Telescopes for the 1980s

Abstract

In the last decades, astronomy has been changed in a number of significant ways. The number of large optical telescopes with diameters on the order of or larger than 2.3 m has increased from 3 shortly after World War II to about 20 at the present time. Whereas prewar astronomy was largely devoted to the visual wavelengths (0.3–0.8 μm), astronomical observations currently span the range from γ ray wavelengths to the longest radio wavelengths. Most significantly, astronomy outside conventional optical astronomy has developed into sophisticated disciplines rather than experimental explorations. Many of the observational advances at the forefront of astronomy now come from other than visual observations. Along with these changes have come fundamental changes in visual astronomy itself. Observations with photographic plates are the exception rather than the rule at most large observatories. Instead, electronic cameras are in common use. A second change, especially in the United States, is that the funding has gone from largely private funding (e.g., the Carnegie Institution of Washington) to funding with the government providing a main share of the support. Indeed, the government has provided the total funding for those disciplines, like X ray astronomy, which use space‐borne platforms. These changes have also affected the character of doing astronomy, and astronomers have become much more politically active on the national science scene.