This is a fantastic documentary (more like a collection of stories)! The production quality and the music make what could be a very dry subject enjoyable. But then the story telling and wealth of information packed into this movie make it one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It is really unlike most documentaries--crossing into the boundary between movie and documentary. What keeps it from being a movie is the lack of heavy personal drama, but this was never intended to be a movie so it is not a fault at all.
You learn about two men, Samuel Pierpont Langley, and John Alfred Brashear, and their work at the Allegheny Observatory. What is fascinating is all of the interesting science that occurred from these two men--individually, collectively, and even away from the observatory.
You learn about how spectroscopy birthed astrophysics--and I mean you really learn about it, not just hear it mentioned. Great use of Neil deGrasse Tyson here. My wife turned to me and said "I never understood red shift until I saw this movie." Doppler effect is also well done, as is the Michelson-Morley experiment--which required Brashear's advanced optics. And there is a lot more.
I don't want to give too much away, but this is a great documentary.
It's better than the 400 years of the telescope, if you have ever seen that one.
Whoever rated this only 1 star is crazy.
You learn about two men, Samuel Pierpont Langley, and John Alfred Brashear, and their work at the Allegheny Observatory. What is fascinating is all of the interesting science that occurred from these two men--individually, collectively, and even away from the observatory.
You learn about how spectroscopy birthed astrophysics--and I mean you really learn about it, not just hear it mentioned. Great use of Neil deGrasse Tyson here. My wife turned to me and said "I never understood red shift until I saw this movie." Doppler effect is also well done, as is the Michelson-Morley experiment--which required Brashear's advanced optics. And there is a lot more.
I don't want to give too much away, but this is a great documentary.
It's better than the 400 years of the telescope, if you have ever seen that one.
Whoever rated this only 1 star is crazy.