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Unser Fenster zum Weltraum: 400 Jahre Entdeckungen mit Teleskopen
Adopted as the official book of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009, this stunningly illustrated history of telescopic discovery ranges from the first telescopes via the Hubble Space Telescope to next generation platforms. It includes the official 59-min IYA DVD.
- GenresAstronomyNonfiction
132 pages, Hardcover
First published November 26, 2008
8 people want to read
About the author
Govert Schilling
118 books49 followersGovert Schilling is freelance wetenschapsjournalist en publicist. Hij schrijft over sterrenkunde en ruimteonderzoek voor kranten en tijdschriften in binnen- en buitenland, o.a. voor de Volkskrant, Eos magazine, Science, New Scientist, Sky & Telescope en BBC Sky at Night. Hij publiceerde tientallen boeken over uiteenlopende sterrenkundige onderwerpen, waarvan sommige zijn vertaald, o.a. in het Engels, Duits en Chinees. Regelmatig geeft hij op radio en tv toelichting op ontwikkelingen in de astronomie. Daarnaast verzorgt hij publiekslezingen en cursussen, en is hij eindredacteur van de populaire website allesoversterrenkunde.nl.
Govert is autodidact op het gebied van de astronomie en de journalistiek. Hij was jarenlang actief in de Jongerenwerkgroep (JWG) voor sterrenkunde, was van 1980 tot 1987 hoofdredacteur van het sterrenkundig tijdschrift Zenit, en was tot 1998 werkzaam als programmaleider bij het Artis Planetarium in Amsterdam.
Voor zijn werk op het gebied van de popularisering van de sterrenkunde ontving Govert diverse prijzen en onderscheidingen, waaronder de Simon Stevin-kijker van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Weer- en Sterrenkunde KNVWS (1989, samen met astronaut Wubbo Ockels), de Eureka-oeuvreprijs van de Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek NWO (2002) en de David N. Schramm Award van de High-Energy Astrophysics Division van de American Astronomical Society (2014). In 2007 werd planetoïde (10986) Govert naar hem genoemd door de Internationale Astronomische Unie (IAU); in 2021 is hij benoemd tot erelid van deze organisatie.
Govert Schilling is getrouwd, heeft een zoon en een dochter, en woont in Amersfoort.
Govert is autodidact op het gebied van de astronomie en de journalistiek. Hij was jarenlang actief in de Jongerenwerkgroep (JWG) voor sterrenkunde, was van 1980 tot 1987 hoofdredacteur van het sterrenkundig tijdschrift Zenit, en was tot 1998 werkzaam als programmaleider bij het Artis Planetarium in Amsterdam.
Voor zijn werk op het gebied van de popularisering van de sterrenkunde ontving Govert diverse prijzen en onderscheidingen, waaronder de Simon Stevin-kijker van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Weer- en Sterrenkunde KNVWS (1989, samen met astronaut Wubbo Ockels), de Eureka-oeuvreprijs van de Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek NWO (2002) en de David N. Schramm Award van de High-Energy Astrophysics Division van de American Astronomical Society (2014). In 2007 werd planetoïde (10986) Govert naar hem genoemd door de Internationale Astronomische Unie (IAU); in 2021 is hij benoemd tot erelid van deze organisatie.
Govert Schilling is getrouwd, heeft een zoon en een dochter, en woont in Amersfoort.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 30, 2024
informative read, learned a lot about different instruments that I didn't know existed (and their different roles- i feel like i only know the big name instruments but didn't know about the lesser known telescopes like APEX or older ones like Hale (impressive that older observatories like Hale can still discover planet satellites/stars)) and how technology revolutionized observational astronomy. it's pretty funny to see all the anticipated launch/opening dates considering some construction (like the TMT) was stopped or in the case of JWST, ended up being 7+ years later or not even completed yet ! (L LSST)
Other things to note:
- Interferometry is much easier as radio wavelengths (not sure why?) and can be used across locations to improve image resolution, known as VLBI (ex. VLA which has 27 antennas (!!)). why don't we do this with optical etc
- you can think of a radio telescope as a "broadcast" allowing you to listen to the universe's broadcast of radio waves (although it really just sounds like cracks and hisses). Radio telescopes don't need to have as smooth of dish surfaces because of their longer wavelengths, although they're still weak.
