sps5
August 11-14 2009
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
published October 08, 2010
This meeting marks the the International Year of Astronomy by reviewing the extent to which astronomers are achieving the optimal rate of astronomical discovery. Can we identify and overcome the limits to progress? What steps can be taken to accelerate the rate of expansion of astronomical knowledge? What lessons can be learnt both from the recent and distant past? As the public announcements regarding the 2009 IYA have emphasized, new astronomical discoveries are currently being made at an extraordinary rate, while the invention of the telescope ushered in an equally momentous “golden age of discovery” 400 years ago. The meeting addresses a range of potential limits to progress—paradigmatic, technological, organizational, and political—examining each issue both from modern and historical perspectives, and drawing lessons to guide future progress. The program focusses on how astronomy actually progresses, using careful historical studies and real data, rather than anecdotes and folklore.
conference main image
Sessions
Main session
Session 1: BACK TO THE FUTURE
Session 2: CREATIVITY and INNOVATION
Session 3: FUTURE TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENTATION
Session 4: DATA AND INFORMATION
Session 5: USING TELESCOPES
Session 6: DISCRIMINATION
Session 8: EDUCATION
Session 9: CROSS-FERTILISATION AND COLLABORATION
Session 10: ASTRONOMY IN CULTURE
Main session
Introduction: Accelerating the Rate of Astronomical Discovery
R.P. Norris
Session 1: BACK TO THE FUTURE
Discovery and the Culture of Astronomy
R. Williams
Back to the Future
D.H. DeVorkin
Rapid Progress and Limitation of Observational Astronomy in Japan
N. Kaifu
Session 2: CREATIVITY and INNOVATION
Scope and Training for Amateur Astronomers of Developing Countries for contribution towards Astronomical Discovery
P.S. Mahajani
The Exploration of the Unknown
K.I. Kellermann, J.M. Cordes, R.D. Ekers, J. Lazio and P. Wilkinson
Session 3: FUTURE TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENTATION
Big and Small
R.D. Ekers
Expert prognosis of the future of astronomy
O.Y. Malkov
Major Radio Astronomy Telescope RT70-Suffa: Preparation for Future
A.S. Hojaev
Session 4: DATA AND INFORMATION
Making access to astronomical software more efficient
P. Grosbol and D. Tody
Using large surveys, multiwavelength catalogs, and databases for new discoveries
A.P. Mickaelian
Towards a Resource-Centric Data Network for Astronomy
A. Accomazzi, S.S. Murray and M.J. Kurtz
Session 5: USING TELESCOPES
Next-generation astronomy
R.P. Norris
The Stagnation of Contemporary Stellar Astronomy
P. Škoda
Reflections on the discovery of pulsars
J. BellBurnell
Time allocation scheme for the WSO-UV mission
O.Y. Malkov, M. Sachkov, B. Shustov, P. Kaygorodov, F.J. Yanez and A.I. Gomez de Castro
Session 6: DISCRIMINATION
The Legacy of Discrimination
E. Griffin
Astronomy and Development in Southern Africa
P.A. Whitelock
Catching them young: The need for education-research connect in astronomically developing countries
R. Kochhar
Session 8: EDUCATION
Astronomy heritage for Education
M. Stavinschi
New trends in outreach
J.F. Gossman
What PhD students really want
M.Y. Mao
Session 9: CROSS-FERTILISATION AND COLLABORATION
The Role of Provenance Management in Accelerating the Rate of Astronomical Research
G.B. Berriman
Cross-disciplinary research in modern astronomy
E.D. Feigelson
Session 10: ASTRONOMY IN CULTURE
The influence of society on astronomical discovery
G.G.K. Miley
Indigenous astronomies and progress in modern astronomy
C.L.N. Ruggles