Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambition and the Promise of Technology [Hardcover]

Dr. W. Patrick McCray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Every night, astronomers use a new generation of giant telescopes at observatories around the world to study phenomena at the forefront of science. By focusing on the history of the Gemini Observatory--twin 8-meter telescopes located on mountain peaks in Hawaii and Chile--Giant Telescopes tells the story behind the planning and construction of modern scientific tools, offering a detailed view of the technological and political transformation of astronomy in the postwar era.

Drawing on interviews with participants and archival documents, W. Patrick McCray describes the ambitions and machinations of prominent astronomers, engineers, funding patrons, and politicians in their effort to construct a modern facility for cutting-edge science--and to establish a model for international cooperation in the coming era of "megascience." His account details the technological, institutional, cultural, and financial challenges that scientists faced while planning and building a new generation of giant telescopes. Besides exploring how and why scientists embraced the promise and potential of new technologies, he considers how these new tools affected what it means to be an astronomer. McCray's book should interest anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the science, technology, and politics behind finding our place in the universe.

(20040529)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This vivid history of modern telescope building focuses on the turbulence, tension and triumph of building the Gemini 8-meter telescopes. Strong personalities, scientific opportunities, technological advances, and institutional rivalries are sharply etched and skillfully illuminated by McCray's deep reading of the record. As astronomers plunge headfirst into the next round of giant telescope building, this book should be on the required reading list.
--Robert P. Kirshner, author of The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos (20040723)

[An] insightful history of how ground-based telescopes have evolved and flourished over the past 50 years. [McCray's] tale begins with the 200-inch Hale telescope at California's Palomar Mountain, built in 1948, and ends with the twin 8-metre Gemini telescopes on mountains in Chile and Hawaii, completed in 2002. (New Scientist 20040902)

This tale of the giant eyes on the sky that are revolutionising our knowledge of the universe reveals a fascinating piece of science policy and science history.
--Martin Ince (Times Higher Education Supplement )

This is an exceptionally readable history of the 50-years-plus evolution of large ground-based telescopes from the era of 'cowboy' astronomers to the present day. Historian Patrick McCray shows how profound changes in the sociology of astronomy alternately drove or reflected the development of giant telescopes in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
--Stephen P. Maran (Sky and Telescope )

In astronomy, phrases such as 'thinking big' don't even begin to cover the situation. Fewer than 100 years ago, this galaxy was all there was but stargazers have pushed the universal population count to about 200bn galaxies so far--each with maybe 200bn stars--and extended the boundaries of the visible universe to about 13 bn light years. So a book about the academic bickering, muddled finance and international finesse behind the instruments that widened human horizons should be welcome. Even better, this heavenly topic has its share of drama and comedy.
--Tim Radford (The Guardian )

Select illustrations, a helpful table of giant telescopes, notes, and a list of sources complete a well-written, authoritative, and important study.
--Joseph N. Tatarewicz (Technology and Culture )

About the Author

W. Patrick McCray is an assistant professor in the History Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara. This is his second book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674011473
• ISBN-13: 978-0674011472
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,774,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

W. Patrick McCray is a professor in the History Department at UCSB. McCray entered the historians' profession in an unusual way via his background in materials science and engineering. His doctoral research in materials science at the University of Arizona combined his understanding of materials with archaeology and history to examine the culture and technology of glassmaking in Renaissance Venice. He published widely on this topic in both technical and history journals and also authored a book on early modern glassmaking.

Following completion of his degree in 1996, McCray began to do research on the history of modern science and technology. His first major project was an exploration of the politics, policy, and technology behind the current generation of ground-based telescopes. His work was supported by the National Science Foundation and was published as Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambition and the Promise of Technology. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004). Before coming to UCSB in 2003, McCray had several postdoctoral fellowships and worked as a historian for three years at the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics.

McCray's next book addressed the role of amateur scientists during the opening years of the Space Age. This book was published in 2008 by Princeton University Press as Keep Watching the Skies: The Story of Operation Moonwatch and the Dawn of the Space Age. It chronicles amateur members of Moonwatch during the birth of the Space Age by exploring the activities of citizen-scientists who organized a global network of satellite spotters. Combining interviews with scrapbooks, photos, and archival sources, the story reveals public enthusiasm for space and science during the Cold War.

When he arrived at UCSB, McCray became more interested in the history of nanotechnology and how it intersected with his prior research on the history of materials. He helped develop and write the proposal to the National Science Foundation that resulted in the creation of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at UCSB and served as the Center's co-director for two years. He currently leads one of the CNS's research initiatives; this explores the history of nanotechnology and its place in the broader context of the technological enthusiasm in the late 20th century.

As a historian, McCray is fascinated by the visions of the future that litter the past. He is currently writing a new book for Princeton University Press about "visioneers" - people who connected their technical expertise to the visions of a more expansive future made possible by the technologies they studied, designed, and promoted. In 2010, he received a Collaborative Research Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies which will help support the research and writing of the book.

When not researching and writing, McCray is typically outside on some form of two-wheeled transportation. He received news that UCSB had hired him in 2003 while on a cross-country bicycle trip from California to Florida. The fact that there is good surfing five minutes from his office has not escaped his attention either.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The post-war development of US astronomy, May 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambition and the Promise of Technology (Hardcover)

This is a very well-researched history of the twists and
turns of post-war US large telescope astronomy and its
desire to retain leadership against growing competition
from Europe and Japan. The story involves a seemingly
endless conflict between private and publicly-funded
astronomers and differing mirror technologies and their
outspoken advocates, against a backdrop of
international partners attempting to join the US effort
and simultaneously knock some order in the US process.

McCray has worked hard to produce a very readable
account. Whether you are a practising astronomer or
interested in how hard it is to synthesize US scientific
opinion, this is well worth reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly enjoyable story of astronomers and science, April 8, 2008

By 

Themistogenes (Scillus, Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambition and the Promise of Technology (Paperback)

I got this book as a present and really liked it. It tells the story of how ground-based telescopes have developed since the 1940s. The book is very readable and covers the subject very thoroughly. The scientific material is presented clearly, especially for non-specialists.

For the reviewer who didn't like that there were "too many people": this isn't a technical manual, it's a history. I was really impressed that the author conducted more than 120 hours of interviews with scientists and engineers, in addition to visiting numerous observatories. You can't understand the development of these telescopes without explaining how people and institutions decided what projects to pursue.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Giant Telescopes, December 21, 2008

By 

Rodford E. Smith "Rodford Edmiston" (Frankfort, Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambition and the Promise of Technology (Paperback)

Focuses (sorry about that) a bit more on proposals and politics than technical matters, which is what I am interested in. Still a good book.