Leaping into Space

Van Horn, Hugh M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-09369-7_13

Leaping into Space

Hugh M. Van Horn²

Chapter
First Online: 12 October 2014

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Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe ((ASTRONOM))

Abstract

On October 4, 1957, the world awoke to the dawn of the Space Age. Earlier that day, the Soviet Union had for the first time in history launched a manmade artificial satellite into orbit around Earth. At one stroke, Sputnik I moved space travel space from the realm of science fiction into a very present reality. It marked the beginning of humankind’s progress from the surface of Earth into space, in a journey that continues to this day. It heralded revolutions in communications, weather forecasting, and an understanding of the universe in which we live.

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Notes

1.
Information about Sputnik I can be found in http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/; accessed 5 August 2012.
2.
The failure of the first Vanguard launch is described in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Vanguard; accessed 19 May 2014. The early history of the U. S. space program is described by John E. Naugle and John M. Logsdon in Logsdon (2001), pp. 1 ff., “Space Science: Origins, Evolution, and Organization.”
3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin; accessed 19 May 2014.
4.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Historic-Speeches.aspx;; accessed 19 May 2014.
5.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong#First_Moon_walk; accessed 19 May 2014.
6.
The history of space-based astronomy is described by Nancy G. Roman in Logdson (2001), pp. 501 ff, “Exploring the Universe: Space-Based Astronomy and Astrophysics,” esp., pp. 514 ff.
7.
Savedoff, M. P., et al. 1976, Astrophys. J., 207, L45, “The Far-Ultraviolet Spectrum of Sirius B from Copernicus.”
8.
Greenstein, J. L., Oke, J. B., and Shipman, H. L. 1971, Astrophys. J., 169, 563, “Effective Temperature, Radius, and Gravitational Redshift of Sirius B.”
9.
Holberg (2007), p. 193.
10.
The IUE mission is described by Boggess, A., and Wilson, A., in Kondo, et al. (1987), p. 3, “The History of IUE.” They also include a compendium of scientific results. Thousands of spectra obtained by this versatile spacecraft remain available for use through the IUE data archive maintained at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center.
11.
Kahn, S. M., et al. 1984, Astrophys. J., 278, 255, “Photospheric Soft X-Ray Emission from Hot DA White Dwarfs;” Petre, R., Shipman, H. L., and Canizares, C. R. 1986, Astrophys. J., 304, 356, “Evidence for a n(He) / n(H) Versus T _eff Coorrelation.”
12.
Nousek, J. A., et al. 1986, Astrophys. J., 309, 230, “An Extraordinarily Hot Compact Star Devoid of Hydrogen and Helium.”
13.
One milli-arc second (1 mas) equals one thousandth of a second of arc.
14.
Holberg (2007), p. 199.
15.
Parsons, S. G., et al. 1976, Astrophys. J., 206, L71, “Skylab Ultraviolet Stellar Spectra: A New White Dwarf: HD149499B.”
16.
Margon, B., and Bowyer, S. 1975, Sky & Tel., 50, 4, “Extreme-Ultraviolet Astronomy from Apollo-Soyuz.”
17.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride; accessed 19 May 2014.
18.
Spitzer, Lyman 1946, “Astronomical Advantages of an Extra-Terrestrial Observatory,” (Project RAND: Santa Monica, CA).
19.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Flawed_mirror; accessed 19 May 2014.
20.
Holberg (2007), p. 121.
21.
Ibid., p. 203.
22.
Ibid., pp. 208 ff.
23.
As Holberg (2007), p. 120, points out, EUV radiation “cannot penetrate the earth’s atmosphere and even has difficulty traveling very far in our own Galaxy before being absorbed by interstellar hydrogen. Nevertheless, hot white dwarfs such as Sirius B radiate fiercely in the EUV…”
24.
Ibid., pp. 204–205.
25.
Bowyer, S., et al. 1996, Astrophys. J. Suppl., 102, 129, “The Second Extreme-Ultraviolet Explorer” Source Catalog.
26.
Holberg (2007), pp. 207–208.

Reference

Holberg, JB: Sirius: Brightest Diamond in the Night Sky. Springer, New York (2007)
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Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Hugh M. Van Horn

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Van Horn, H.M. (2015). Leaping into Space. In: Unlocking the Secrets of White Dwarf Stars. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09369-7_13

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09369-7_13
Published: 12 October 2014
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09368-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-09369-7
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