- "HST will be on active duty until 2013 or so. Around that time, its successor will be launched: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)" -LOL (although the later description like mirror size and general structure are still accurate, like the unfolding and stuff)
- x-ray/gamma-ray telescopes are difficult to build because they are high energy, so they pass through mirror materials. soft x-rays can be focused with the nested shells method. hard x-rays/gamma rays are detected with scintillators or "sophisticated pinhole cameras." first detected cosmic x-rays by Geiger counter on rocket probe above atmosphere.
- ADAPTIVE OPTICS !! materials: wavefront sensors, fast computers, mirrors, actuators. difficult to scale for 30-40 m telescopes because when you cover that much sky area, the atmospheric effect is complicated by different layers across the thickness. Solution: multi-conjugate adaptive optics? (using guide stars to determine atmospheric effect).
- "At sunset, the giant telescope enclosures open up, starlight rains down on the VLT mirrors, and new discoveries are made" - this is so inspiring :')
Other things to note:
- Interferometry is much easier as radio wavelengths (not sure why?) and can be used across locations to improve image resolution, known as VLBI (ex. VLA which has 27 antennas (!!)). why don't we do this with optical etc
- you can think of a radio telescope as a "broadcast" allowing you to listen to the universe's broadcast of radio waves (although it really just sounds like cracks and hisses). Radio telescopes don't need to have as smooth of dish surfaces because of their longer wavelengths, although they're still weak.
- "HST will be on active duty until 2013 or so. Around that time, its successor will be launched: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)" -LOL (although the later description like mirror size and general structure are still accurate, like the unfolding and stuff)
- x-ray/gamma-ray telescopes are difficult to build because they are high energy, so they pass through mirror materials. soft x-rays can be focused with the nested shells method. hard x-rays/gamma rays are detected with scintillators or "sophisticated pinhole cameras." first detected cosmic x-rays by Geiger counter on rocket probe above atmosphere.
- ADAPTIVE OPTICS !! materials: wavefront sensors, fast computers, mirrors, actuators. difficult to scale for 30-40 m telescopes because when you cover that much sky area, the atmospheric effect is complicated by different layers across the thickness. Solution: multi-conjugate adaptive optics? (using guide stars to determine atmospheric effect).
- "At sunset, the giant telescope enclosures open up, starlight rains down on the VLT mirrors, and new discoveries are made" - this is so inspiring :')
January 17, 2017
The invention of the telescope kicked off over four hundred years of amazing discoveries. This book and accompanying DVD chronicle the major developments in science and telescope advancements.
The technology behind the telescopes is explained in an accessible way. As someone with a natural inclination towards engineering I was interested in more, which means that it's probably good for most people.
The book's organization is rather clunky. I watched the DVD after finishing the book and discovered why - the authors used the DVD script as a basis for the book. As a result, some things are explained in multiple places, and I was left with an overall impression of talking to someone who is smart but scatterbrained.
There have been some major discoveries since the book was published in 2009. For example, Kepler has discovered over two thousand confirmed exoplanets and another two thousand candidates. Gravity waves have been confirmed. But there have been some setbacks as well - the James Webb Space Telescope still hasn't launched.
I hate to make this suggestion, but here goes: the DVD is better than the book so you might as well stick with the DVD and skim read the book for the extra pictures.
The technology behind the telescopes is explained in an accessible way. As someone with a natural inclination towards engineering I was interested in more, which means that it's probably good for most people.
The book's organization is rather clunky. I watched the DVD after finishing the book and discovered why - the authors used the DVD script as a basis for the book. As a result, some things are explained in multiple places, and I was left with an overall impression of talking to someone who is smart but scatterbrained.
There have been some major discoveries since the book was published in 2009. For example, Kepler has discovered over two thousand confirmed exoplanets and another two thousand candidates. Gravity waves have been confirmed. But there have been some setbacks as well - the James Webb Space Telescope still hasn't launched.
I hate to make this suggestion, but here goes: the DVD is better than the book so you might as well stick with the DVD and skim read the book for the extra pictures.
April 4, 2010
The wonders of telescopes and the universe. Lots of pictures, fairly simplistic text.
Read
November 29, 2024Good book
Gives you a good history of telescope and their future from 2009, mostly for kids though
Gives you a good history of telescope and their future from 2009, mostly for kids though
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews