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Hubble: Imaging Space and Time
In the spirit of National Geographic’s top-selling Orbit, this large-format, full-color volume stands alone in revealing more than 200 of the most spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope during its lifetime, to the very eve of the 2008 final shuttle mission to the telescope. Written by two of the world’s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar system’s workings, the expansion of the universe, the birth and death of stars, the formation of planetary nebulae, the dynamics of galaxies, and the mysterious force known as "dark energy."
The potential impact of this book cannot be overstressed: The 2008 servicing mission to install new high-powered scientific instruments is especially high profile because the cancellation of the previous mission, in 2004, caused widespread controversy. The authors reveal the inside story of Hubble’s beginnings, its controversial early days, the drama of its first servicing missions, and the creation of the dynamic images that reach into the deepest regions of visible space, close to the time when the universe began.
A wealth of astonishing images leads us to the very edge of known space, setting the stage for the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013. Find the stunning panoramic of Carina Nebula, detailing star birth as never before; a jet from a black hole in one galaxy striking a neighboring galaxy; a jewel-like collection of galaxies from the early years of the universe; and a giant galaxy cannibalizing a smaller galaxy.
Timed for the 2008 shuttle launch and coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time accompanies a high-profile exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum and will be featured on the popular NASM website.
The potential impact of this book cannot be overstressed: The 2008 servicing mission to install new high-powered scientific instruments is especially high profile because the cancellation of the previous mission, in 2004, caused widespread controversy. The authors reveal the inside story of Hubble’s beginnings, its controversial early days, the drama of its first servicing missions, and the creation of the dynamic images that reach into the deepest regions of visible space, close to the time when the universe began.
A wealth of astonishing images leads us to the very edge of known space, setting the stage for the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013. Find the stunning panoramic of Carina Nebula, detailing star birth as never before; a jet from a black hole in one galaxy striking a neighboring galaxy; a jewel-like collection of galaxies from the early years of the universe; and a giant galaxy cannibalizing a smaller galaxy.
Timed for the 2008 shuttle launch and coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time accompanies a high-profile exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum and will be featured on the popular NASM website.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
11 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 12, 2014
The MOTHER OF ALL coffee table books!
There is plenty of info on the building and maintenance of the space telescope first put into orbit in 1990, but that is beside the point.
What really matters is the truly astonishing, mind-boggling photos.
Whirlpool Galaxy M51, 31,000,000 light years away
Active Galaxy M82, 12,000,000 light years away
Cone Nebula, 2,500 light years away
First Servicing Mission, 1993
Never has being made to feel so humble felt so fantastic.
There is plenty of info on the building and maintenance of the space telescope first put into orbit in 1990, but that is beside the point.
What really matters is the truly astonishing, mind-boggling photos.
Whirlpool Galaxy M51, 31,000,000 light years away
Active Galaxy M82, 12,000,000 light years away
Cone Nebula, 2,500 light years away
First Servicing Mission, 1993
Never has being made to feel so humble felt so fantastic.
April 4, 2020
D got money for Christmas from Uncle D and when we visited the bookstore I saw very wide eyes and well, this went home with us for sure.
It is a beautiful book and the information and photos are amazing. As someone drawn to color I was very enamored with this book. Also along the edges of the pages it told you just how far these things were in light years. That really put these things in perspective for me.
If you don’t get it; I guess you just don’t get it. How could the things shown in here ever be mediocre or meh?
Pfft.
One last thing, I suspect ours is a more updated version, but I went with the most recent one I could find here.
It is a beautiful book and the information and photos are amazing. As someone drawn to color I was very enamored with this book. Also along the edges of the pages it told you just how far these things were in light years. That really put these things in perspective for me.
If you don’t get it; I guess you just don’t get it. How could the things shown in here ever be mediocre or meh?
Pfft.
One last thing, I suspect ours is a more updated version, but I went with the most recent one I could find here.
March 29, 2018
Just OK. Pedestrian set of images & so-so text. Color printing OK. Disappointing book. Surprisingly poor for a National Geographic book.
January 5, 2020
Just.... Sigh.... Where’s my darned hyperspace travel already.
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January 8, 2016
If there is one book you ever look at, make it this one. What you see above your head does not even begin to describe it all. I can almost hear the sawing noise as I type this...
January 16, 2011
The Hubble space telescope is actually a collection of imaging equipment that uses a common platform from it position in orbit around Earth. As a coffee-table book of space images this book will amaze the reader with the wonders of our galaxy and deep space. It also provides useful historical sketches of astronomy, from its early days of telescopic observation, and of the man for whom this space platform was named.
