1: Galileo opens the sky 2: The big reflecting telescopes 3: How to build bigger telescopes 4: Stretching the spectrum: Infrared and ultraviolet. 5: Into Space 6: X-rays 7: Gamma rays and cosmic rays 8: Radio telescopes 9: Pairs and arrays 10: Millimetre waves and spectral lines 11: Opening the cosmos 12: Then, now, and tomorrow Further reading Index
Sir Francis Graham Smith is a distinguished pioneer of radio astronomy. He was President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1975 to 1977, and was appointed Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1976, where he was involved in setting up the Northern Hemisphere Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Island. He was the thirteenth Astronomer Royal, serving from 1982 to 1990, and Physical Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society from 1988 to 1994. Awards for his work include the Royal Medal of the Royal Society (1987) and a knighthood in 1986. He also written several books, most recent of which is Unseen Cosmos, on the story of radio astronomy, published by OUP in 2014.
The book offers a very nice historic survey of telescopes and the
related techniques for astronomical observations in all parts of
the spectrum, and should be a good read for anyone interested in
the subject. * Manuel Vogel, Contemporary Physics *
[T]he real fascination of the book is the way it almost
incidentally highlights how dramatically science has changed in
little more than 50 years. * The Wall Street Journal *
there are two aspects that are fascinating here - one is the sheer
range of equipment out there ... The other bit that's even more
interesting is finding out more about how these telescopes actually
work * Brian Clegg, Popular Science *
If you like to build your background knowledge and have an interest
in how astronomy is undertaken, rather than just the results, this
is the book for you. You probably won't consider this much of a
holiday read, but if, like me, you have an interest in astronomy
(and probably dabbled with small telescopes in your teens) it will
be irresistible. * Brian Clegg, Popular Science *
an enjoyable and informative read * Andrew May, Fortean Times *
Graham-Smith sets out things clearly and comprehensively * Steve
Craggs, Northern Echo *
a valuable history * Bernie Fanaroff, Nature *
Nobody could have done a better job than Graham Smith in presenting
such a balanced and clear survey of telescopes in all wavebands,
and setting them in a historical context. His book will be
appreciated by all astronomers. * Martin Rees *
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