Stargazer: The Life And Times Of The Telescope

Stargazer text pages 29/8/07 12:16 PM Page i Stargazer text pages 29/8/07 12:16 PM Page ii For Trish This edition published in 2007 First published in 2004 Copyright © Fred Watson 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Watson, Fred, 1944- . Stargazer : the life and times of the telescope. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 978 1 74175 383 7 (pbk.). 1. Telescopes - History. I. Title. 522.2 Index by Jo Rudd Diagrams and map by Ian Faulkner Typeset in 11/14.5 pt Minion by Midland Typesetters, Maryborough Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Stargazer text pages 29/8/07 12:16 PM Page iii contents Foreword Acknowledgements Prologue iv v viii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 18 37 55 69 84 107 118 137 156 180 198 216 230 248 272 Power Telescopes The Eyes of Denmark Enigma Enlightenment Flowering Evolution On Reflection Mirror Image Scandal The Way to Heaven Astronomers Behaving Badly Leviathans Heartbreaker Dream Optics Silver and Glass Walking with Galaxies Epilogue Notes and sources References Glossary The world’s great telescopes Index 283 290 312 323 328 333 Stargazer text pages 29/8/07 12:16 PM Page iv Foreword he story of the telescope goes back now for almost four hundred years. It is fascinating for many reasons, not least because of the extraordinary personalities who have been involved. It is also staggering to realise the progress that has been made since the time when Galileo’s tiny ‘optick tube’ was turned toward the sky. Today we have telescopes powerful enough to peer into the far reaches of the Universe. Fred Watson is uniquely qualified to write this book. He is one of the world’s leading astronomers, and he has been personally responsible for some very important developments— notably with regard to optical fibres, which now play a vital part in modern astronomical research. Almost equally important in the present context is that he is a skilled writer of books for non-specialists, and has the ability to make difficult problems seem easy. H