I just received an e-mail from Ohio amateur astronomer and longtime contributor to the magazine John Chumack. In it, he included a tutorial on how to photograph Comet Lulin. I wanted to share it with you all. And remember, if you have success, be sure...

March continues the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), which commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning the telescope to the heavens. Here’s what the month has in store for you: March 2009 NASA theme: Observing...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see constellation Columba, globular cluster NGC 1851, and spiral galaxy NGC 1808 this week. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help...

Now that your April issue is in hand or on its way, we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest Web extras to give subscribers exclusive complementary information on the magazine articles. Take a sneak peek inside the April 2009 Astronomy magazine...

Astronomy magazine contributor and longtime imager John Chumack had some luck spotting Comet Lulin February 20/21, and he was nice enough to share his account with us: I took a chance last Friday night and went out to my observatories in Yellow...

NASA will launch the Kepler mission March 5. Kepler will be the first mission able to find Earth-mass and smaller planets. Its main goal is to determine how many exoplanets (terrestrial and larger) lie within (or near) the habitable zones of different...

Are you tired of cold or cloudy nights getting in the way of your astronomy hobby? Is light pollution forcing you drive for hours just to get to a dark-sky site? Ever wonder what it would be like to use a research-grade telescope to image your favorite...

Have you ever had a question about shuttle missions that you wish some TV program or news reporter would ask an astronaut, but they never did? Well, NASA and Channel One News are offering an opportunity for students to ask those burning questions to the...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see Beehive Cluster, open cluster M50, and the Rosette Nebula this week. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some...

Richard Greenberg, a professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, is an expert in celestial mechanics and carries out NASA-sponsored investigations of solar system evolution and planet formation. He...

A few days ago one of my co-workers and I were discussing various branches of science and their importance to society. Biology and medicine help people. These fields are bettering society and the human life. Then, he said something that I just can’t get...

Today, February 18th, marks the 79th anniversary of Pluto's discovery by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Strange, when I wrote that, I almost typed “the planet Pluto.” But as you may know, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided Pluto...

It’s not every day you get a mysterious new celestial object named after you. But that’s what happened to Hanny van Arkel (pictured below), a primary schoolteacher from The Netherlands. And all she had to do was point and click. Van Arkel discovered...

The connection between our 16th president and the cosmos is not deep, but there are moments in the Lincoln story that link him with astronomy. There’s the famous Almanac Trial of 1857, in which Lincoln the lawyer cleverly used the lunar phase as listed...

In a recent blog, I introduced you to Benne Holwerde , a young researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Check out the view from his office in the image at right. He’s on a team of scientists hoping to build a giant new radio telescope...

All this talk recently of Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, reminds me of a funny story. A couple weeks ago, Clyde’s 16-inch telescope was reassembled and dedicated at Rancho Hidalgo, Gene Turner’s observing site near Animas, New Mexico. See several...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see open cluster M41, the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster, and Thor’s Helmet this week. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate...

Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) remains on track to be the brightest comet of the year. It should peak around 5th magnitude during the second half of February, when it will slide past Spica, Saturn, and Regulus. To track the comet from your location as it crosses...

“There is an ocean beneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa [pictured at right]. Strange creatures could be swimming in these alien waters, but so far no missions have been sent there to investigate this possibility.” So begins, " Hoping for...

The year 2010 is going to be a big one for eclipses. Not only is there the summer total eclipse that many of us will be traveling to, but also a great annular eclipse in January. Astronomy will sponsor a tour, along with Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates...

On Monday, I received a press release announcing the new officers and other elected officials of the American Astronomical Society. Quite exciting to me is that both the new president and vice president are women. Dr. Debra Meloy Elmegreen of Vassar...

A couple of weeks ago, a big day occurred at Rancho Hidalgo near Animas, New Mexico — the dedication of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s 16-inch telescope at what is now called Pluto Park. You may have read several blogs by Senior Editor Michael Bakich...

A couple of months ago, the editors at Astronomy decided to ask our Online Publishing staff to create an Online Reader Gallery, a place where we can showcase the great images astrophotographers share with us daily. We're happy to share that the Gallery...

In its 14th issue, the Astronomy Education Review (AER), a web-based journal about astronomy education and outreach, introduced a new section dedicated to teaching astronomy through demonstrations . John Keller of California Polytechnic State University...

You have probably heard that Google and NASA have finally released the Google Mars update for Google Earth. I finally got the time to install Google Earth 5.0 and play on the surface of Mars for a bit this morning. It’s amazing. I first heard about...