400 Years of the Telescope

In 400 Years of the Telescope: A Journey of Science, Technology and Thought, the companion book to the PBS television special, Donald Goldsmith takes readers on a sweeping cosmic journey from the simple optical telescopes used by astronomers in centuries past to today s giant and technologically sophisticated instruments that study our universe in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum on Earth and in space. Beginning with the story of the telescope s invention in Europe at the dawn of the 17th century, Goldsmith explains how Galileo first pointed his instrument toward the heavens, becoming the Father of Modern Observational Astronomy, and making the observations that eventually verified the Copernican hypothesis which placed the sun, instead of the Earth, at our solar system s center. In this inviting and insightful book, Goldsmith interweaves four centuries of scientific history, intellectual advancements, and technological triumphs to explain how mankind s understanding of the universe has evolved dramatically each time that astronomers create larger and more powerful telescopes to point toward the heavens.