Hunting the Edge of the Universe

In April, NOVA celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope with a two-hour special that examines how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe. NOVA sent me an advance copy of this two part series to review and share with you.The episodes will air on April 6 and 13. I recommend you watch them or set your DVR accordingly.I especially appreciated they way the series presents the material chronologically, which shows how each successive genertion built on the discoveries of the telescopes of the previous generation. The production quality, narration and interviews were put together in a logical, seamless fashion. I particularly like when they say 'novae' and 'supernovae' instead of the dumbed down incorrect novas and supernovas that some documentaries resort to these days.In a word it is first rate. It is mostly scientifically accurate and well presented. My only minor distraction was when they occasionally used planetary nebulae pictures to represent stellar explosions like supernovae.The synopsis fro NOVA adequately describes the two episodes without my intervention, so here they are.Hunting the Edge of Space: The Mystery of the Milky Way – April 6Three centuries of engineering have ...