Near-infrared astronomy has become one of the most rapidly developing branches in modern astrophysics. Innovative observing techniques, near-infrared detectors with quantum efficiencies in excess of 90%, highly specialised instruments as well as advanced data reduction techniques have allowed major breakthroughs in various areas like exoplanets, star-forming regions, the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, and the high-redshift Universe. In this book, the reader will be introduced to the basic concepts of how to prepare near-infrared observations with maximized scientific return. Equal weight is given to all aspects of the data reduction for both - imaging and spectroscopy. Information is also provided on the state of the art instrumentation available and planned, on detector technology or the physics of the atmosphere, all of which influence the preparation and execution of observations and data reduction techniques. The beginner but also the expert will find a lot of information in compact form which is otherwise widely dispersed across the internet or other sources.

Near-infrared astronomy has become one of the most rapidly developing branches in modern astrophysics. Innovative observing techniques, near-infrared detectors with quantum efficiencies in excess of 90%, highly specialised instruments as well as advanced data reduction techniques have allowed major breakthroughs in various areas like exoplanets, star-forming regions, the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, and the high-redshift Universe. In this book, the reader will be introduced to the basic concepts of how to prepare near-infrared observations with maximized scientific return. Equal weight is given to all aspects of the data reduction for both - imaging and spectroscopy. Information is also provided on the state of the art instrumentation available and planned, on detector technology or the physics of the atmosphere, all of which influence the preparation and execution of observations and data reduction techniques. The beginner but also the expert will find a lot of information in compact form which is otherwise widely dispersed across the internet or other sources.

A clear and concise practical handbook on all aspects of infrared astronomy, for graduate students, researchers and keen amateurs.

This textbook presents the established sciences of optical, infrared, and radio astronomy as distinct research areas, focusing on the science targets and the constraints that they place on instrumentation in the different domains. It aims to bridge the gap between specialized books and practical texts, presenting the state of the art in different techniques. For each type of astronomy, the discussion proceeds from the orders of magnitude for observable quantities that drive the building of instrumentation and the development of advanced techniques. The specific telescopes and detectors are then presented, together with the techniques used to measure fluxes and spectra. Finally, the instruments and their limits are discussed to assist readers in choice of setup, planning and execution of observations, and data reduction. The volume also includes worked examples and problem sets to improve student understanding; tables and figures in chapters su mmarize the state of the art of instrumentation and techniques.

This book contains lectures on 3D spectroscopy techniques and data. from the seventeenth Winter School of the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute.

This book offers an essential compendium of astronomical high-resolution techniques. Recent years have seen considerable developments in such techniques, which are critical to advances in many areas of astronomy. As reflected in the book, these techniques can be divided into direct methods, interferometry, and reconstruction methods, and can be applied to a huge variety of astrophysical systems, ranging from planets, single stars and binaries to active galactic nuclei, providing angular resolution in the micro- to tens of milliarcsecond scales. Written by experts in their fields, the chapters cover adaptive optics, aperture masking imaging, spectra disentangling, interferometry, lucky imaging, Roche tomography, imaging with interferometry, interferometry of AGN, AGN reverberation mapping, Doppler- and magnetic imaging of stellar surfaces, Doppler tomography, eclipse mapping, Stokes imaging, and stellar tomography. This book is intended to enable a next generation of astronomers to apply high-resolution techniques. It informs readers on how to achieve the best angular resolution in the visible and near-infrared regimes from diffraction-limited to micro-arcsecond scales.

Outstanding progress in near-infrared detection technology and in real-time image processing has led astronomers to start undertaking all-sky surveys in the 1--2 mum range (project DENIS in Europe and 2MASS in the U.S.A.), surveys which will have a considerable impact in various areas of astronomy. This book gathers the contributions of more than 80 specialists involved in fields of interest as different as low mass stars, late stages of stellar evolution, star formation, stellar populations of the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds, the local structure of the Universe, and observational cosmology. It describes the impact on these fields of the exhaustive data bases and catalogs of stars and galaxies that these surveys will provide. The considerable interest of these documents for the future of infrared space and ground-based projects and the complementarity with other currently ongoing or planned surveys in other spectral ranges are emphasized.