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The Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It

June 30, 2008

The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe, about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes. The Hubble was designed after World War II, when astronomer Lyman Spitzer and a handful of scientists waged a fifty year struggle to build the first space telescope capable of seeing beyond Earth's atmospheric veil. Robert Zimmerman, author of The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It, takes us behind the scenes, explaining how some of Hubble's advocates sacrificed careers and family, and how others devoted their lives to the telescope only to have their hopes and reputations shattered when its mirror was found to be flawed. Zimmerman is an award-winning science writer and historian whose work has appeared in Natural History, the Wall Street Journal and Astronomy, among other leading publications.

WNET
Explorers Club
Image of The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It
Author: Robert Zimmerman
Publisher: Princeton University Press (2008)
Binding: Hardcover, 320 pages
Image of Genesis: The Story Of Apollo 8
Author: Robert Zimmerman
Publisher: Dell (1999)
Binding: Paperback, 368 pages
Image of Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel
Author: Robert Zimmerman
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (2003)
Binding: Hardcover, 544 pages
Image of The Chronological Encyclopedia of Discoveries in Space:
Author: Robert Zimmerman
Publisher: Oryx Press (2000)
Binding: Hardcover, 432 pages