The Space Telescope

by George B. Field

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809244950
• ISBN13: 9780809244959
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary
• Length: 276 Pages

Customer Reviews

Dated as a consequence of the discoveries made using the Hubble, but still well worth reading

Its' two billion dollar price tag makes it one of the most expensive science projects ever funded and deals with the question, "Is a telescope in space really necessary?" Field and Goldsmith do an excellent job in answering this question in the affirmative, explaining that if all goes well, the Hubble Space Telescope will provide an image of Jupiter that rivals that returned by the Voyager probe. The other technical advantages to the telescope are also explained in language that is clear to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of astronomy. The formidable technical problems that were overcome once again point out that the United States space program is a shining jewel in an industrial and technical system that continues to take its' international lumps. Their explanation of the allocation of viewing time and the symbiotic relationship between the telescope and ground-based observations is very interesting and points out that this machine will in no way make ground observations obsolete. Since the author's response to the question, "What will we find?" is the indeterminate, "No one really knows", this book is in no way a flight of fancy, and should be read by anyone interested in space exploration. It would also work well as an extra reading assignment in a course in general physical science.