Telescopes: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #501

by Geoff Cottrell

From the first, telescopes have made dramatic revelations about the Universe and our place in it. Galileo's observations of the Moon's cratered surface and discovery of Jupiter's four big satellites profoundly altered the perception of the heavens. Over the past century, the rapid development of computer technology and sophisticated materials allowed enormous strides in the construction of telescopes. Modern telescopes range from large Earth-based optical telescopes and radio arrays linking up across continents, to space-based telescopes capturing the Universe in infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. In combination, they have enabled us to look deep into the Universe and far back in time, capturing phenomena from galactic collisions to the formation of stars and planetary systems, and mapping the faint glow remaining from the Big Bang.

In this Very Short Introduction , Geoffrey Cottrell describes the basic physics of telescopes, the challenges of overcoming turbulence and distortion from the Earth's atmosphere, and the special techniques used to capture X-rays and gamma rays in space telescopes. He explains the crucial developments in detectors and spectrographs that have enabled the high resolution achieved by modern telescopes, and the hopes for the new generation of telescopes currently being built across the world.

ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy

176 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[Krayfish1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book of 140 pages, this took a surprising amount of time to read. I got it in August and read it in bits and pieces through January. The first chapters are great for explaining how telescopes work, but the later chapters get jargon heavy and more list-of-telescopes with information that goes over your head because it's building on a foundation that was only presented once with no reinforcement... if there were reinforcement it wouldn't be very short any more. But then it stops feeling like an "introduction".

It's pretty much as it says in the title, though. Solid.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brisk introduction to astronomical telescopes, first invented over 400 years ago, from the simple spyglass of Galileo to today's technological marvels sampling every available band of the electromagnetic spectrum from the far reaches of the universe. The book covers a lot of ground and will be difficult for readers who have never taken a college-level physics course. However, nearly all the technical terms in the book have corresponding Wikipedia articles, for those who require more explanation.

In many ways the history of the telescope mirrors the history of modern science. Telescope design has continuously integrated discoveries from elsewhere in science and technology, marvelously illustrating the underlying unity of scientific reality.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a OK and short introduction to telescopes. The book tells you about how telescopes work, and their history, optics, how different types of optics and detectors are needed for observing different kinds of wavelengths (and how these invisible types of wavelengths were first discovered), the need for space telescopes, and it goes through the more important telescopes that have existed throughout history and what was special about them, as well as discussing future telescopes.

It can be quite technical, especially going through various telescopes and their specs. So it’s not the most engaging book to read, but it’s giving you the facts. I think it should have been written and focussed a bit differently to really work as a popular science book and an introduction to the topic. Even though it was short, it felt a bit too intense for the average reader.

[Des Bladet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite of the OUP Very Short books on astronomies, funnily enough. Showing the subject as a dialectical interplay of instruments and ideas works very well for this shamelessly observation-driven discipline, and Cottrell's accounts of the astrophysics are themselves remarkably and unfussily clear.