Through the Glass Brightly

Abstract

George drove his old car along the tree-lined winding road up the hill. Shafts of mild Sunlight of the approaching evening shone intermittently through the foliage overhead. Happy memories of our previous visit to the University Observatory flooded my mind. Soon, the memories were replaced by a sense of anticipation as I saw the tall, white, cylindrical building capped with the gleaming metallic dome looming large in front of us. I was thrilled at the sight of that remarkable place. I am always filled with amazement at the very thought of telescopes. Centuries ago, Galileo had fixed a couple of lenses, mere pieces of glass, to the two ends of a tube and turned it into the most powerful aid in his quest to discover the secrets of the night sky. Then, Newton had replaced one of those lenses by a mirror heralding a new age in astronomy. Then again, Newton’s discovery that a triangular piece of glass could split white light into its component colours had revolutionized the study of the stars and galaxies. Since their days, so much progress has taken place in celestial observation, and in theoretical interpretation, that there seems to be no limit to the possible exploration of the Universe.