Index Product Information Information Exchange Astronomers Envision New Observing Instruments in Next Decade to Focus on Farthest Reaches Of all of today's scientists, astronomers seem best able to agree on the instruments they need for their far-out discoveries. This activity has now been repeated with great success four more times - once each decade by a different panel and chairman. 18 May. It is destined to be as successful as the previous ones. Roger Blandford, a theoretical astrophysicist at Caltech, believes the answer lies within the nature of astronomy, which is principally an observational and taxonomical science.
Astronomy progresses through information gathering and data analysis.
Its instruments, such as telescopes and computers, are expected to advance the exploration of the cosmos and, as the technology improves, to be upgraded. What's more, astronomy has fewer practitioners than almost any other science, so that the sociology of numbers applies, which makes it possible for astronomers to unite on important questions and facilities. What's different today is that the boundaries and problems seem almost limitless. Astronomers study the universe and its constituents as these have evolved through cosmic time. We must search for life beyond the Earth and, if it is found, determine its nature and its distribution.