Astronomy magazine achieved a milestone Thursday, July 22, when its weekly observing podcast reached the century mark. With clocklike regularity every week for the past two years, Senior Editor Michael Bakich has prepared a script detailing three night sky objects listeners can spy regardless of their equipment or experience level. After proofing and comment by other editors internally, Bakich spreads the final script before him on a table within Kalmbach Publishing Company’s video/sound studio and records the podcast courtesy of a simple Olympus SRS WOW digital recorder. Afterward, Online Editor Matt Quandt edits the podcast before uploading it to cyberspace.

Starting with podcast #1, Bakich has offered a trio of interesting targets for listeners, providing details on how to locate them, what to look for, and a little history about each object. Delivered in his articulate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable manner, Bakich never fails to convey his passion for amateur observing and his ability to help any listener - from newbie to seasoned enthusiast alike - enhance their enjoyment of the celestial wonders overhead.

Asked how he feels about reaching the podcast century mark, Bakich said: “I’m glad everyone likes it enough for the series to continue through week #100. All the feedback I’ve received during that time has been very positive!”

Astronomy magazine’s weekly podcast is available free to registered Astronomy.com members. But to celebrate this occasion, we’ve made podcast #100 available to all Astronomy.com visitors. Click here to find all 100 podcasts, plus dozens of other helpful, informative recordings. You can also subscribe to the Astronomy magazine podcast via iTunes.

If you’re not currently a regular listener, I hope you’ll give it a try and discover for yourself how the weekly Astronomy podcast can enhance your enjoyment of the night sky. But, as usual, Bakich says it best: “The podcast rocks because the majority of our readers are active observers who are always on the lookout for great celestial targets.”