LOOKING UP

A portrait gallery of telescopes large and small, earthbound or in space, both currently at work and planned for the near future.

Kramer uses simple language and restrained, matter-of-fact tones that accentuate the wonder of what telescopes have revealed and are revealing about our universe. He begins by explaining that telescopes actually “look back in time” and are designed by and for people who “want to look at things that are farther than mountains, and see more colors than human eyes can see.” The book goes on to describe the astronomical processes that produce each of those “colors,” from infrared to gamma rays, and what they can tell us. Tech-minded readers will also learn how instruments from Galileo’s simple tube to the specialized likes of NASA’s Chandra space telescope work. Using a serigraphic style, Scholz mixes sweeping, starry vistas lit by grand images of planets, black holes, and other sky phenomena with big, blocky views of each type of telescope—all mingled with helpful diagrams, earthly flora and fauna, and groups of human sky watchers diverse in age and race. Though the recent collapse of the giant Arecibo radio telescope renders the admiring nod it receives here poignantly moot, young readers will come away with a basic understanding of how different sorts of telescopes enhance what the naked eye can tell us about the nature of the cosmic light show overhead.

An eye-opening—and eye-widening—overview, memorably illustrated.