resolve individual stars within the cluster. He estimated the cluster to be 7–8′ in diameter with stars densely packed near the center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V842 Centauri</span> Nova in the constellation Centaurus seen in 1986

V842 Centauri, also known as Nova Centauri 1986, was a nova which occurred in 1986 in the constellation Centaurus. It was discovered by Robert H. McNaught of Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, on 22 November 1986. At the time of its discovery, it had an apparent magnitude of 5.6. It reached a peak magnitude of 4.6 one and a half days later, making it easily visible to the naked eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theta Apodis</span> Star in the constellation Apus

Theta Apodis is a variable star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Apus. It is a variable star with an apparent visual magnitude range of 4.65 to 6.20, which, according to the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, means it is a faint star but visible to the naked eye from dark suburban skies. The distance to Theta Apodis is approximately 350 light-years, based upon parallax measurements made from the Gaia telescope. It is unusual in that it is a red star with a high proper motion.

Tau<sup>1</sup> Lupi Star in the constellation Lupus

Tau1 Lupi, Latinized from τ1 Lupi, is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Lupus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.5. Based upon an annual parallax shift of only 2.99 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 1,090 light years from the Sun. Tau1 Lupi may be a runaway star having a peculiar velocity of 32.6±3.6 km/s. It is a member of the Upper Centaurus–Lupus sub-group of the nearby Sco OB2 association.

Michael William Feast was a British-South African astronomer. He served as Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory from 1976–1992, then became a professor at the University of Cape Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BL Telescopii</span> Star in the constellation Telescopium

BL Telescopii is a multiple star in the constellation Telescopium. An Algol-like eclipsing binary, the star system varies between apparent magnitudes 7.09 and 9.08 in just over 778 days, which is generally too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. This is mainly due to the system being an eclipsing binary. The eclipse itself dims the star by two magnitudes and lasts around 104 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V4998 Sagittarii</span> Luminous blue variable star in the constellation Sagittarius

V4998 Sagittarii is a luminous blue variable star (LBV) in the constellation of Sagittarius. Located some 25,000 light-years away, the star is positioned about 7 pc away from a starburst cluster known as the Quintuplet cluster. It has an ejection nebula measuring over 0.8 pc in diameter, formed 5000-10,000 years ago through large eruptions. The star has a large mass comparable to the Pistol Star and a luminosity of around 4 million times the Sun (L☉). This places the star as one of the most massive and luminous stars known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Normae</span> Variable star in the constellation Norma

R Normae is a Mira variable star located near Eta Normae in the southern constellation of Norma. This is an intermediate-mass red giant star that is generating part of its energy through hydrogen fusion. Because this fusion is thought to be occurring under conditions of convection, it is generating an excess of lithium. The star ranges from magnitude 6.5 to 12.8 and has a relatively long period of 496 days. Located around 2,900 light-years distant, it shines with a luminosity 7764 times that of the Sun and has a surface temperature of 3161 K.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HD 316285</span> Star in the constellation Sagittarius

HDE 316285 is a blue supergiant star in the constellation Sagittarius. It is a candidate luminous blue variable and lies about 6,000 light years away in the direction of the Galactic Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S Apodis</span> Variable star in the constellation Apus

S Apodis, also known as HD 133444 is a variable star located in the southern circumpolar constellation Apus. It has an apparent magnitude ranging from 9.6 to 17, which is below the limit for naked eye visibility. The object is located relatively far at a distance of approximately 15,000 light years based on Gaia DR3 parallax measurements, but it is drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of −75 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TW Horologii</span> Star in the constellation Horologium

TW Horologii is a carbon star and semiregular variable in the southern constellation of Horologium, near the eastern constellation border with Reticulum. It has a ruddy hue and, with an apparent visual magnitude that ranges from 5.52 down to 5.95, is visible to the naked eye and one of the brightest carbon stars. Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 1,370 light years from the Sun. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +14 km/s. In the past this star has been considered a member of the open cluster NGC 1252, but this now seems unlikely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">II Lupi</span> Star in the constellation Lupus

II Lupi is a Mira variable and carbon star located in the constellation Lupus. It is the brightest carbon star in the southern hemisphere at 12 μm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Period-luminosity relation</span> Astronomical principle

In astronomy, a period-luminosity relation is a relationship linking the luminosity of pulsating variable stars with their pulsation period. The best-known relation is the direct proportionality law holding for Classical Cepheid variables, sometimes called the Leavitt Law. Discovered in 1908 by Henrietta Swan Leavitt, the relation established Cepheids as foundational indicators of cosmic benchmarks for scaling galactic and extragalactic distances. The physical model explaining the Leavitt's law for classical cepheids is called kappa mechanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V Crucis</span> Variable star in the constellation Crux

V Crucis is a carbon star in the constellation Crux. A Mira variable, its apparent magnitude ranges from 8.7 to 11.1 over 376.5 days. The fact that this star's period is nearly equal to one year makes it hard to get good observational coverage over the entire cycle. Its near-infrared light curve shows a contribution from the first harmonic of the fundamental period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Fornacis</span> Variable star in the constellation Fornax

