Sky & Telescope April 2020 Magazine
In April’s issue of Sky & Telescope, we take you behind the scenes for the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s launch. Amateur astronomers Vanessa Thomas and Kevin Hartnett offer insight into what it’s like working with NASA and one of its Great Observatories. Then, from space telescopes to liquid telescopes, we cover the creation of the International Liquid Mirror Telescope, a telescope made with a mirror of spinning mercury. And speaking of telescopes, who could forget John Dobson, the man who brought telescope making to the masses? We’re remembering him this month with a feature on the refurbishment of an unfinished Dobsonian that was made in one of his telescope making classes. Then we dive into the roots of telescope-making with a pair of old-fashioned refractors in a dispute between two astronomers competing to be the best optician in 17th-century Europe. They may not have been able to see it back in 1663, but you can see M87’s jet, if you can go deep enough. A 12-inch telescope will do, but contributing editor Howard Banich recommends the 90-inch Bok telescope on Kitt Peak for the best view of the jet sprouting from the first black hole to ever be imaged by humans.
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