Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-311).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2005. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-275).

This thesis serves as a capstone of poetry for the University of Arizona Honors College Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. The Astronomy of a Dandelion is an exploration of the arts and sciences in conversation with one another, embodying both the personal and the technical throughout the manuscript. The originally proposed theme of astropoetry broadened into the use of astronomical imagery, metaphors, and other figurative language to describe neuroscientific issues of mental health, relationships of varying kinds, and the reconstruction of routine occurrences into something rather extra than ordinary. This is a manuscript that requires the sciences and the humanities to be mutually inclusive, accessible in different ways to myriad readers.

Science is usually justified in terms of its utilitarian attributes. Modern professional astronomy has no obvious utilitarian rationale, yet it receives considerable resources to carry on its work. Concepts from the sociology of science and political sociology can be used to help explain this apparent puzzle. The means by which astronomy succeeds in procuring resources can be seen in terms of a process of legitimation. Professional astronomy justifies and explains itself to specific audiences, ensuring that funding agencies will see astronomy as worthy of support. Several activities are suggested as legitimation practices. The mechanics of funding are discussed, followed by a description of modern professional astronomy as a 'big science'. Boundary work and popularisation are examined as important legitimation practices. Boundary work constructs a path for astronomy that legitimises it by allying the field to successful sciences such as physics, and distancing it from other activities such as ufology and astrology. Astronomy is popular with the public, and this popularity gives rise to a groundswell of support, and is used to promote astronomy as educating a public that will support science in general. The professional structures of astronomy serve to mark out astronomers as an elite scientific group, with an esoteric knowledge that includes high levels of mathematics. Astronomers' specialist technical skills can be of use in a variety of situations, but the scientific and mathematical knowledge itself also contributes to successful legitimation. It is concluded that the primary rationale for the funding of astronomy is humanistic rather than utilitarian.

This dissertation is a collection of poems preceded by a critical preface. The preface considers Anthony’s Hecht’s long poem, “The Venetian Vespers,” and the ways in which the temporally unsettled situation of the poem’s speaker parallels a problem facing narrative-meditative poets. The preface is divided into two main sections that explore divisions of this larger conflict. The first discusses the origins and effects of the speaker’s uprootedness in time, and the ways in which he tries to both combat and embrace this dislocation by temporarily losing himself in the immediacy of observing visual art. In this section I connect the dilemma of the speaker, who wishes to escape his memory by focusing outwards, to the dilemma of a representational poet who, despite his position towards the past, must necessarily confront or recollect memories and emotions in order to create authentic descriptions or characters. The second section focuses on the production and appreciation of artistic works (both visual and literary) and how the meaning, production and appreciation of beauty are inseparable from its existence within the physical limits of time. Here I discuss the significance of Hecht’s character who is surrounded with beauty yet describes himself as a person who only observes and does not create anything. Through this character, I argue that Hecht reveals a fundamental conflict that exists between artistic creation and chronological time, and that his poem embodies a particular and paradoxical view of beauty that resonates deeply with the motivations and struggles of writing poems.