On Tuesday, our fifth major day of activities, Astronomy ’s Galileo our group set out on an ambitious and long day focused squarely on Galileo himself. We began by traveling about a half hour outside Florence to Arcetri and the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory...

April includes a key Cornerstone Project for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), which commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning the telescope to the heavens . Here’s what’s in store for you: April 2009 NASA Theme:...

When you see a photo like this, you stop and look. And you wonder: What’s that guy’s story? Who is this kilt-wearing fellow with the big stone ball on his shoulder? And what does this have to do with astronomy? Let me introduce you to Mike Sidonio...

I just received a copy of Prelude Lake (Nightscapes 3-D Publishing, 2008), a coffee-table book that showcases great images of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. In addition to the night sky photography by Bryan Rich White, the book also comes with...

Well, a few hours in Florence convince you why it’s one of the most historic and beloved spots on the planet. Our Astronomy Galileo tour group of 19 enjoyed our first day in the historic city Monday, and it was a long one. We were on the move, walking...

Astronomy ’s Galileo tour group left Rome this morning and stopped today in Orvietro, in southwestern Umbria, where we explored a fascinating and often-overlooked town that was built up originally as an Etruscan fortress. The town (pictured at right)...

Our second full day of touring Italy concentrated on ancient Rome. We started with the Piazza del Popolo, where the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo provided sensational views of art created by the likes of Carravaggio, Carracci, Bernini, and Raphael...

After traveling from a variety of cities across the United States, our modest group of 19 travelers assembled in Rome to begin our quest for Galileo’s Italy, some 400 years after the scientist’s first telescopic observations. For some of us, this is a...

Turn out your lights tomorrow night for 1 hour to show support for the Earth Hour campaign. All across the globe, people, businesses, and cities will go dark on Saturday, March 28 from 8:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. local time. Earth Hour is the World Wildlife...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see Coma Berenices Star Cluster, the Stargate, and spiral galaxy M99 this week. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart — StarDome — to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll...

“Wanted: a few hundred thousand computers with a little spare time on their hands.” That’s the basic job qualification if you (and your personal computer) want to join Einstein@Home, a massive international project that uses donated personal computer...

I was watching the Science Channel with my family this past weekend when a promotional ad for the channel came on. I wasn’t paying much attention until suddenly a face I recognized popped up. “I know her!” I excitedly told the room and proceeded to explain...

Megacorps are practically lining up for the privilege of disseminating fantastic volumes of astronomical images to you, John and Jane Q. Public. Recently Google added a “Live from Mars” function to its 3-D visualization of Mars within Google Earth...

Tomorrow I’ll leave for a 10-day trip to Italy along with 25 Astronomy readers and our tour partner, Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates. In this magical year of celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first observations , we’ll explore sights in Rome...

Those of you who know me or have read some of my stories realize I’m kind of a crusader against light pollution . I’ll take any opportunity to rail against it or to let you know of a worthwhile project that will help decrease it. Well, I’ve found another...

In November, I blogged about a NASA contest to name the Mars Science Laboratory rover , now scheduled to launch in 2011. Well, more than 9,000 students in grades K-12 submitted essays, and NASA has just announced the nine finalists. Now it’s time for...

Check out this video from Astronomy reader Robert Massey of Fort Worth, Texas. Look to the top left of the grouping of four bright stars, at about the 11 o’clock position. A blob appears to move to the left. The video shows an object — a satellite...

Tomorrow, March 20, NASA scientists will celebrate Sun-Earth Day 2009 with a special webcast revealing new information and images about our Sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system. Sun-Earth Day is recognized each year in conjunction with...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the constellation Canes Venatici, the Whirlpool Galaxy, and the Whale Galaxy this week. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart — StarDome — to see an accurate map of your sky...

I just wanted to blog again about our 2009 Astronomy Astroimaging Contest . The April 15 deadline is now less than 1 month away. We’ve divided the competition into three categories: Deep-Sky, Solar System, and General. If you don’t know which category...

Last weekend I traveled to sunny Florida to see family. On flights — especially early morning ones — I can read a book for only so long, so I looked through the airline’s in-flight magazine. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that in the puzzles section...

Throughout the week, Astronomy.com posts news stories, observing alerts, blogs, images, podcasts, videos, the latest issue information, and more. It’s not easy to keep up with it all. Our e-mail newsletter collects the week’s stories, blogs, images, podcasts...

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see the constellation Corvus, open cluster M67, and spiral galaxy NGC 2683 this week. Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart — StarDome — to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll...

On Tuesday, March 10, NASA announced the launch of a streaming video feed from the International Space Station, which will give Internet users the chance to see what Earth looks like from space. This new channel on NASA TV is being webcast as part of...

Several weeks ago, Astronomy ’s editors posted a video about Galileo and his remarkable first observations, “ The Day Galileo Changed the Universe, Part One ,” in which I discussed Galileo’s telescope and how it came to be. Now we’ve produced and posted...