Martin Cohen, In Quest of Telescopes . Cambridge, MA: Sky, 1980. This book describes the travels of the author from observatory to observatory (with accompanying photographs). Cohen visits the largest of the earthbound telescopes, describing their technical attributes and their discoveries.
Nigel Henbest, Observing the Universe . Oxford: Blackwell & New Scientist, 1984. This book is filled with explanations, photographs, and maps of the universe. The author provides history about telescopes' discoveries, followed by descriptions of the Milky Way and other neighboring galaxies.
Henry C. King, The History of the Telescope . Cambridge, MA: Sky, 1955. The author begins his history of telescopes with ancient Egyptian astronomical instruments and works his way up through the making of the two-hundred-inch Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar, the largest and most innovative at the time his book was published. King includes numerous black-and-white photos and diagrams.
Zdenek Kopal, Telescopes in Space . New York: Hart, 1970. The author of this book, a highly regarded astronomer, provides a thorough history of satellite telescopes for their first two decades. The author provides plentiful technical detail and superb photographs.
Staff of the Palomar Observatory, Giants of Palomar . Salt Lake City, UT: Hansen Planetarium, 1983. This small booklet, which can be purchased only at the Mt. Palomar Observatory or by mail, provides an excellent short history of the telescope and famous astronomers who have worked there.
Wallace H. Tucker and Karen Tucker, The Cosmic Inquirers: Modern Telescopes and Their Makers . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986. The Tuckers provide information on how NASA, Congress, and major universities determine which satellite telescopes will be launched into space. The Tuckers interweave into the fabric of their history fascinating stories about astronomers and the problems they faced.
Mark Carreau, "Hubble's Eyesight Is 20-20," San Francisco Chronicle , January 14, 1994.
Chris Carroll, "Eye on Infinity," National Geographic , December 2003. Michael Klesius, "Super X-ray Vision," National Geographic , December 2002.
Bath Preservation Trust, "William Herschel," 2001. www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk .
Ed Bradley, "Hubble Future in Jeopardy," CBSNews.com , March 14, 2004. www.cbsnews.com .
Chandra X-ray Observatory, "Cosmic Look-Back Time," 2004. http://chandra.harvard.edu .
Leonard David, "Gravity Probe B: Delay in Space and Time," Space.com , December 2003. www.space.com .
Alan Dressler, "About Origins," Origins, September 2003. www.origins.jpl.nasa.gov.
Andrew Fabian, "Black Hole Sound Waves," Science@NASA, September 2003. http://science.nasa.gov .
Goddard Space Flight Center, "NASA's HETE Spots Rare Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow," November 7, 2001. www.gsfc.nasa.gov .
Ron Hipschman, "SETI: The Radio Search," SETI@home, 2004. www.setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu .
——, "The Center for SETI Research," SETI Institute, 2003. www.setiinst.edu.
HubbleSite, "Hubble's Deepest View Ever of the Universe Unveils Earliest Galaxies," May 2003. http://hubblesite.org .
——, "Telescope History: Vision Becomes a Reality," 2003. http://hubblesite.org .
Imagine the Universe! "NASA Detects One of Closest and Brightest Gamma Ray Bursts," May 16, 2003. www.imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov.
——, "Neutron Stars," 2003. www.imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Laura K. Kraft, "Hubble and Keck Team Up to Find Farthest Known Galaxy," W.M. Keck Observatory, February 2004. www2.keck.hawaii.edu .
C.M. Mountain and F.C. Gillett, "The Revolution in Telescope Aperture," AURA: National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 1998. www.aura-nio.noao.edu/documentation/mountain1998.pdf .
Mt. Wilson Observatory, "Adaptive Optics," www.mtwilson.edu .
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, "The Very Long Baseline Array," April 2004. www.nrao.edu .
J.J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson, "Galileo Galilei," School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, University of St. Andrews, November 2002. www.gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk.
Matt Quandt, "GALEX Will Look Ahead to the Past," Astronomy.com , April 2003. www.astronomy.com .
Luci Sherriff, "Chocks Away for NASA's Einstein Test," Register , April 21, 2004. www.theregister.co.uk .
Spaceflight Now, "Study Reports Origin of Gamma-Ray Bursts," May 17, 2002. www.spaceflightnow.com .
SpaceHike.com , "Gamma-Ray Telescope to Sleuth for Origin of Elements," 2003. www.spacehike.com .
SpaceRef.com , "Gamma-ray Bursts, X-ray Flashes, and Certain Supernovae Are Related," November 2003. www.spaceref.com .
David Tenenbaum, "Three, Two, One, Contact," The Why Files: Science Behind the News, July 1997. www.whyfiles.org .
Rob van den Berg, "A Constant That Isn't Constant," Physical Review Focus , August 2001. http://focus.aps.org/story/v8/st9 .
Richard Wainscoat, "Astronomy and Space Science: Monitoring the Cosmos, Far and Near," State of Hawaii, 1998. www.hawaii.gov .
David Whitehouse, "Hubble's Vision Is Blurred," BBC News, April 2000. www.news.bbc.co.uk.
Kelly Kizer Whitt, "Record-Setting Gamma-Ray Burst Detected," Astronomy.com , April 2003. www.astronomy.com .
W.M. Keck Observatory, "Two Telescopes, One Vision," 2001. www2.keck.hawaii.edu .
Chandra X-ray Observatory ( http://chandra.harvard.edu ). This site provides information about the Chandra telescope's history, progress, and discoveries. It also contains spectacular photographs and links to all major project objectives.
HubbleSite ( http://hubblesite.org ). The Hubble site, operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is an impressive collection of information about the history of Hubble and its remarkable accomplishments. The site includes dazzling photographs, and it welcomes queries about the Hubble telescope from students.
SETI@home ( www.setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu ). SETI is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The site provides detailed information about SETI's mission and how anyone with a home computer can participate in the analysis of possible signals from intelligent alien beings.
W.M. Keck Observatory ( www2.keck.hawaii.edu ). The Keck Observatory Web site offers information on the twin Keck telescopes. Engineering discussions about the ten-meter mirrors, the instrumentation of the telescopes, and the objectives astronomers hope to achieve are included in the site's array of Web pages.
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