Overview
- Chronicles the human and scientific sides of new development of astronomical imaging methods that have revolutionised ground-based optical astronomy
- Authored by a pioneer of adaptive optics in astronomy
- Written in a style accessible for all interested readers
Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe (ASTRONOM)
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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About this book
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.
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Astronomy’s Quest for Sharp Images
Book Subtitle: From Blurred Pictures to the Very Large Telescope
Authors: Pierre Léna
Series Title: Astronomers' Universe
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55811-6
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55810-9Published: 28 October 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55811-6Published: 27 October 2020
Series ISSN: 1614-659X
Series E-ISSN: 2197-6651
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 271
Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations, 38 illustrations in colour
Additional Information: Based on a translation from the French language edition: Une histoire de flou. Miroirs, trous noirs et autres mondes by Pierre LÉNA Copyright © Le Pommier/Humensis, 2019
Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, History of Science, Microwaves, RF and Optical Engineering, Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Optics, Lasers, Photonics, Optical Devices