Hubble's Universe: Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images
The Hubble Space Telescope, which prolific astronomy writer Dickinson calls a “remarkable discovery machine,” has been orbiting the earth since 1990, inspiring many a book showcasing its astrophotography. What makes this superbly well-produced volume unique is its presentation of 300 images that have never been made public before. Dickinson’s expert and enthusiastic commentary also makes the Hubble wondrous all over again. He explains the 2009 “reboot” and how astronomers use a process called drizzling to create Hubble’s astonishingly sharp images, such as a staggering two-page look at “a small segment of the night sky the size of a period in this book held at arm’s length,” filled with thousands of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. Dickinson elucidates Hubble’s “top discoveries,” from proof that “supermassive black holes are common in galaxies” to success in measuring the universe’s expansion rate. With images of the birth and death of stars and the marvelous shapes nebulae take, reflected in such names as Helix, Jewel Box, Loch Ness, and Cat’s Eye, any engagement with this “cosmic portfolio,” from picture gazing to deep reading, is grandly rewarded. --Donna Seaman