The fourth video I shot during my trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show features Mike Farmer of Michael Farmer Meteorites ( meteoriteguy.com or meteoritehunter.com ). Note: When you click the link to the video , you'll find it below the three-part...

The third video I shot during my trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show features Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold of Aerolite Meteorites in Tucson . If you’re into meteorites, you know Geoff and Steve (pictured at right) well as the Meteorite Men from the...

In January, crew members of the International Space Station gained access to the Internet for personal use, and NASA encouraged them to tweet anything that interests them. Well, Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi of Japan (pictured at right), in my opinion...

Last week at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, I shot a number of videos with prominent meteorite dealers who were set up at the Tucson Hotel City Center (formerly the InnSuites). The second one I shot features Anne Black of Impactika Meteorites in Denver...

In this illustration, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft approaches its far off destination, the Pluto system. Today marks the 80th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery, and New Horizons just a month ago marked its 4th year in space. NASA/Johns Hopkins University...

Last week at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, I shot a number of videos with prominent meteorite dealers who were set up at the Tucson Hotel City Center (formerly the InnSuites). First out of the gate was Luc Labenne of Labenne Meteorites in Paris, whose...

If you're traveling down Interstate 10 in Tucson, try to sneak a peek at Adam Block's images as you head through the Speedway underpass. If you read Astronomy magazine regularly, you’re familiar with astroimager Adam Block. Adam has been contributing...

We finally had a good night of observing at the Winter Star Party (WSP) Thursday night. Winds were calm, and the seeing was good. Telescopes and observers were in overdrive to make up for the un-Keys-like weather this week. The WSP seems to get one or...

On Friday, Dallas got about a foot of snow, which meant our connecting flight to Tucson was cancelled. After a bit of airline shuffling, I got into Tucson Saturday night. On Sunday, I picked up Senior Editor Rich Talcott and his wife Evelyn from the airport...

Saturday morning we awoke after a great night of observing to an azure blue sky and a community breakfast before heading off with Gene Turner, John Eicher, Rocky Alvey (director of Vanderbilt University’s Dyer Observatory), and Nashville astroimager Mark...

A newly built observatory (left) building will hold a second telescope for Astronomy magazine use and an instrument for joint educational use between the Astronomical League and Vanderbilt University. The Astronomy Magazine Observatory is on the right...

Each year, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society presents to the world the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, an event going on for more than 50 years. The many shows that have sprung up at numerous hotels around the city are really “satellite shows,” sprouting...

On Wednesday, we explored the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Riverpark Inn. We found an interesting array of meteorites, including the dealer “Palladot,” cutting and polishing olivine (peridot) gemstones from pallasite mateorites, “gemstones from...

One of the best ways to shop for that next telescope — whether it’s your first or your tenth — is to go to an event like the Winter Star Party, where observing conditions are (usually!) great. Amateur astronomers bring all types of telescopes, and during...

This weekend Senior Editor Rich Talcott, his wife Evelyn, and I will travel to Astronomy ’s observatory at Rancho Hidalgo near Animas, New Mexico. I’m quite excited, as this will be the first time I’ll get to see the famed dark site. Plus, I haven’t been...

The first big day of activity at the 2010 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show saw me and my dad, John Eicher, an inveterate chemist, astronomy buff, mineralogist, and 88-year-old adventurer, set off for the best of the “satellite shows.” We got to the Hotel Tucson...

There is simply something special for me about coming to the Winter Star Party (WSP). I don’t know if it’s the Florida Keys, the weather, incredible (when clear) skies with a terrific southern horizon, or the comradery. It’s probably a combination of...

Matt Ayerst III photo I just got an e-mail from Canadian amateur astronomer Matt Ayerst III. On November 24, 2008, he used a Canon PowerShot A710 IS with a 35mm lens to photograph the debris cloud of a fireball (brilliant meteor) over Vancouver. Here...

On Monday, my dad and I will fly to Tucson for the annual Gem and Mineral Show, the worldwide mecca for meteorite and mineral collectors. I’ll write two stories for the magazine from the show: a summary of the state of meteorite collecting and dealing...

NASA and GM extend their dexterous, robotic hands to the future! NASA photo Given that we have no flying cars, laser guns, or even time machines (1985-era technology!), it’s easy to forget sometimes that we’re living in the future. But, once again, NASA...

Here at Astronomy magazine, several of us have been observers for decades. Needless to say, it takes pretty big news to surprise us on the amateur astronomy front. Well, today a spectacular announcement from Orion Telescopes & Binoculars stunned us...

I’m old enough to remember when, on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would land an American on the Moon by the end of the decade. The 1960s were difficult years, with the assassinations of President Kennedy and...

Allende meteorite slice. David J. Eicher photo Sunday I went to the Field Museum in Chicago to check out their displays of meteorites and minerals, having heard about a great exhibition of diamonds in town. I also wanted to see the kickoff of the newly...

With this giant disco ball suspended 50 meters above Paris, the city got to appreciate once again what a starry night might look and feel like. Michel de Broin photo Or, in French, Aimez-vous les étoiles ? As many of you probably know already, the Moon...