Over 50 years ago, astronomers launched the world's first orbiting telescope. This allowed them to gaze further into outer space and examine anything that appears in the sky above our heads, from comets and planets to galaxy clusters and stars. As a result of these space-based instruments, such as NASA's iconic Hubble Space Telescope, we know much more about the universe than we did half a century ago. But how can a glorified camera tell us not only what distant objects look like, but their detailed chemical composition and three-dimensional structure as well? Science writer Andrew May takes us on a journey into space to answer these questions and more. Looking at the development of revolutionary instruments, May explores how such technology has helped us understand the evolution of the Universe.