Peak Observatory (SPO), in New Mexico, which 

 has facilities for research in solar physics and re- 

 lated fields of investigation. 



The objectives of the astronomy grant programs 

 are to: 



• Understand the origin, evolution, and nature 

 of the components of the solar system, in- 

 cluding the sun, planets, natural satellites, 

 comets, and the interplanetary medium. 



• Understand the formation, evolution, and life 

 cycles of stars. This requires knowledge of 

 the production of nuclear and gravitational 

 energy at all steps through the life stages of a 

 star. 



• Understand the dynamics and kinematics of 

 stellar groups. These range in complexity 

 from binary stars to star clusters and galaxies. 

 This research involves the study of stellar 

 positions, motions, and distances. 



• Understand the composition, formation, inter- 

 action, and evolution of our Milky Way gal- 

 axy, the interstellar medium, other galaxies, 

 and quasars through data acquisition, inter- 

 pretation, and modeling. 



• Provide state-of-the-art technology; design, 

 construct, and improve the instruments used 

 by astronomers to detect and analyze radia- 

 tion at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic 

 spectrum. 



Examples of significant basic research support. 



Three significant preplanned projects include: 



• Design, construction, instrumentation, and 

 operation of 4-meter stellar telescopes at 

 KPNO and CTIO. 



• Upgrading of the NAIC's 1,000-foot radio/ 

 radar telescope 



• Design, construction, and instrumentation of 

 the 36-foot millimeter wave telescope and the 

 observing program. 



Six significant research thrusts in which a num- 

 ber of investigators participated (National Center 

 staff and university grantees) include: 



• Observation and modeling of quasars. 

 Identification of optical quasars, measure- 

 ments of increasingly large redshifts (appar- 

 ent recessional velocities), verification by 

 independent test of cosmological distances 

 (which have revealed energy densities much 

 greater than can be explained by the simple 

 fusion of hydrogen), and observation of ap- 

 parent rates of expansion of quasars much in 

 excess of the speed of light. 



• Detection, observation, and modeling of pul- 

 sars (neutron stars). Many discoveries of new 

 pulsars, "glitches" (abrupt changes in pulse 

 periods), discovery of the pulsar in the Crab 

 Nebula, recording of pulsar pulse structure. 



and detection of pulsar in a binary system 

 with possible black hole. 



• Development of infrared astronomy. Devel- 

 opment of efficient detectors, construction of 

 specialized IR telescopes and modification of 

 optical telescopes (e.g., KPNO 4-meter) for 

 IR use observation of dust-shrouded regions 

 (galactic center, stellar nurseries) in the in- 

 frared. 



• Upgrading of optical telescopes at the nation- 

 al centers, universities, and private observa- 

 tories with electronic image detectors and 

 other instruments. Examples include the 

 Wampler Image Dissector-Scanner and the 

 KPNO Fourier Transform Spectrometer. 



• Radio telescope receiver development. Para- 

 metric amplifiers, millimeter wave radiome- 

 ters using cooled mixers, and maser ampli- 

 fiers. 



• Very long baseline interferometry (NAIC, 

 NRAO, University-based antennas and other 

 antennas supported by Federal agencies other 

 than NSF). Development of the Mark I and 

 Mark II recording systems for phasematching 

 of antenna data, first satellite-linked experi- 

 ment (1976). 



Representative important publications based on 

 NSF-supported research in astronomy. This list is 

 compiled from suggestions from various sources. 

 It is not based on a citation-index study and cannot 

 be taken as a list of the 10 best or most important 

 articles. 



1. L. B. Robinson and E. J. Wampler, "Tlie Lick Observatory 

 Image-Dissector Scanner," Publications of the Astronomical 

 Society of the Pacific, v. 84 ( 1972). 



2. D. H. Staelin and E. C. Reifenstein, "Pulsating Radio 

 Sources Near the Crab Nebula," Science, v. 102 (1968). 



3. F. Pacini, "Energy Emission From a Neutron Star," Nature, 

 V. 216(1967). 



4. C. A. Knight, D. S. Robertson, A. E. Rogers, I. I. Shapiro. 

 A. R. Whitney, T. A. Clark, R. M. Goldstein, G. E. Marandino, 

 N. R. Vandenberg, "Quasars: Millisecond-of-Arc Structure 

 Revealed by Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry," Science, v. 

 172 (1971). 



5. L. E. Snyder, D. Buhl, B. Zuckerman, P. Palmer. "Micro- 

 wave Detection of Interstellar Formaldehyde," Physical Re- 

 view Letters, v. 22 (1969). 



6. R. L. Brown, M. S. Roberts. "21 Centimeter Absorption at z = 

 0.692 in the Quasar 3C 286," Astrophysical Journal, v. 184 

 (1973). 



7. V. M. Blanco. J. A. Graham. B. M. Lasker, P. S. Ommer. 

 "Optical Condensations and Filaments in the Northeast Radio 

 Lobe of NGC 5128," Astrophysical Journal (Letters), v. 198 

 (197.5). 



8. F. J. Vrba. K. M. Strom, S. E. Strom, G. L. Grasdalen. 

 "Further Study of the Stellar Cluster Embedded in the Ophi- 

 uchus Dark Cloud Complex," Astrophysical Journal, v. 197 

 (1975). 



NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 195 



