When it comes to the heroes of astronomy, we tend to think of lone men persevering in the face of daunting odds. Think of the titans of astronomy and you’re likely to think of names like Edwin Hubble, Albert Einstein, and Carl Sagan. And while these individuals revolutionized our understanding of the visible and invisible universe, they, too, were standing on the shoulders of other scientists and engineers without whom none of their groundbreaking ideas would have been possible. 

Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy takes you around the world and across time in search of the unsung heroes who, in many ways, are just as important to the story of astronomy as Hubble, Einstein, and Sagan. Whether they stood on the shoulders of giants or themselves offered shoulders for giants to stand on, the heroes of astronomy you’ll meet in these 24 lessons are a collective of the brightest and most daring minds in science. 

Other influential astronomers you’ll meet include Annie Jump Cannon, who revolutionized the way astronomers classified the stars; Grote Reber, who designed what we recognize today as radio telescopes; Vera Rubin, who identified the first observational evidence of dark matter; and so many others. From groundbreaking new theories to serendipitous observations, from engineering the world’s largest telescopes to designing bold new ways to detect gravitational waves, you’ll witness the evolution of astronomical knowledge in small steps and incredible leaps.

This is an incomparable window into why we’ve always found the stars so fascinating. And why we always will.

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