"All I need is the air that I breathe," to quote from a top-10 Hollies song from 1974. (Full disclosure: Love was also a required commodity for songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood.) But how did that air - or at least the oxygen vital...

Trail-blazing astronauts should be commended for enduring NASA’s early menus. According to the space agency, John Glenn, America's first man to eat while orbiting Earth, found the task of eating fairly easy, but found the selection limited....

“Why should people observe meteor showers?” A reporter writing a story about an upcoming meteor shower asked me this question. He seemed satisfied with my answer, but as I thought about the question, more reasons came to mind. Let’s see how many I can...

I was watching my favorite sport, basketball, on television a few nights after NASA announced the fifth service mission to Hubble . UCLA legend and NBA great Bill Walton was the analyst during the game. As Walton made one of his trademark hyperbolic comments...

On November 8, Mercury crossed the Sun’s disk in an event astronomers call a solar transit. Here at Astronomy magazine, the day was warm and clear, with only a few passing clouds blocking our view for brief periods. In our parking lot, the staff...

Dear Readers, I want to thank you for reading Astronomy magazine and let you in on some exciting news about additions that will be coming to our magazine and web site. Your loyal support has helped make Astronomy the world’s best-selling magazine...

In these days of ever-quickening technology development and new gaming consoles, it’s a mantra we all seemingly embrace. But it seems a little harder this week, as we face the possibility that the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft may be nearing...

Yesterday, we commemorated Apollo 12’s launch back in 1969. The lunar module landed on the Moon’s surface five days later. Over the past year or so, publishers have released a number of Moon-mission books in a rush that rivals the Space Race...

When I read recently that the International Space Station received more than 2 tons of supplies, including food, water and fuel, I got to thinking how expensive some of that stuff is when you include the shipping. Keep in mind that it costs some $5,000...

3. Plan to be surprised by an astronomical event. My list's cryptic and somewhat variable item requires you to be in the right place at the right time. In such cases, you're either surprised by how terrific an astronomical event turns out, or...

Touring the space-surveillance unit at White Sands Missile Range near Socorro, New Mexico, was a rare treat I was glad to experience while attending the Enchanted Skies Star Party in Socorro. U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles M. Holland, Commander of Detachment...

After abnormally cold and cloudy weather during September and October, November 8 saw mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s. You couldn’t ask for better weather (in November, that is) to view Mercury’s transit of the Sun. Mercury...

The United States is captivated by a cosmic event today. Mercury crossing the Sun’s face? Who cares? People are more interested by pop-sensation Britney Spears divorcing her hubby Kevin Federline. And rightly so. Doesn’t a planet crossing...

6. Spend at least one entire night at a true-dark site. I think Brian Skiff, astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, coined the term "true-dark" site. Such a location lies between 6,500 and 8,000 feet (2,000 and 2,500 meters...

The Space Telescope will live several years longer than it appeared just a few months ago. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin’s announcement Tuesday of a fifth and final Hubble servicing mission brought cheers from scientists and ordinary citizens...

It seems like a silly question to ask, but the longer I participate in astronomy education and outreach efforts, the more I find the focus tends to be on creating exhibits and entertaining sky-show presentations. Is the actual sky no longer part of the...