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo apresentar a Modelagem Causal em História da Ciência (MCHC), e aplicá-la ao período da história da astronomia que vai dos primórdios ao século III AEC. Na primeira parte, exponho o método e discorro sobre algumas de suas implicações filosóficas especialmente aquelas relacionadas com a noção de avanço e historiográficas, ao mesmo tempo em que procuro inseri-lo no panorama da filosofia da ciência. Na segunda parte, que já é uma aplicação da MCHC, apresento uma pequena história da astronomia antiga, mostrando os principais avanços dos egípcios, babilônios e gregos, até Aristarco de Samos. Na última parte, utilizo os conceitos mobilizados na primeira parte e os avanços da segunda para apresentar o modelo causal da astronomia antiga e as conclusões dele derivadas. / This thesis aims at presenting the Causal Modeling of the History of Science (MCHC), and applying it to the period of the history of astronomy comprising its beginning until the 3rd century BCE. In the first part, the method is discussed and some of its philosophical and historiographical implications are analyzed especially those related to the notion of advance. In the second part, an application of MCHC, a short history of ancient, is presented, showing the main advances of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks, up to Aristarchus of Samos. In the final part, I use the concepts deployed in the first part and the advances discussed in the second part to present a causal model of ancient astronomy and the conclusions therefrom derived.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo apresentar a Modelagem Causal em História da Ciência (MCHC), e aplicá-la ao período da história da astronomia que vai dos primórdios ao século III AEC. Na primeira parte, exponho o método e discorro sobre algumas de suas implicações filosóficas especialmente aquelas relacionadas com a noção de avanço e historiográficas, ao mesmo tempo em que procuro inseri-lo no panorama da filosofia da ciência. Na segunda parte, que já é uma aplicação da MCHC, apresento uma pequena história da astronomia antiga, mostrando os principais avanços dos egípcios, babilônios e gregos, até Aristarco de Samos. Na última parte, utilizo os conceitos mobilizados na primeira parte e os avanços da segunda para apresentar o modelo causal da astronomia antiga e as conclusões dele derivadas. / This thesis aims at presenting the Causal Modeling of the History of Science (MCHC), and applying it to the period of the history of astronomy comprising its beginning until the 3rd century BCE. In the first part, the method is discussed and some of its philosophical and historiographical implications are analyzed especially those related to the notion of advance. In the second part, an application of MCHC, a short history of ancient, is presented, showing the main advances of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks, up to Aristarchus of Samos. In the final part, I use the concepts deployed in the first part and the advances discussed in the second part to present a causal model of ancient astronomy and the conclusions therefrom derived.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an international project to build the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope interferometer. It will consist of thousands of antennas distributed over many kilometers, with the hosting country being either South Africa or Australia. Various pathfinders have been initiated to demonstrate the technologies needed to implement the SKA. The astronomy community has defined five Key Science Projects (KSP), which are the drivers for the SKA. The science goals determine the technical requirements needed to design SKA systems. Many years of planning and development are still needed in order to meet to the requirements of such a large and complex project. This thesis aims to present the various SKA pathfinder systems in terms of their application to the SKA key science projects, with main focus that of pulsar observations. In order to achieve this, a thorough overview of basic radio astronomy principles and techniques is presented, followed by a detailed look at the various pathfinders. Throughout the work, aspects of pulsar observations are given particular attention with the goal of designing optimal systems for the SKA. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is ’n internasionale projek om die wêreld se grootste en mees sensitiewe radio teleskoop interferometer te bou. Dit sal bestaan uit duisende antennas versprei oor etlike kilometers, met die gasheer land óf Suid-Afrika óf Australië. Verskeie koersbepalers is geïnisieer om die tegnologie te demonstreer wat benodig is om die SKA te implementeer. Die astronomie gemeenskap het vyf sleutel wetenskap projekte (KSP) gedefinieër wat dien as die drywers vir die SKA. Die wetenskap doelwitte bepaal die tegniese vereistes wat nodig is om SKA stelsels to ontwerp. Talle jare van beplanning en ontwikkeling word steeds benodig om te voldoen aan die vereistes van so ’n groot en komplekse projek. Hierdie tesis het ten doel die aanbieding van verskeie SKA koersbepaler stelsels in terme van hulle aanwending tot die SKA sleutel wetenskap projekte, met hoof fokus op die van pulsar waarnemings. Om dit te behaal, word ’n deeglike oorsig van basiese radio astronomie beginsels en tegnieke aangebied, gevolg deur ’n gedetailleerde kyk na die verskeie koersbepalers. Regdeur die werk word spesifieke aandag gegee aan aspekte van pulsar waarnemings met die doel om optimale stelsels vir die SKA te ontwerp.

