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Astronomy's quest for sharp images : from blurred pictures to the Very Large Telescope / Pierre Léna.
Van Pelt Library QB51.3.I45 L46 2020
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Léna, Pierre, 1937- author.
- Series:
- Astronomers' universe
- Astronomers' Universe
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Imaging systems in astronomy--History.
- Imaging systems in astronomy.
- Astronomical instruments--History.
- Astronomical instruments.
- Optical instruments--History.
- Optical instruments.
- Optics, Adaptive--History.
- Optics, Adaptive.
- History.
- Physical Description:
- xiii, 271 pages : illustrations (color) ; 24 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Cham : Springer International Publishing AG, [2020]
- Summary:
- Since the 1960s, astrophysical discoveries have blossomed, due to the emergence of powerful and new observational tools. Among them, a fantastic improvement of the sharpness of astronomical images, obtained with ground based optical telescopes, has been the result of two revolutions: adaptive optics and optical interferometry. Written for a general audience, interwoven with fascinating details about the evolution of vision and optics, this book tells a personal story of these revolutions in observational astronomy, born two centuries ago and blossoming in the past fifty years. With the construction of the Very Large Telescope in Chile, Europe played a leading role where young scientists, joining creative astronomers and engineers, have developed a superb creativity. Today, incredibly sharp images of exoplanetary systems and black hole environments are obtained and reveal new questions about Earth-like objects or fundamental physics. The author has been one of the actors of this adventure. His first-hand testimony is opening the future to new horizons.
- Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: 1. One Night in Paranal
- The Observatory
- A Distant Neighbour, the Black Hole in Sagittarius
- Exoplanets: Other Worlds So Close
- Blurred Images
- 2. From the Dawn of Time
- The Eye, Marvel of Evolution
- Reading Glasses and Telescopes
- Atmospheric Disturbances
- The Shadow of a Hair
- Determination in the Face of Adversity
- 3. Too Good to Be True? Adaptive Optics
- Breaking Through the Seeing Barrier
- Star Wars
- Europe and the True Stars
- The Birth of Adaptive Optics
- One Night in Provence
- Great Prospects for Adaptive Optics
- 4. The Quest for Sharp Images: Interferometry
- Four Breakthroughs over the Centuries
- Undaunted!
- Take Courage and Make Your Point
- Making a Beautiful Image, from Fringes
- The Interferometer Takes Shape
- What Could Be Achieved by Beating the Blur?
- From the Report in Venice to the Decisive Council Meeting in 1987
- Excitement and Doubts
- 5. The Very Large Telescope: A Twofold Victory Over Blur
- Choosing and Levelling a Mountaintop
- Things Could Still Go Wrong
- Don't Give Up!
- The Future in Europe Grows Clearer
- Parallel Paths
- 6. Images of Exoplanets
- A Fruitless Quest
- A First Surprise
- A Second Surprise and Its Consequences
- A Stroll Among the Exoplanets
- Interferometry and New Worlds
- 7. Our Neighbour, the Black Hole
- What Is a Black Hole?
- Are There Black Holes in the Universe?
- The Center of Our Galaxy: The Great Enigma
- The GRAVITY Instrument
- 8. The Future Lies in the Details
- The Most Beautiful Observatory in the World
- What Future for Blur?
- 9. Epilogue
- A. Distances and Angles
- B. Telescopes and Instruments.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.
- Other Format:
- Electronic version: Léna, Pierre. Astronomy's quest for sharp images.
- ISBN:
- 9783030558109
- 303055810X
- OCLC:
- 1176325207
- Publisher Number:
- 99986123738
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