Produced by National Geographic, it has the high quality of image and paper that we have come to expect. Though I prefer the text of the book, Far Out, this one provides fascinating detail on how scientists compete for available observing time in Hubble's schedules. And, what kind of projects are likely to be accepted.
Produced by National Geographic, it has the high quality of image and paper that we have come to expect. Though I prefer the text of the book, Far Out, this one provides fascinating detail on how scientists compete for available observing time in Hubble's schedules. And, what kind of projects are likely to be accepted.
May 7, 2009
A great history of the Hubble Telescope featuring many spectacular pictures it has captured. Good coffee table book.
March 5, 2016
Descriptive, but more interested in the images!
July 5, 2025
Even if the science flies over your head, the photos alone make you feel like you’re getting a front-row seat to the universe.
March 19, 2020
I have always loved space since I was young, and this definitely fed my curiosity. It wasn't just another big boring book, it was very interesting and intriguing. It was super hard to put this book down since there were a lot of facts that were mind-blowing and surprising. Not to mention, all the pictures in the book were ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! The pictures were super detailed, and showed every color vibrantly. I mean, that is what to expect since these pictures were taken by the Hubble Telescope itself. I recommend this book to anyone, maybe even just for the pictures.
July 20, 2019
Very dry text but glorious images. I was most excited to learn about the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be stationed beyond the moon, over a million miles distant.
August 4, 2021
Breathtaking.
March 30, 2022
ahhhhhhhh gorgeous and fun
May 8, 2023
WOW! Great pictures and the descriptions and history!
January 4, 2026
Really loved it but I wish it went onto further more in depth detail on some the images and how the things imaged were formed. Really good for a beginner though.
May 4, 2020
Photography. With commentary. Stunning, transformative.
August 22, 2015
A large "coffee-table" sort of book with hundreds of amazing photos taken from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The book also includes a lot of very interesting and informative text covering the history and design of the HST, the processes established for scientists to get research time on the HST, and the techniques used to post-process any data obtained. I've been a huge fan of the HST since its inception and learned quite a bit from this book. Thanks to Ellen for bringing it home from the library.
October 14, 2016
As a photography book, I really, really loved it. My only complain is that it didn't have more information about the photographies themselves. I believe that a book with such wonderful and inspiring pictures should contain more information on space. For example, how about including an introduction on some basical things you need to know about space? I think this would be the best book to offer to any kid, with those lessons included. Besides that, it's a great book.
December 12, 2008
Magnificent! Images, history of Hubble, current projects and updates. I'm an avid fan of Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA on the web, and so seeing these lovely photos and reading about Hubble is a treat.
Whether you use this as a "coffee table" book, or as a science book for laypeople, it is an excellent choice.
Whether you use this as a "coffee table" book, or as a science book for laypeople, it is an excellent choice.
November 30, 2009
This book speaks to me so much. I love the universe and the wonders it has. Time and space does and always will amaze me.
January 31, 2013
This book is full fo the most beautiful Hubble pictures. I highly recommend it fo ror anyone interest in astronomy, cosmology, etc.
February 21, 2013
I couldn't give this one a full five stars, as there weren't pictures of all the planets in our solar system, and only a few of the Orion Nebula (my favourite).
January 21, 2015
The photographs are SPECTACULAR! I love the little line graph on the side of the page that show the miles away or light years a star or nebula was from Earth. I loved this book!!
December 12, 2016
The images alone with no words prompted a 5 star rating. Breath-taking.
March 22, 2022
Sunday afternoon escapism for me. Just gorgeous and horizon-shattering.
Currently reading
February 21, 2017i luv hubble related books
April 26, 2017
Launched today on April 24, 1990, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has made more than 1.3 million observations of more than 42,000 celestial objects. In its 27-year lifetime, the telescope has made nearly 148,000 trips around our planet. Hubble has racked up plenty of frequent-flier miles, about 3.8 billion. An average of approximately 2 terabytes of Hubble data is added to the archive every month. Hubble observations have produced more than 141 terabytes of data, which will be available for present and future generations of researchers. Astronomers using Hubble data have published more than 14,600 scientific papers.
Hubble's powerful ability to detect galaxies that are much farther away than those ever seen before is allowing astronomers to trace the history of the universe. The deeper Hubble peers into space, the farther back in time it looks. The farthest galaxies detected by Hubble were forming just a few hundred million years after the big bang. Hubble's visible "core sample" of the universe shows galaxies during their youth, providing evidence that galaxies grew over time through mergers with other galaxies to become the giant galaxies we see today.
