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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a fascinating read! I suspect that The Palomar telescope has a place in every astronomers heart, amateur or professional.
Although no longer the biggest or best 'scope in the world, its the one I always think of as the biggest and best, and its the one thing that sticks in your head from your first stirrings of interest in sky-watching.
Although no longer the biggest or best 'scope in the world, its the one I always think of as the biggest and best, and its the one thing that sticks in your head from your first stirrings of interest in sky-watching.
The story of its conception, construction, and the attendant political in-fighting, is long and complicated, but never boring, and this book captures the spirit of the instrument to a tee. Its also full of great anecdotes: for example, I never knew that George Hale, the telescopes visionary creator, spent long periods hiding away from the world talking to imaginary pixies!!,also, although I know what a Schmidt camera is and how it works, I never knew that the Dr Schmidt who invented it was a one-armed weirdo who virtually lived in his own cellar, grinding glass by instinct: if only we could all do what he did with 2 arms.....
All in all, its an un-putdownable book, especially to the astronomer. I do, however, have one major critiscism of the book, and that is the quality of reproduction of the pictures and illustrations: these are appaling, and there isnt a single clear picture of the great instrument in the whole book. If I didnt already know what it looks like, I would be none the wiser, and to a non-astronomer reading it this is a major failing.
I would also like to see a glossery of astronomical and telescope terms: I know what a polar mount is,and I know what light-grasp is, but my non-astronomical friends don't, and if the book is to reach the wider audience it deserves, it really needs this, especially as the pictures are so badly reproduced.
These critiscisms aside, I say BUY IT NOW!!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Starting from the original needs for a large-scale telescope, the book follows the complexities of building a machine like no other - to a greater precision than any before. The academic in-fighting, the technical dead-ends and the final accomplishment are presented in a very readable and compelling form.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I will get my criticisms out of the way first. I think the book assumes that readers will have some knowledge of telescopes. Terms such as Cassegrain focus are tossed out but not properly explained. The concept of the reflecting telescope is not explained at all. I think a short telescope primer would have been worthwhile since the book is deserving of a wide audience.
Primarily, this is a well-researched account of the design and construction of a mammoth instrument of unprecedented precision. It is striking how much old-fashioned craftsmanship, dedication and individual ingenuity was required. The suspenseful narrative of the work on the 200" mirror alone accounts for over half of the book. Who says computer-controlled manufacturing processes are required to achieve precision? The surface of the mirror is so smooth that if it were the size of the United States the largest hill would not be more than a few inches high. All done by hand without lasers.
Alongside the technology, we have the various characters and the sub-plot of the financing of the project. This was Big Science before anyone had coined the term. Moreover, it was Big Science during the depression. America in the thirties is a fascinating backdrop to the story. The description of the transportation of the mirror across the country by rail and the huge crowds that would line the route hoping for a glimpse of the "Giant Eye" was very moving. I have to quote in part a summary on the back cover of the book, "...a poignant rendering of an America mired in the depression yet reaching for the stars". When I read that, I bought the book and was not disappointed.
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