The Space Telescope

ix, [1], 276 pages. Illustrations. Figures Glossary. Reading list. Index, George B. Field (born on October 25, 1929 in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American astrophysicist. Field worked on plasma oscillations and later became interested in cosmology. In 1973 he became the founding director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, an innovative organizational structure that unified the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory under a single management. Field served as director until 1982. In the early 1980s Field chaired an influential National Academy of Science decadal study that recommended priorities for U.S. astronomical research. Astronomer Donald W. Goldsmith earned his Ph. D. in Astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley in March, 1969. In March 1990, the Hubble Telescope was scheduled be launched into space, offering the clearest and most detailed look at the universe ever achieved. Field (Harvard) and Goldsmith (U. of Cal., Berkeley) relate the history and technical aspects of the project and the telescope itself, including the implications of potential discoveries for astronomy and cosmology.…