Eyes on the Universe: A History of the Telescope

By Isaac Asimov

Book Overview

In this book, Isaac Asimov chronicles what has been humanity's supreme adventure - the journey of the mind from the narrow boundaries of our home planet to the outer reaches of the universe. It is a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395207169
• ISBN13: 9780395207161
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A very 'readable' history of the telescope, from Asimov.

Issac Asimov's affection for astronomy sparkles throughout this thoroughly researched and very entertaining book. An impression of the instrument's dramatic impact on civilisation, is left with the reader. My copy was lost five years ago and I still pine for it. No doubt, had Asimov written 'A Brief History of Time' then quantum physicists would be more widely understood

Asimov and the history of aperature envy.

Written on the eve of construction of the Hubble Space Telescope, Eyes on the Universe traces the development of optical telescopes from the human eye and Galileo's first night out to design considerations for HST. Find out why Galileo went blind, how Newton built the first reflector and why Lord Rosse got clouded out. Learn how giant telescopes and the replacement of the eyepiece with cameras allowed modern astronomers to storm the heavens and change our concepts about the size, age and origins of the cosmos. An excellent history and easy read for scientist and non-scientist alike, Asimov proves why he made tons more money writing science fact than science fiction