*Starred Review* Scientists scoffed when astronomer Lyman Spitzer proposed launching a telescope into space in the 1940s. But in recounting how Spitzer’s outlandish idea became the reality of the Hubble Telescope, Zimmerman illuminates a triumph of human curiosity. Readers will marvel at the persistence of the early pioneers who recognized the merit of Spitzer’s proposal and championed it—at considerable personal cost—despite their colleagues’ skepticism. Also remarkable is the brilliance of the designers, who developed versatile new technology for scanning the cosmos from an orbiting platform. But nothing will impress readers more than the way scientists rebounded from bitter disappointment when the first transmissions from Hubble revealed a debilitating flaw in its mirror. By devising an ingenious repair procedure, skillfully executed by shuttle astronauts, these scientists miraculously rehabilitated the costly telescope. Media publication has already made readers familiar with some of the marvelous Hubble images of deep-space objects, but Zimmerman clarifies the scientific significance of these images, exposing the anatomy of exploding stars and mapping the distribution of extrasolar planets. The even larger impact of Hubble’s success emerges in a concluding survey of plans for a new generation of space-based observatories, all inspired by Hubble’s accomplishments. Must reading for armchair astrophysicists. --Bryce Christensen
978-0-691-13297-6
Table of Contents:
Illustrations
Preface
Chapter 1: Foggy Vision
Chapter 2: Slow Start
Chapter 3: Getting Money
Chapter 4: Building It
Chapter 5: Saving It
Chapter 6: "New Phenomena Not Yet Imagined"
Chapter 7: Abandonment
Chapter 8: The Lure of the Unknown
Notes
Bibliography