Now that the January 2009 issue is in the mail, we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest Web extras that give subscribers exclusive complementary information to the magazine articles. This month, we preview some stories to look for in 2009, explore...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the Venus and Mars, open cluster M38, and spiral galaxy NGC 1365 . Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some...

This month, Cambridge University Press published Astronomy columnist Stephen James O’Meara ’s latest book for stargazers, Observing the Night Sky with Binoculars . The book — billed as “a simple guide to the heavens” — is for beginners. This is a new...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the the Alpha Persei Assocation, open cluster M103, and spiral galaxy IC 342 . Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate...

I just received a media advisory from James Oberg, a contributor to Astronomy and noted space historian. And I learned something new — something historic. Something I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t know. It appears that many video producers continue...

NASA just announced a contest for students to name the Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009. In cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ movie WALL·E , NASA is inviting students ages 5 to 18 who attend school...

NASA announced a great new opportunity for teachers to use the space program’s discoveries as educational tools in their classrooms. The NASA Endeavor Science Teaching Fellowship Project will award 40 one-year fellowships to educators during the next...

Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Martin Ratcliffe filed this report from the inauguration of the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory in Malargue, Argentina. Ratcliffe sent us this update and images while the event was underway ! Thanks, Martin!...

Today’s the big day of Endeavour’s STS-126 mission (assuming the weather holds up), and I must admit that I’m pretty excited. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been fascinated with space travel, specifically the launches. I never actually wanted to be...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the Pleiades star cluster, open cluster M34, and the Little Dumbbell Nebula . Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate...

The discovery and optical imaging of Fomalhaut b , a planet orbiting the nearby star Fomalhaut, has wider implications for exoplanet science. I talked to NASA scientist Marc Kuchner about it. Kuchner works in the Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory...

This weekend, 270 avid astroimagers from around the world are converging in San Jose, California, for the 2008 Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC). And guess what? I’ll be there, too. AIC’s board of directors invited me to speak at the conference because...

I’m a sucker for pretty astronomical images, and the Hubble Space Telescope does not disappoint. In fact, early images from Hubble are a major part of what got me so excited about astronomy in the first place. I was quite bummed when Hubble was down last...

OK, I admit it: I’m a Marsaholic. We’ve been following the mission and writing about it for the magazine. You’ve probably seen the various headlines: Phoenix lands safely; Phoenix confirms water in martian soil; Phoenix detects perchlorate chemicals in...

The November 10 issue of Time featured an article titled, “ The 50 best inventions of the year .” Among the top 50 are four astronomy-related inventions — three even made the top 10. At 18 is the Mars Science Laboratory (pictured at right). Set to launch...

Here's the transcript to our latest constellation tour podcast. In this one, we take a tour of Cassiopeia the Queen . Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some...

India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe will fire a rocket Saturday, November 8, to insert itself into orbit. As I sat down to prepare a magazine news article about the mission earlier this week, I found myself lacking a decent piece of space art of the probe...

I asked Astronomy magazine’s Circulation Manager Paul Daniel for an update on our first Young Astronomers Video Contest. Here’s what he shared: UPDATED: "We now have 14 entries in the Young Astronomers Video Contest and they are looking great...

In the United States, the first Tuesday of November (this year, November 4) is a very important day in politics — Election Day (and the day the political ads finally come to an end … Hooray!). For those of you who have some random reason as to why you...