12/3/09

Hubble: Imaging Space and Time



Hubble:
Imaging Space and Time


by David Devorkin
In the spirit of National Geographicโ€�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 worldโ€�s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar systemโ€�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 Hubbleโ€�s beginnings, its controversial early days, the drama of its first ser...