[5.02] The log N - log S relation, Radio and Optical.

37th DPS Meeting, 4-9 September 2005
Session 5 Cosmology
HAD Oral, Monday, September 5, 2005, 11:00am-12:30pm, Umney Theatre, Robinson College

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[5.02] The log N - log S relation, Radio and Optical.

D.H.P. Jones (IoA, Cambridge, U.K.)

An early, important and contentious subject in the early days of Radio Astronomy was the log N - log S relation. Not only were there differences between confusion-limited and flux-limited surveys, there were differences in cosmological interpretation.

Very similar problems had occured in stellar astronomy in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This presentation will contrast the problems, solutions and interpretations in establishing the log N - log S relation in the two cases. Star counts indicated models of the universe like those of Herschel and Kapteyn, which have since been totally abandoned. Modern cosmological models will probably share the same fate.

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