Ripples in the Cosmos: A view behind the scenes of the new cosmology

Ripples in the Cosmos: A view behind the scenes of the new cosmology

The 1983 launch of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) by NASA and British and Dutch government consortiums was a nearly perfect model of collaborative international science. The IRAS mission, to make a complete radiowave map of "nearby" galaxies, was nearly overshadowed by the headline-making discovery by the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE) of "ripples" in background microwave radiation . Redressing that imbalance here, renowned cosmologist Rowan-Robinson, who was on the British data analysis team, offers vignettes of the personalities, the machines and the perseverance that powered the project. Unnecessary lectures about the goal of science and a precis of the Big Bang theory bracket the compelling story of IRAS--to the effect of gift-wrapping the Mona Lisa. In Rowan-Robinson's telling, the IRAS story is great space-age science likely to inspire future astronomers. Illustrations.

Michael Rowan-Robinson

Oxford University Press, USA

08 January, 1998

Hardcover

nothing

KOS0210

716745038