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The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers
Top of the pile
79
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
65/100Critics
93/100Scholars
Author:
Emily M. Levesque
Publisher:
Sourcebooks
Date:
August 4, 2020
Astronomer Emily Levesque describes her adventures with the scrappy (and shrinking) crew of scientists working with stars and telescopes. She dissects both the romance and the real human curiosity that is so important to our exploration of space, showing how scientists are going beyond the machines to infuse important creativity and intimate passion into the stars.
What The Reviewers Say
This is no dry technical narrative. Levesque knows how to tell a story, and her conversational style and clear, easygoing prose bring readers into the action, whether it’s her own first experience of a total eclipse or another astronomer’s discovery of a supernova with the naked eye. Readers will learn what it takes to be granted access to a single night of observation at one of the world’s premier telescopes or to ride along in NASA’s flying SOFIA telescope—and what happens when things go wrong. This is also an introduction to the community of astronomers working today, many of whom Levesque interviewed for her book and whose stories help make her narrative shine. She even devotes a section to how technology may change the field for future astronomers.
Levesque charts a course through the rapidly evolving field of astronomy. With humor and heart, she explains the basics of what astronomers do while relating dozens of entertaining anecdotes about her chosen field. She also makes a strong case for why humans should continue to study the skies.
... Levesque’s enthusiasm trumpets the industry of astronomy with profound salesmanship for a young scientist. Indeed her contagious excitement carries the reader through what might otherwise be a bombardment of facts about our universe that most of us are perfectly content not knowing.
This book is a well-organized account of astronomy’s mechanics (accessible explanations of technologies and space phenomena), misadventures (funny, poignant, and invigorating narratives about astronomers past and present), and metaphorical resonance.
