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The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It
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List Price: $29.95
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Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 522.2919
EAN: 9780691132976
ISBN: 0691132976
Label: Princeton University Press
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: 2008-05-11
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Studio: Princeton University Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe around us, revealing new information about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes, among other startling discoveries. The Universe in a Mirror tells the story of this telescope and the visionaries responsible for its extraordinary accomplishments. Robert Zimmerman takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever sent into space. After World War II, astronomer Lyman Spitzer and a handful of scientists waged a fifty-year struggle to build the first space telescope capable of seeing beyond Earth's atmospheric veil. Zimmerman shows how many of the telescope's advocates sacrificed careers and family to get it launched, and how others devoted their lives to Hubble only to have their hopes and reputations shattered when its mirror was found to be flawed. This is the story of an idea that would not die--and of the dauntless human spirit. Illustrated with striking color images, The Universe in a Mirror describes the heated battles between scientists and bureaucrats, the perseverance of astronauts to repair and maintain the telescope, and much more. Hubble, and the men and women behind it, opened a rare window onto the universe, dazzling humanity with sights never before seen. This book tells their remarkable story.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: NASA's Greatest Success, Warts and All
Comment: This history of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is both thorough and interesting. It starts decades before launch, when HST was just a crazy idea, and goes up to (almost) today. No one involved gets a free ride. Although the author obviously supports NASA's mission in general (and the Space Telescope in particular) he is up front about the flaws, foibles, and failings of the people, corporations, and agencies involved. In particular, he gives a full account of the flawed mirror and what led up to it. On the other hand, he also makes it clear what a tremendous success the program has been, and how much effort from so many dedicated people went into making it possible. The book is so interesting because the author presents all aspects, the good, the bad, the bureaucratic, and the scientific. Anyone interested in astronomy and space should enjoy this book. (Standard disclaimer: my opinions are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer.)
Customer Rating:
Summary: good introduction
Comment: I would second another reviewers comment that this is a very politically correct view of what has been going on with Hubble and NASA generally. Written for a beginner. There are hints of the trouble within the agency. But the author is leaving the door open for further access by writing an upbeat story.
What is dismaying is that if you read between the lines some of the best and brightest people associated with Hubble were ultimately abandoned by NASA; those that caused the problems largely by trying to do too much on the cheap were rewarded. I found the final chapters regarding future NASA plans interesting. But there is room for a vastly expanded history here. No information on Hubble's legendary twin or military technology.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great story with a worthy narrative to match.
Comment: Zimmerman does a good job keeping the narrative moving, not getting too bogged down into 'tech talk' that would bore the amateur. The book is replete with interviews of key people involved in the Hubble project over the years.
It is a quick-read and easy to follow. I am just amazed that the Hubble Space Telescope was even launched, finally in 1990. When one reads of the obstacles that had to be overcome one begins to really appreciate how fortunate we are to have the telescope launched, much less still providing fantastic images of the heavens for the past 18 years. Some of the obstacles included lack of funds, politics, technological challenges, bureaucratic egos, other NASA tragedies, and so on.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Comments on "Saga of Hubble Space Telescope, etc."
Comment: While I am not an astronomer, I am nonetheless addicted to information being revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Thus I eagerly looked forward to reading about the history of how it came into existence. Alas, the first half of the book (giving a too detailed account of everyone who touched the project over the approximately two decades before its launch; i.e., the first 118 pages) was deadly. From that point on, however, it was a terrific read. The brilliant men and women who solved the focus issues after the telescope was in orbit and the story of how they did it makes for a fascinating story. It was also very informative and interesting to learn of the political jockeying going on now over whether or not to undertake further NASA maintenance missions to extend Hubble's life.
All in all, I do recommend the book but suggest starting in the middle and skipping the first half.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Heavy on politics, light on final instrument
Comment: This book is excellent on the politics, including pictures of the players. And it has a decent section of Hubble color images. But it is curiously lacking on information about the completed instrument. Just a few more pages would have been extremely informative as a complement to the political wrangling. There is no photograph of the completed telescope, either on the ground or as deployed in space. Worse, there are no diagrams that show how it works. And after much discussion of the Vidicon versus CCD battles, we get no confirmation as to the final size of the CCD (was it 2000 x 2000 pixels in an array of four sensors?) and how the light gets from the mirror to the CCD. In an era where digital cameras embodying CCD technolgy are widespread, where many readers are conversant in talking about pixel dimensions of their home images, where many personal cameras have more than 2000 x 2000 pixels, this seems a strange omission. Apologists will say the information can be found elsewhere, but all it would have taken is a handful more pages (10?) to include it here and make the book less skewed to the politics. Even if Zimmerman, as a journalist, didn't see the need for this, I wonder why an editor didn't insist on it?
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