Young galaxies have close encounters that sometimes ended in grand mergers that yield overflowing sites of new star birth as the colliding galaxies morph into wondrous new shapes. The early galaxies spied by Hubble are smaller and more irregularly shaped than today's grand spiral and elliptical galaxies. By studying galaxies at different epochs, astronomers can see how galaxies change over time. The process is analogous to a very large scrapbook of pictures documenting the lives of children from infancy to adulthood.
And the evolution continues. Hubble observations of our neighbouring galaxy, M31, has allowed astronomers to predict with certainty that titanic collision between our Milky Way galaxy Andromeda will inevitably take place beginning 4 billion years from now. The galaxy is now 2.5 million light-years away, but it is inexorably falling toward the Milky Way under the mutual pull of gravity between the two galaxies and the invisible dark matter that surrounds them both. The merger will result in the creation of a giant elliptical galaxy.
http://hubblesite.org/(adapted)
HUBBLE
Above our Earth so high
The Hubble telescope now hangs
Beyond our vault-like sky:
An all embracing eye;
Now showing us the universe
In all her glory.
Those swirling galaxies give way to seemingly endless
Tracts of quasars, dust and gas.
Through Hubble we look back through time,
At remnants of the Big Bang:
The Birth, they tell us, of Creation,
That might be repeated,
Over and over again.
Yet, before this satellite was launched,
Or telescopes invented,
Just what did humans know?
What did the Aztecs know of England,
Or fourteenth century English folk know of America?
As technological advances have
Been swift, so our state of ignorance
Has been revealed for all to see.
For no-one knows The Purpose of Life.
Why?
Oh Why!
Do We Live
To Die
Why?
For we will Die
Not Knowing Why.
Ask Christ they say,
He’ll show The Way.
Ask God and He will too.
Ask Allah, Buddha,
Anyone you like;
And Me, I’ll tell you just to Hope,
For Love will see us through.
Paul Butters
Hubble's powerful ability to detect galaxies that are much farther away than those ever seen before is allowing astronomers to trace the history of the universe. The deeper Hubble peers into space, the farther back in time it looks. The farthest galaxies detected by Hubble were forming just a few hundred million years after the big bang. Hubble's visible "core sample" of the universe shows galaxies during their youth, providing evidence that galaxies grew over time through mergers with other galaxies to become the giant galaxies we see today.
Young galaxies have close encounters that sometimes ended in grand mergers that yield overflowing sites of new star birth as the colliding galaxies morph into wondrous new shapes. The early galaxies spied by Hubble are smaller and more irregularly shaped than today's grand spiral and elliptical galaxies. By studying galaxies at different epochs, astronomers can see how galaxies change over time. The process is analogous to a very large scrapbook of pictures documenting the lives of children from infancy to adulthood.
And the evolution continues. Hubble observations of our neighbouring galaxy, M31, has allowed astronomers to predict with certainty that titanic collision between our Milky Way galaxy Andromeda will inevitably take place beginning 4 billion years from now. The galaxy is now 2.5 million light-years away, but it is inexorably falling toward the Milky Way under the mutual pull of gravity between the two galaxies and the invisible dark matter that surrounds them both. The merger will result in the creation of a giant elliptical galaxy.
http://hubblesite.org/(adapted)
HUBBLE
Above our Earth so high
The Hubble telescope now hangs
Beyond our vault-like sky:
An all embracing eye;
Now showing us the universe
In all her glory.
Those swirling galaxies give way to seemingly endless
Tracts of quasars, dust and gas.
Through Hubble we look back through time,
At remnants of the Big Bang:
The Birth, they tell us, of Creation,
That might be repeated,
Over and over again.
Yet, before this satellite was launched,
Or telescopes invented,
Just what did humans know?
What did the Aztecs know of England,
Or fourteenth century English folk know of America?
As technological advances have
Been swift, so our state of ignorance
Has been revealed for all to see.
For no-one knows The Purpose of Life.
Why?
Oh Why!
Do We Live
To Die
Why?
For we will Die
Not Knowing Why.
Ask Christ they say,
He’ll show The Way.
Ask God and He will too.
Ask Allah, Buddha,
Anyone you like;
And Me, I’ll tell you just to Hope,
For Love will see us through.
Paul Butters
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews