Sky and Telescope - June 2015 - 73

Book Review
Susan Johnson-Roehr

Art from Science
Expanding Universe: Photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope
Edited by Nina Weiner, with contributions from Owen Edwards,
Zoltan Levay, Charles F. Bolden, Jr., and John Mace Grunsfeld
TASCHEN, 2015
260 pages, ISBN 978-3836549226, $69.99, hardcover.

The word "by-product" usually doesn't

NASA / ESA / HUBBLE HERITAGE (STSCI / AURA) - ESA /
HUBBLE COLLABORATION / H. BOND (STSCI / PSU)

have positive connotations. The disposal of manufacturing by-products can be expensive and dangerous, and
when was the last time you gleefully dug into a meat
by-product for supper? But as demonstrated by Expanding Universe: Photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope,
it might be time to reconsider our relationship with
secondary eﬀects, at least those produced during the
practice of astronomy.
As Govert Schilling notes (p. 20 this issue), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) introduced many changes
to the disciplines of cosmology and astronomy. But it
also altered our view of the universe. We've seen great
things - comet crashes, star births, galaxy collisions
- and thanks to the Hubble imaging team at the Space
Telescope Science Institute (STScI), we've seen them
in luxurious, glorious color. Scientists don't use these
public images directly, relying instead on spectral analyses and greyscale data. The magniﬁcent and sometimes
haunting images are a by-product of science, released to
enlighten and educate, inform and inspire.
That Expanding Universe takes its cue from the art
rather than science of the HST is clear from ﬁrst glance.
Not only are the images on and between the covers processed beautifully, but obvious care was taken with the

Left: Cepheid variable star RS Puppis shines through a cloak of gas and
dust. Right: Astronauts replaced all six gyroscopes in the HST in 1999.

book's design. The slick "high tech" aesthetic so prevalent
in space science publications has been replaced with the
look and feel of a classic folio. The use of the serif typeface
Trajan for the essays only strengthens this impression.
The main photo section is printed on a photo paper stock;
glossy images of galaxies and nebulae are surrounded by
black matte borders that protect the art from ﬁngerprints
and mimic the appearance of an album page. And at 11.8"
× 11.8" and 260 pages, the book has a satisfying heft.
While this is an art book, science fans will also
ﬁnd something interesting here, particularly in Owen
Edwards's interview with Zoltan Levay, STScI Imaging
Lead. If you've wondered about the process of transforming raw data (3 to 5 gigabytes a day) into the striking
photos we've come to expect, you'll enjoy reading this
section. The book ends with a set of appendices that
includes a distance ladder, glossary of terms, description
of the HST's instruments, and biographical sketches of
contributors to the volume.
The release of Expanding Universe was timed to
coincide with the 25th anniversary of the HST's launch.
As far as birthday presents go, you really couldn't ask for
one more appealing or more appropriate. ✦
S&T Observing Editor S. N. Johnson-Roehr loves reading
even more than she loves astronomy.
Sk yandTelescope.com June 2015

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Sky and Telescope - June 2015

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