Hubble: A Journey Through Space And Time
Publisher:
Abrams
Price:
£19.99
Format:
Hardback 
Twenty years ago a telescope was launched into space that changed mankind’s perceptions of the Universe. Hubble was intended as a scientific tool that would observe the heavens free from cloud and atmospheric distortions. However, it swiftly became an icon of our times and a powerful ambassador for astronomy. Hubble’s spectacular images are a public relations dream, and in Hubble: A Journey Through Space And Time, a collection of the finest has been compiled by the man at the heart of the Hubble project.
Edward J Weiler became Hubble’s chief scientist in 1979 and held that position for 20 years. Before that he worked as researcher for Lyman Spitzer, who first proposed such a space telescope back in 1946. Weiler gives a fascinating account of Hubble’s history, including that moment of sheer horror when the team realised the telescope’s early images were out of focus due to a tiny error in the curve of its main mirror. How that was solved, by fitting the equivalent of spectacles in the first of five daring Shuttle servicing missions, is a triumphant tale.
Sight restored, Hubble began taking perfect images, shown here in page after page of beautiful colour. They range from planets close to home, to star clusters, nebulae and far distant galaxies seen soon after the Big Bang. Many classics are here including the Pillars Of Creation and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.
It’s true that you could find all these images on the internet, but to have them in such a sumptuous collection from such a key figure makes this a book any astronomer would love to own.
