Call number: TL521.312 .A628 2007

The most memorable photographs from America’s recent explorations of space have been taken by the Hubble space telescope and the Huygens mission to Saturn. But as the editors of this lavishly illustrated coffee-table volume demonstrate, in the early years of the space program, the camera’s blinking eye captured human beings. Dick, NASA’s chief historian, and his NASA colleagues offer images of the crew-cut young hot rods of the Mercury and Gemini programs before they became household names, along with a young test pilot named Neil Armstrong in 1956 operating a simulator of the X-15 hypersonic aircraft. Photographs capture the grandeur of the mammoth Saturn rockets blasting off, as well as the tragedy of the fire-charred Apollo 1capsule. NASA’s engineers and technicians receive their due, shown putting equipment and astronauts through their paces. In the post-Apollo years, the almost forgotten Skylab is memorialized, as well as missions to build the International Space Station and the space shuttle program. The book concludes with pictures of the outer reaches of the solar system and stunning vistas light-years away. NASA staff have annotated the photographs with informative mini essays documenting the history of the agency and its mission. Space buffs and their children will thrill to these photos. (From B&N)

Call number: QB500.268 D53 2012

In addition to being one of the greatest scientific instruments of all time, the Hubble Space Telescope has given humanity a spectacular legacy of beautiful images of the universe. The best of these are displayed–and explained–in this book.The book’s precise descriptions and captions brilliantly complement the nearly 300 full-color Hubble images. (From B&N)