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- catalog abstract ""First Light is perhaps the best book about astronomy ever written. It tells the story of the men and women at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California who peer through the amazing Hale Telescope at the farthest edges of space, attempting to solve the riddle of the beginning of time. "Science is a lot weirder and more human than most people realize," Preston writes in his foreword to this revised and updated edition of his first book, and he skillfully weaves together stories of the eccentricities of his characters and the technical wonders of their work to create a riveting narrative about what scientists do and why they do it." "The telescope itself is the main character. It is huge, seven stories tall, the heaviest working telescope on earth, with a mirror that is two hundred inches wide and took fourteen years to cast and polish. The telescope is used by astronomers like James E. Gunn, a "gadgeteer" who scavenges for junk parts and fashions them into sensitive instruments he uses to look into the glittering depths of the universe. Preston's rendering of the obsessions and adventures of Gunn and his colleagues is a witty and illuminating portrait of scientists in action and a luminous story of what modern astronomy is all about."--Jacket.".
- catalog contributor b10052072.
- catalog created "1996.".
- catalog date "1996".
- catalog date "1996.".
- catalog dateCopyrighted "1996.".
- catalog description ""First Light is perhaps the best book about astronomy ever written. It tells the story of the men and women at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California who peer through the amazing Hale Telescope at the farthest edges of space, attempting to solve the riddle of the beginning of time. "Science is a lot weirder and more human than most people realize," Preston writes in his foreword to this revised and updated edition of his first book, and he skillfully weaves together stories of the eccentricities of his characters and the technical wonders of their work to create a riveting narrative about what scientists do and why they do it." "The telescope itself is the main character. It is huge, seven stories tall, the heaviest working telescope on earth, with a mirror that is two hundred inches wide and took fourteen years to cast and polish. The telescope is used by astronomers like James E. Gunn, a "gadgeteer" who scavenges for junk parts and fashions them into sensitive instruments he uses to look into the glittering depths of the universe. Preston's rendering of the obsessions and adventures of Gunn and his colleagues is a witty and illuminating portrait of scientists in action and a luminous story of what modern astronomy is all about."--Jacket.".
- catalog description "Big eye -- Shoemaker comets -- Gadgeteers -- Discoveries.".
- catalog extent "xvii, 275 p. ;".
- catalog hasFormat "First light.".
- catalog identifier "0679449698 (alk. paper)".
- catalog isFormatOf "First light.".
- catalog issued "1996".
- catalog issued "1996.".
- catalog language "eng".
- catalog publisher "New York : Random House,".
- catalog relation "First light.".
- catalog spatial "California".
- catalog subject "520 20".
- catalog subject "Astronomy Popular works.".
- catalog subject "Astronomy Research California Popular works.".
- catalog subject "Palomar Observatory Popular works.".
- catalog subject "QB44.2 .P74 1996".
- catalog tableOfContents "Big eye -- Shoemaker comets -- Gadgeteers -- Discoveries.".
- catalog title "First light : the search for the edge of the universe / Richard Preston.".
- catalog type "Popular works. fast".
- catalog type "text".