Microlensing of distant stars by intervening faint stars can reveal planets in orbit around the lensing star.

Interferometry—

The main technique used by astronomers to map sources at high resolution and to measure their positions with high precision.

Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs)—

Icy planetesimals distributed in a roughly circular disk in the outer regions of our solar system, 50 to 100 AU from the Sun.

Redshift—

Radiation from an approaching object is shifted to higher frequencies (to the blue), while radiation from a receding object is shifted to lower frequencies (to the red). A similar effect raises the pitch of an ambulance siren as it approaches. The expansion of the universe makes objects recede so that the light from distant galaxies is redshifted. The redshift is often denoted by z, where z=v/c and v is the velocity and c the speed of light.

AAPB

Astronomy and Astrophysics Planning Board

AASC

NRC Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee

ACAST

Advisory Committee for AST (NSF Astronomical Sciences Division)

ACCORD

AURA Coordinating Council of Observatory Research Directors

ALMA

Atacama Large Millimeter Array

ARISE

Advanced Radio Interferometry between Space and Earth

AST

Advanced Solar Telescope (now called the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, or ATST); NSF Astronomical Sciences Division

ATM

NSF Division of Atmospheric Sciences

AURA

Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.

CAA

NRC Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics

CARMA

Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy

CGRO

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

COMRAA

Committee on the Organization and Management of Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics

DOE

U.S. Department of Energy

EVLA

Expanded Very Large Array

EXIST

Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope

FASR

Frequency Agile Solar Radio telescope

Front Matter (R1-R16)

Executive Summary (1-6)

1 Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Start of the New Millennium (7-17)

2 Current Roles and Relationships of NASA and NSF in Astronomy and Astrophysics (18-28)

3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Moving NSF's Astronomy and Astrophysics Responsibilities to NASA (29-33)

4 Findings and Recommendations (34-46)

Appendix A: Biographies of Committee Members and Key NRC Staff (47-55)

Appendix B: Meeting Agendas (56-61)

Appendix C: The Current Astronomy and Astrophysics Enterprise (62-74)

Appendix D: Glossary and Acronyms (75-78)