Observatories and Telescopes of Modern Times
Ground-Based Optical and Radio Astronomy Facilities since 1945

An historical overview of the development of professional optical and radio observatories from 1945 to today.

David Leverington (Author)

9780521899932, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 November 2016

501 pages, 91 b/w illus. 11 tables
25.3 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm, 1.12 kg

'The author is to be congratulated for the meticulous research he has carried out toproduce a book which will be of great interest to optical and radio astronomers. He has produced an astronomical encyclopedia which readers who wish to pursue thehistorical development of observatories and innovative telescopes will find of greatinterest.' Ragbir Bhathal, Metascience

This volume gives an historical overview of the development of professional optical and radio observatories from 1945 to today. It covers the environment in which these facilities were developed by organisations in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, often led by larger-than-life individuals, as well as exploring the financial and political factors that both constrained and encouraged progress. As ever more expensive optical facilities were built, they exploited new technologies to significantly improve their performance: CCDs, active and adaptive optics, and spun honeycomb and segmented mirrors. The second half of this volume turns to the parallel history of radio astronomy facilities throughout the world, finishing with the ALMA observatory in Chile. This is the ground-based companion to the author's previous work on space astronomy, New Cosmic Horizons (2001). It is written for both technical and non-technical readers interested in the modern history of astronomy and its observational facilities.

Preface
Part I. Optical Observatories: 1. Palomar Mountain Observatory
2. The United States Optical Observatory
3. From the Next Generation Telescope to Gemini and SOAR
4. Competing primary mirror designs
5. Active optics, adaptive optics and other technical innovations
6. European Northern Observatory and Calar Alto
7. European Southern Observatory
8. Mauna Kea Observatory
9. Australian optical observatories
10. Mount Hopkins' Whipple Observatory and the MMT
11. Apache Point Observatory
12. Carnegie Southern Observatory (Las Campanas)
13. Mount Graham International Optical Observatory
14. Modern optical interferometers
15. Solar observatories
Part II. Radio Observatories: 16. Australian radio observatories
17. Cambridge Mullard Radio Observatory
18. Jodrell Bank
19. Early radio observatories away from the Australian-British axis
20. The American National Radio Astronomy Observatory
21. Owens Valley and Mauna Kea
22. Further North and Central American observatories
23. Further European and Asian radio observatories
24. ALMA and the South Pole
Name index
Optical observatory and telescope index
Radio observatory and telescope index
General index.

Subject Areas: History of engineering & technology [TBX], Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods [PGG], Astronomy, space & time [PG], Popular science [PDZ], History of science [PDX], History [HB]