R Fornacis is a Mira variable and carbon star located in the constellation Fornax. It is around 1,800 light years away based on parallax measurements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X Cygni</span> Variable star in the constellation Cygnus

X Cygni is a variable star in the northern constellation of Cygnus, abbreviated X Cyg. This is a Delta Cephei variable that ranges in brightness from an apparent visual magnitude of 5.85 down to 6.91 with a period of 16.386332 days. At it brightest, this star is dimly visible to the naked eye. The distance to this star is approximately 628 light years based on parallax measurements. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 8.1 km/s. This star is a likely member of the open cluster Ruprecht 173.

References

  1. ↑ "List of scholars - Scholars - TCD". Tcdlife.ie. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "PDS SSO". library.mit.edu. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 Lloyd Evans, T. (1999). "Gill Medal awarded to Ian Stewart Glass". Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa. 58: 101–2. Bibcode:1999MNSSA..58..101.
  4. ↑ Glass, I.S. (1999). Handbook of Infrared Astronomy. Cambridge University press. ISBN   0-521-63311-7.
  5. ↑ "Ian Glass: SAAO". Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ian S Glass".
  7. ↑ Glass, I.S.; Lloyd Evans, T. (1981). "A period-luminosity relation for Mira variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud". Nature. 291 (5813). Macmillan: 303–4. Bibcode:1981Natur.291..303G. doi:10.1038/291303a0. S2CID   4262929.
  8. ↑ Glass, I.S.; Catchpole, R.M.; Feast, M.W.; Whitelock, P.A.; Reid, I.N. (1987). Kwok, S.; Pottasch, S.R. (eds.). The period-luminosity relationship for Mira-like variables in the LMC. Late stages of stellar evolution, Calgary, Canada, 2–5 June 1986. Dordrecht, Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Co. pp. 51–4.
  9. ↑ Feast, M.W.; Glass, I.S.; Whitelock, P.A.; Catchpole, R.M. (1989). "A period-luminosity-colour relation for Mira variables". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 241 (3): 375–92. Bibcode:1989MNRAS.241..375F. doi:10.1093/mnras/241.3.375.
  10. ↑ Glas, I.S.; Whitelock, P.A.; Catchpole, R.M.; Feast, M.W. (1995). "Long-period variables in the SGR I field of the Galactic Bulge". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 273 (2): 383–400. Bibcode:1995MNRAS.273..383G. doi: 10.1093/mnras/273.2.383 .
  11. ↑ Glass, I.S.; Feast, M.W. (1973). "Peculiar object near GX2+5". Nature Physical Science. 245 (142): 39–40. Bibcode:1973NPhS..245...39G. doi:10.1038/physci245039b0.
  12. ↑ Glass, I.S. (1978). "Variations of Circinus X-1 in the infrared". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 183 (3): 335–340. Bibcode:1978MNRAS.183..335G. doi:10.1093/mnras/183.3.335.
  13. ↑ Clavel, J.; Wamsteker, W.; Glass, I.S. (1989). "Hot dust on the outskirts of the broad-line region in Fairall 9". Astrophysical Journal. 337. University of Chicago Press: 236–250. Bibcode:1989ApJ...337..236C. doi:10.1086/167100.
  14. ↑ Barvainis, R. (1992). "Dust reverberations: a model for the infrared variations of Fairall 9". Astrophysical Journal. 400. University of Chicago Press: 502–509. Bibcode:1992ApJ...400..502B. doi: 10.1086/172012 .
  15. ↑ Peterson, B.M. (1993). "Reverberation mapping of active galactic nuclei". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 105: 247–268. arXiv: astro-ph/9706039 . Bibcode:1993PASP..105..247P. doi:10.1086/133140. S2CID   123216750.
  16. ↑ Glass, I.S. (2004). "Long-term infrared photometry of Seyferts". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 350 (3): 1048–1066. arXiv: astro-ph/0402289 . Bibcode:2004MNRAS.350.1049G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07712.x. S2CID   15194743.
  17. ↑ Glass, I.S.; Alves, D.R. (2000). Lemke, D.; Stickel, M.; Wilke, K. (eds.). ISOGAL Survey of Baade's Windows. ISO Surveys of a Dusty Universe, Ringberg, 1999. Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 363–70. ISBN   3-540-67479-9.
  18. ↑ Glass, I.S.; Catchpole, R.M.; Whitelock, P.A. (1987). "J, H and K maps of the Galactic centre region.II – Qualitative aspects of the interstellar absorption". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 227 (2): 373–79. Bibcode:1987MNRAS.227..373G. doi: 10.1093/mnras/227.2.373 .
  19. ↑ "Members". 5 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "International Astronomical Union - IAU". www.iau.org.
  21. ↑ "ASSA". ASSA.
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