Sky & Telescope August 1988 [antikvár]

focal pointA World of Opportunitiesin Astronomyas ASTRONOMERS from many coun-tries gatiier tliis month in Baltimore, Maryland, for the triennial General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (lAU), there appears to be a spirit of gloom in some quarters. Space-program delays, funding shortfalls, scarce jobs, shortages of powerful computers, and other misfortunes concern many scientists. But while it is necessary to take corrective actions which will be different in different countries we should not lose the global perspective. Worldwide astronomy is booming, and new and powerful instrumentation promises that this will continue.In optical astronomy the lO-meter Keck telescope of Caltech and the University of Cahfornia and the 16-meter Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory are under construction. A 7.5-meter Japanese reflector should get started soon. Together, these instruments will triple the total light-collecting area of the world's large-aperture telescopes. Other giants are on the drawing board for example, a West German 12-meter, American-Italian 11-meter, and several 8-me-ters and some will undoubtedly be built. The Hubble Space Telescope will add new dimensions in ultraviolet astronomy and high-resolution imaging, while the European Hipparcos satellite will revolutionize astrometry.Other wavelength domains will see equally great progress. In the radio spectrum the U. S. Very Long Baseline Array, the Australia Telescope, the French-German millimeter interferometer, and a large radio array in India will bring significant increases in sensitivity and angular resolution. The Infrared Space Observatory, now under construction in Europe, will be vastly more sensitive than its predecessor, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite. The nearly completed German-American-British Rosat will make the deepest all-sky survey yet of celestial X-ray emission. Other space-science missions planned by the United States, the Soviet Union, Western Europe, and Japan promise equally exciting advances. Finally, a variety of experiments in gravitational-wave and neutrino detection should come close to bring-ing these subjects into the mainstream of astronomy.Scientific developments are equally encouraging. Recent work in particle physics, relativity, and cosmology has given some researchers the conviction that a "theory of everything" is around the corner. Even if not, the vistas that have already been opened have profoundly transformed our thinking on cosmology.Galaxy studies have pushed the limits of the "observable" universe well beyond a redshift of one, and galaxy evolution is becoming an observational science. Studies of Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud have given us confidence that our basic understanding of stars, stellar evolution, and element synthesis may not be too far off. Solar and stellar oscillations offer a new approach to probing the interiors of the Sun and other stars. Happily, in many of these areas we now know enough so as not to engage in empty speculation, yet not so much that no challenges remain.Nevertheless, there are real problems. Some are caused by partly unavoidable discontinuities in funding. Major space projects are expensive, and the intervals between them tend to be long. This is most serious since infrared, optical, and X-ray observations require very different types of facilities. While the situation could be improved somewhat by buildinga larger number of smaller satellites, many celestial objects can be detected only with large collecting areas.Here is where international cooperation can help: agreements for exchanging observing time or instrumentation can provide the continuity that researchers need. lAU meetings provide welcome opportunities for discussing such agreements.In ground-based astronomy the shu-ation is not very different. Exchanges of observing time between unique facilities in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres could be particularly useful. Sharing telescopes among nations could help solve funding problems, which remain severe in some places. Perhaps astronomers would be less reluctant to close down facihties that are no longer competitive or cost effective if they knew they could gain access to others elsewhere.Especially troublesome to young astronomers is the lack of job opportunities in many countries. It is not clear that this is due to an inadequate total number of positions. But large fluctuations in the annual availability of new jobs and insufficient numbers of retirements make finding a job difficult for those just starting their careers. Could better ways be found to induce inactive scientists to vacate their research positions? Again, such concerns crop up in different countries at different times, and the mobility fostered by lAU meetings could play a role in alleviating them.Astronomers face many other problems as well. For example, given the increasing rate of data acquisition, how are we going to decide what to preserve in archives? And how will we insure the quality of what is archived?But none of our present difficulties should obscure the fact that prospects for fundamental and spectacular progress between now and the lAU General Assembly in the year 2000 are excellent indeed.LODEWIJK WOLTJERThe author divides his time between the European Southern Observatory, where he served as director general for 13 years, and France's Haute Provence Observatory.Focal Point invites contributions from read-ers who wish to comment on contemporaryissues in astronomy and space science.