The author has had the happy opportunity to work and study in the field of theoretical astrophysics during a half-century of unparalleled observational discovery. Quasars, pulsars, large-scale cosmic structure, galaxy evolution, and many other phenomena were discovered using revolutionary new observational techniques. In the same period of time, analytical tools ranging from new disciplines like plasma physics to enormously enhanced computational facilities became available, giving theoreticians the machinery to make some sense of this new world. At the start of the era the extragalactic world was largely framed as a quasi-homogeneous Universe of static galaxies formed by unknown and in fact unexamined processes. By the end of the period there was widespread acceptance of a self-consistent, evolving cosmological model amenable to calculation and comprehension. The author was fortunate indeed to have had the chance to collaborate with many wonderfully talented colleagues during this exciting time, attempti...

中文翻译：

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幸运的半个世纪

在半个世纪以来无与伦比的观测发现中，作者有幸在理论天体物理学领域工作和研究。使用革命性的新观测技术发现了类星体、脉冲星、大尺度宇宙结构、星系演化和许多其他现象。在同一时期，从等离子体物理学等新学科到极大增强的计算设施的分析工具都可用，为理论家提供了理解这个新世界的机制。在这个时代开始时，河外世界在很大程度上被定义为一个由未知且实际上未经检验的过程形成的静态星系的准同质宇宙。到这一时期结束时，人们普遍接受了一种自洽的、进化的宇宙学模型适合计算和理解。作者确实有幸在这个激动人心的时刻有机会与许多才华横溢的同事合作，尝试...