Overview

Drawing on interviews with participants and archival documents, W. Patrick McCray describes the ambitions and machinations of prominent astronomers, engineers, funding patrons and politicians in their effort to construct a modern facility for cutting-edge science - and to establish a model for international co-operation in the era of megascience . Besides exploring how and why scientists embraced the promise and potential of new technologies, McCray considers how these new tools affected what it means to be an astronomer.

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9780674011472

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This is an exceptionally readable history of the 50-years-plus evolution of large ground-based telescopes from the era of 'cowboy' astronomers to the present day. Historian Patrick McCray shows how profound changes in the sociology of astronomy alternately drove or reflected the development of giant telescopes in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.--Stephen P. Maran Sky and Telescope (08/01/2004)

In astronomy, phrases such as 'thinking big' don't even begin to cover the situation. Fewer than 100 years ago, this galaxy was all there was but stargazers have pushed the universal population count to about 200bn galaxies so far--each with maybe 200bn stars--and extended the boundaries of the visible universe to about 13 bn light years. So a book about the academic bickering, muddled finance and international finesse behind the instruments that widened human horizons should be welcome. Even better, this heavenly topic has its share of drama and comedy. -- Tim Radford The Guardian (09/02/2004)

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