AAO launch of Fred Watson's new book
Stargazer—The Life and
Times of the Telescope
With a Foreword by Sir Patrick Moore
It is
literally the world’s most far-reaching invention. It can unlock
nature’s
secrets in the remotest corners of the Universe. It is a time machine,
allowing
us to look billions of years into the past for answers to some of our
most
profound questions.
In its
four hundred year history, the telescope has progressed from a crudely
fashioned tube holding a couple of spectacle lenses to colossal
structures
housed in space-age cathedrals. Such giants attract universal
attention, even
among people with no interest in astronomy. They sit right at the
boundary
between the mysteries of the Universe and today’s cutting-edge
technology.
How did
this potent mix of art, science and engineering reach its present level
of
sophistication? The history of the telescope is a rich story of
ingenuity and
perseverance involving some of the most colourful figures of the
scientific
world. It begins in ancient times, with enigmatic whispers of
telescope-like
inventions finding their way into classical writing. It gathers
momentum
through the Renaissance, with the first recorded telescope bursting
onto the
scene in the middle of a diplomatic crisis in seventeenth century Holland. And it
comes to
fruition with the increasing demands of astronomers making the
instrument ever
more refined, more capable—and bigger.
Stargazer brings the story of the telescope to a general
readership for the first time. Written by one of Australia’s
best-loved astronomers,
it presents up-to-date historical scholarship in a lively and uniquely
entertaining manner. It is the perfect introduction to the telescope in
the
run-up to its four hundredth birthday.
Published
by Allen & Unwin. Hard cover, fully illustrated, with eight pages
of
colour.
http://www.allenandunwin.com/shopping/product.asp?ISBN=1865086584&string%3Dstargazer
About the author
Fred Watson
comes from a long line of Freds, but seems to have been the
first in the family to become an astronomer. He now says
he has
spent so many years hanging around large telescope domes that he has
started to
look like one. Fred has worked at both of Britain’s
Royal Observatories, and at their overseas telescopes in Hawaii
and the Canary Islands. In Australia
during the 1980s, he helped to pioneer the use of fibre optics in
astronomy,
paving the way for today’s large-scale surveys of stars and galaxies.
He is now
Astronomer-in-Charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory at
Coonabarabran in
north-western NSW. Fred is also an
award-winning writer and broadcaster on astronomy, and an occasional
performer
of the galactic blues with the help of his old Gibson guitar.
Fred Watson signing copies of his book and Fred with his new book.
Images courtesey of Shaun Amy, more images are available.
Webmaster,
19th October 2004
|
![](./.."/webimages/spacer.gif"){kind=spacer}
