The Present

There is no doubt that the science of astronomy is now in an exhilarating state. We are in the era of the 10 m optical telescope. Radio astronomy rivals optical astronomy in both positional precision and sensitivity. Observation from space has opened access to a wide range of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum. The spectacular achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope underline the success story of space astronomy. At all wavelengths, detector technology has made striking advances in sensitivity and, coupled with cheap, sophisticated and powerful computers, raw data can be transformed into useful scientific data with breathtaking speed. One has only to add up the number of papers published in the three major astronomical journals to realise that one must read 100 journal pages a day (every day) to keep up with the literature in these three journals alone. Astronomy at the close of the 20th century is indeed exhilarating.

But there are indications that all is not well. Not unexpectedly the cost of new astronomical facilities is being called into question. Currently, no one nation can afford to finance a new telescope of the 10 m class and international consortia are now a commonplace to finance such facilities, e.g. the ESO 4 × 8 m telescopes in Chile. The great cost of science more generally, is now being seriously questioned, particularly in those areas of science which are fundamental, e.g. astronomy, particle physics, and which are not regarded as being currently relevant to industrial and commercial activity.