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Reviews
The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers by Emily Levesque
anoresteia's review against another edition
4.0
levesque does an excellent job at both telling the history of astronomy and personal anecdotes of herself in the field, and touches on some modern-day ethical questions regarding the creation of telescopes and the locations chosen to put them--i wish that there were more discussion regarding the keck observatory and the ethical/legal questions which surround it.
sarahheidmann's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
zualireads's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
booksandpuzzles's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
zfeig's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting book, but be aware it's written much more like a memoir than a history of the profession of astronomy.
The author focused a lot on her experience which mostly involves minor contributions in the form of a PhD. She sprinkles in anecdotal stories of predecessors in her profession, but it's not particularly systematic or vetted.
The author focused a lot on her experience which mostly involves minor contributions in the form of a PhD. She sprinkles in anecdotal stories of predecessors in her profession, but it's not particularly systematic or vetted.
scostner's review against another edition
4.0
Levesque weaves together her personal experiences, anecdotes shared by colleagues, and details from the history of astronomy to capture a view of the field as a whole and where it is headed. From her own early excitement at viewing Halley's Comet with her family in the backyard to riding on the Stratospheric Observatory at 45,000 feet, she makes the life of a modern astronomer come to life.
I especially enjoyed how she toggles back and forth between her observation runs at various telescopes around the world, descriptions of her educational path to her current position, and a look at the development of astronomy throughout history. Just the advances from bare eyeball observations of the stars to the ability of interferometers to measure gravitational waves is astounding. And traveling thousands of miles to use telescopes on remote mountaintops in Chile or Hawaii certainly seems to explode the image of figures hunched over telescopes in the dark, never wandering far from home.
For those with an interest in the field of astronomy, this book offers details about how research into black holes, supernovae, and other stellar objects is carried out. There are technical details about the advance from small handheld telescopes to the construction of large radio astronomy facilities or the Hubble Space Telescope. And the hilarious stories of scientists startled by a raccoon landing on their lap looking for a snack or skunks wandering into observatories through an open door put a more human face on the daily lives of these researchers.
Highly recommended for anyone curious about STEM careers or outer space.
I especially enjoyed how she toggles back and forth between her observation runs at various telescopes around the world, descriptions of her educational path to her current position, and a look at the development of astronomy throughout history. Just the advances from bare eyeball observations of the stars to the ability of interferometers to measure gravitational waves is astounding. And traveling thousands of miles to use telescopes on remote mountaintops in Chile or Hawaii certainly seems to explode the image of figures hunched over telescopes in the dark, never wandering far from home.
For those with an interest in the field of astronomy, this book offers details about how research into black holes, supernovae, and other stellar objects is carried out. There are technical details about the advance from small handheld telescopes to the construction of large radio astronomy facilities or the Hubble Space Telescope. And the hilarious stories of scientists startled by a raccoon landing on their lap looking for a snack or skunks wandering into observatories through an open door put a more human face on the daily lives of these researchers.
Highly recommended for anyone curious about STEM careers or outer space.