An Acre of Glass: A History and Forecast of the Telescope

An Acre of Glass: A History and Forecast of the Telescope
by J. B. Zirker

An Acre of Glass: A History and Forecast of the Telescope
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Book Summary Information

Author: J. B. Zirker
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-18
ISBN: 0801882346
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Book Reviews of An Acre of Glass: A History and Forecast of the Telescope

Book Review: An interesting book for a telescope aficionado
Summary: 4 Stars

As the title "An Acre of Glass" suggests, this book is primarily about the building of ever-larger optical telescopes around the world. The author does a credible job with the story, with accurate discussions and generally good writing. If anything detracts from the reader's experience it is the author's diversions into other stories. He breaks the central story between Palomar and the next generation of observatories with a chapter on radio astronomy and an assortment of other astronomy achievements. All important stuff, but just a distraction in this book. It would have been better to have spread the material through the book, or have placed it in an appendix. The chapter on the Hubble space telescope seems similarly perfunctory. I think the book would have been stronger if the author had remained focused on his real story and resisted the urge to pretend to cover a larger subject. But people interested in the development of ever larger optical telescopes will still enjoy this book.

Summary of An Acre of Glass: A History and Forecast of the Telescope

Ever since Galileo glimpsed the moons of Jupiter through his tiny telescope, astronomers have striven to understand how the universe is constructed and how it evolves. Every increase in the size and power of telescopes has led to new discoveries. Within the last century, telescopes have enabled us to learn about pulsars, quasars, gamma-ray bursters, black holes, and the acceleration of the universe's expansion.

An Acre of Glass describes how recent innovations in telescope technology have led to the construction of giant, ground-based observatories and to an explosive development of astronomy. Today, telescopes with mirrors 30, 50, and even 100 meters in diameter are being built. Optical interferometers that cover an acre of ground are observing every night. J. B. Zirker shows us how telescopes past, present, and future are built and describes the exciting science they reveal -- from planets beyond our solar system to supermassive black holes at the core of distant galaxies.

For every striking image revealed through these enormous telescopes, technicians and scientists must overcome unique and incredible challenges. How many pack animals does it take to get a telescope to the top of a mountain? How do you make the shape of a 6-foot-wide mirror accurate to within a 1,000th the thickness of a human hair? In clear and accessible language, Zirker answers these questions and more, providing fascinating technical detail about how a telescope is made and what the next generation can hope to see.

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