The Stars of Mauna Kea
Building Giant Telescopes on Hawai‘i’s Most Revered Mountain
$171.60
- Hardcover
216 pages
- Release Date
1 January 2027
Summary
The inside account of how astronomers were able to build the world’s largest observatories on Hawai’i’s most revered mountain.
In July 2019, a demonstration erupted on Hawai’i Island to prevent the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, which, if built, would be one of the largest and most advanced ground-based telescopes in the world. For months, thousands of people camped on the access road leading to the proposed location: Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, the hig…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780226842035 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0226842037 |
| Author: | Pascal Marichalar |
| Publisher: | The University of Chicago Press |
| Imprint: | University of Chicago Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 216 |
| Release Date: | 1 January 2027 |
| Weight: | 454g |
| Dimensions: | 152mm x 229mm |
| Series: | science.culture |
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Critics Review
“With The Stars of Mauna Kea, Marichalar makes an important contribution to the history of astronomy by telling the story of telescope building on Mauna Kea. Digging deep into the archival record, Marichalar emerges with a clear-eyed narrative about how astronomy and astronomers have always been political actors. This work complements others that have grappled with the impact of astronomical colonialism. The Stars of Mauna Kea is an essential read for all astronomers and astrophysicists, especially those who believe that research via the Mauna is merely an extension of Native Hawaiian tradition.”
– Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of “The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie”“The tip of an isolated Pacific volcano is one of the best places in the world to do astronomy—but the isolation is entirely an illusion. The Stars of Mauna Kea shows the deep dependency of astronomy on its natural, social, and political surroundings. Our most abstract knowledge of the universe is only possible thanks to the devastating colonial legacy in Hawai‘i. This book is a unique historical and ethnographic exploration of what it means to do ‘pure science’ in highly contested spaces.”
– Matthew Stanley, author of “Einstein’s War”Pascal Marichalar
Pascal Marichalar is a historian and sociologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research. He is the author of three books in French.
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