Ryszard Szczerba (NCAC, Toruń)
SPICA - SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics is a common project of JAXA and ESA with a 3 m class telescope, which will be cooled for the first time to about 6K. In this way SPICA will provide a unique environment where 3 planned instruments are limited only by the cosmic background itself. The wavelength range covered by the SPICA instruments will be from 5 up to 210 micrometers. The main scientific objectives of the mission are: --- formation and evolution of galaxies; --- formation and evolution of planetary systems; and --- life cycle of dust. During my talk I will present overview of the mission and possibility for Poland to join the SAFARI consortium. SAFARI - Spica FAR infrared Istrument - is one of the most important instrument planned for SPICA.
Andrzej Krasiński (NCAC, Warsaw)
Investigation of paths of light rays in inhomogeneous cosmological models shows that observers in favourable positions would see galaxies drift across the sky at a rate of up to $10^{-6}$ arc seconds per year. Such a drift would be possible to measure using devices that are under construction; the required time of monitoring would be approx. 10 years. This effect is zero in the FLRW models, so it provides a measure of inhomogeneity of the Universe. In the second part of the talk, the real-time cosmology program will be briefly described, and a few widespread misconceptions about the cosmological models will be pointed out and corrected.
Ed Spiegel (Columbia University )
Maciej Bzowski (Space Research Center, Warsaw)
Heliosphere is a complex, multicomponent astrophysical system where solar wind and interstellar plasma interaction is modulated by neutral atoms. Studies of the heliosphere are carried out both by in situ and remote sensing observations. In situ measurements provide detailed diagnostics of the solar wind multi-component plasma. Remote sensing studies, carried out mostly based on observations of neutral atoms, provide a more global view of the Local Interstellar Cloud and the boundary region of the heliosphere. We will attempt to present the present level of understanding of the heliosphere as it emerges from the synegry of observations from the Ulysses, Voyager, and IBEX missions.
