Imaging the Universe
Photography and Astronomy
Charlotte BiggHow photography has shaped our understanding of the universe
What does the universe look like? From daguerreotypes of the Moon to colourful vistas of nebulae from space telescopes, photography and astronomy have developed hand in hand, transforming the ways in which our skies have been observed, understood and viewed over the past two centuries. Charlotte Bigg reveals how astronomers, chemists, photographers, electronic experts and other often forgotten individuals from different walks of life came together to develop new methods to record the light of the Moon, the Sun and the stars, and to share their images with a broad audience. Featuring a wide variety of compelling images, Imaging the Universe explores the visual cultures of astrophotography and how they have shaped our visions of the cosmos.
How photography has shaped our understanding of the universe
What does the universe look like? From daguerreotypes of the Moon to colourful vistas of nebulae from space telescopes, photography and astronomy have developed hand in hand, transforming the ways in which our skies have been observed, understood and viewed over the past two centuries. Charlotte Bigg reveals how astronomers, chemists, photographers, electronic experts and other often forgotten individuals from different walks of life came together to develop new methods to record the light of the Moon, the Sun and the stars, and to share their images with a broad audience. Featuring a wide variety of compelling images, Imaging the Universe explores the visual cultures of astrophotography and how they have shaped our visions of the cosmos.
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Since its earliest use two centuries ago, photography has had the most intimate relation with astronomy. Photos of the Moon or Mars, of remote nebulae or nearby stars, have long provided astronomers with their best means for careful observation and winning wide public fascination. This remarkably intelligent and beautifully illustrated book charts key moments in that relation, the ingenious manipulations and demanding labour that drove astronomical photography. Charlotte Bigg’s compelling work demonstrates with wit and acuity how skilled judgment and cunning instruments played key roles in these vital histories of arts and sciences.
'Simon Schaffer, Darwin College, Cambridge
Preface
1 Of Blurs, Maps and Portraits: Photographing the Moon
2 A Photographic Archive of the Heavens
3 Visualizing the Popular Science of Solar Physics
4 Electronic Vistas of the Universe
Epilogue
References
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Charlotte Bigg is Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Alexandre-Koyré, Paris. She has published widely on the visual and material cultures of science from the late eighteenth century to now.