Martin Harwit, now director of the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian, has written a history of astronomy that demonstrates the major impact of new instrumentation in the advance of this science. As each new instrument is added, a whole new range of discoveries have been made. The last major instrument to be added to astronomy was the radio telescope. One of the major arguments for the development of LIGO, NSF's new "big science" instrument for the measurement of the hypothesized gravity waves, is that if it is successful, it will provide a new instrument for examining the universe. We can only conjecture how this new instrument may transform our understanding of the heavens. Despite the importance of instrumentation in the astronomy, most histories have examined the theoretical development of this science. Professor Sharma is thus leading the way in a new kind of study of the history of astronomy. In fact, Professor Sharma's study is exemplary in another respect as well: not only is it a study of instrumentation, but it is the study of instrumentation in a non-Western scientific tradition. If we are to understand fully the impact of instrumentation on science, we must understand its impact on science, wherever it is undertaken. Rare, however, is the person who can carry out this kind of research. Fortunately, Professor Sharma has not only the technical scientific skills to understand what is going on in the science, but also the language skills to pursue this subject. He is examining the development of Hindu observational astronomy and its impact not only in India, but also on Western astronomy as well. He is comparing Indian astronomical instruments with Western and Islamic instruments of observation and is investigating their similarities and differences in construction, use and purpose. Thus his study will shed light on the development of Hindu astronomy as well as its mutual interaction with Western and Islamic astronomy. This kind of study is essential if we are t o understand how science develops in society.