This thesis presents the results of a combination of new observations with the Parkes telescope of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with an Australia Telescope Compact Array aperture synthesis mosaic. The data are used to study the HI distribution and mass, the velocity field and rotation curve of the SMC, as well as to probe the 3-D structure of the SMC. A kinematic study of the HI data reveals the existence of three supergiant shells which were previously undetectable in the ATCA data alone. The HI spatial power spectrum has been investigated over a range of contiguous scale sizes wider than those previously achieved in any other galaxy. This thesis also demonstrates that the infrared data obtained with the Infrared Astronomical Satellite for the SMC can be successfully reconstructed with much higher resolution using the Pyramid Maximum Entropy algorithm. The new infrared (IR) data are used to study the integrated IR spectrum, the dust temperature and dust column density in the SMC. The high resolution HI and IR data enable an investigation of the spatial correlation of dust and gas and the assumption of the dust and gas being well-mixed in the ISM. The spatial power spectrum of the dust column density shows that, as with the HI power spectrum, there is no preferred scale size for dust clouds. The remarkable similarity of the spatial power spectra for the HI and dust column density distributions suggests a unique hierarchical structure organisation for the ISM in the SMC. Such an organisation is likely to be governed by the Kolmogorov type turbulence and could be described by fractal nature with the volume fractal dimension of 2.4. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Ci sono due luoghi astronomici nella Vita Nova con i quali Dante calcola il tempo in cui si verificano gli episodi principali della storia narrata. Queste nozioni scientifiche contengono implicito un significato astrologico, connesso all’influsso del segno zodiacale dei Gemelli, configurazione astrologica che torna ad ogni anniversario. I Gemelli è il segno zodiacale di Dante, come il poeta afferma nella Commedia: l’invocazione del pellegrino alla costellazione omonima, alla cui influenza egli deve il suo ingegno (Par. XXII, 112-123), riconosce all’astrologia, attraverso il motivo delle qualità personali instillate dagli astri, il compito di esaltare il suo ruolo di poeta divinamente ispirato. L’importanza di questo segno è evidente nella Vita Nova: I Gemelli è probabilmente il segno zodiacale di Beatrice, come il poeta sembra suggerire in VN 1, 3 [II, 2], se si considera il fatto che, al verificarsi del primo incontro tra Dante e Beatrice, la fanciulla non aveva ancora iniziato il suo nono anno di vita («quasi»). Il colore dell’abito di Beatrice, «sanguigno» (VN 1, 4; II, 3), può riferirsi al temperamento della donna, e confermare così la sua appartenenza a quel segno. In seguito, la buona influenza del segno torna in VN 19, 4 [XXIX, 1], il capitolo dedicato alla morte di Beatrice. La donna muore l’8 giugno 1290, così anche la sua morte accade in Gemelli. Tutti gli eventi della Vita Nova sono garantiti dalle stelle, e Dante nel «libello» non fa che esaltare l’importanza dell’azione dei cieli influenti sulla vita umana. / There are two places in Dante’s Vita Nova in which the poet count up the time of the main episodes of the love story between himself and Beatrice with astronomical references. These scientific notions conceal an astrological meaning, connected with the retourn, at every anniversary, of the influence of the Gemini astrological sign. Gemini is the Dante’s sign, as the poet assume in the Comedy: the pilgrim’s invocation to the constellation of Gemini, whose influence gave him his genius (Par. XXII, 112-123), reserve to astrology, through the leitmotif of personal qualities instilled by the natal star, the task of enhancing the genius of Dante, in order to vindicate the role of the divinely inspired poet. The importance of this sign is evident in Vita Nova: Gemini was probably Beatrice’s sign too, as the poet seems suggest in VN 1, 3 [II, 2], if we consider that, when Dante met Beatrice for the first time (in 1274), she wasn’t nine years old yet («quasi»). The colour of Beatrice’s dress, «sanguigno» (VN 1, 4; II, 3), seems reference to her sanguineous temperament, so it confirms her affinity with Gemini. Than, Gemini sign retourns in VN 19, 4 [XXIX, 1], the chapter of Beatrice’s death. She died on the 8 June 1290, so her death is under the Gemini too. All the events in Vita Nova are conducts by stars, so in this book Dante shows the importance of the influential heavens in the human life.