Sky & Telescope February 2000 [antikvár]

And the Big Loser Was The winners of our 20th-century, inspirational-image poll were showcased last month, beginning on page 37. I had two images at the top of my personal list. One was the poll s first choice, "Earthrise, Apollo 8." The other was "Electromagnetic Sky." So 1 was mightily surprised when this one placed dead last. I guess my mind is more perverse than I realize.Seriously, what could be more inspiring than a collection of all-sky images centered on the plane of our Milky Way galaxy depicting the heavens atwavelengths from gamma rays to radio waves? When we were selecting candidates for the poll, I argued strongly that this set formed the icon to represent 20th-century astronomy's explosive advance, especially during the last 50 years.This ensemble proves that our eyes are now fully opened, for the first time in human history. If you think of the range of wavelengths that can be seen visually as a ^-inch crack at the foot of a casement window, the spectrum encompassed by this collection represents a window 200 million miles tall. That's a pretty impressive rainbow of colors! Sure, we'll get sharper, more penetrating views of the cosmic landscape in the future, but the panorama will forever be a familiar one.Since wavelength and energy walk hand in hand, the views here approach a 100-triIlionfold span of both. (To the left of each image, I've indicated energies relative to visible light.) We see a frozen universe at radio wavelengths, a comforting, familiar one visually, and a tumultuous one in gamma rays. What's even more wonderful, the pictures spotlight many underlying physical processes that are unreplicatable on Earth. Understanding how they work, or even how to receive a clearer signal, may lead to new technological benefits for us all.Truly, the 20th century has carried astronomy into the light! That's pretty inspirational to me.