Observatories of the Southwest: A Book Review

To me, and many of my friends, astronomical observatories are sacred, magical places where the mysteries of the universe are revealed to astronomers peering out into space with fantastic telescopes of all imaginable shapes and configurations. The fact that most of the largest, most famous observatories are located on mountain tops in far off places just makes them all that much more mysterious and wonderful.

Thousands of people make pilgrimages to these far off locations each year, to marvel at the state of the art in instrumentation and to learn more about the science being done with these massive machines in their unusual structures.

As it happens, the American Southwest, with its dry air and mountainous regions is home to many of the best observatories in the world. These observatories are the subjects of a new book by Douglas Isbell and Stephen E. Strom called Observatories of the Southwest, A Guide for Curious Skywatchers, published by The University of Arizona Press. If you are planning a trip to one or more of these places in the near future you need to buy this book. If you want to know the history behind any of these magical places, or meet some ...