There are times when I just throw up my hands and wonder if civilization is making any progress. One such time took place last night. I was innocently watching the Bears-Vikings game, having given up on the total lunar eclipse about to take place. You...

Help spread the fun of amateur astronomy! Astronomy magazine, in conjunction with the Astronomy Outreach Foundation, is announcing a new program of sponsoring star parties across the United States and the world. We would like to enlist you, experienced...

Did you know that the world’s largest refracting telescope is located less than an hour from Astronomy magazine’s headquarters? Founded in 1897, Yerkes Observatory sedately sits on the shore of Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. On December...

The other day, the Astronomy staff came across a cool bit of national news. There’s a fellow by the name of Frank Kovac who built a globe planetarium in his backyard. The Kovac Planetarium is in northern Wisconsin, in the small town of Monico. ...

When you hear the name Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab for short, cosmology likely isn’t the first thing to cross your mind. But Fermilab researchers are busy building an astronomical camera that could help confirm that dark energy...

Do you like seeing new objects when you’re out observing? Well, a wonderful new reference, Cosmic Challenge — The Ultimate Observing List for Amateurs (Cambridge University Press, 2011), just arrived on my desk. Written by experienced observer...

Calling all observers who ever put pencil to paper while peering through an eyepiece. Astronomy magazine’s 10th area in its Online Reader Gallery is now up and running. “ Sketches from the Telescope ” joins such popular posting areas...

I just received two images that will convince anyone that astronomical objects — especially planets — are not stale, dead places. The first image shows Saturn, and it’s from Anthony Wesley of Murrumbateman, Australia. He took it December...

We just launched the first episode of our new video series, “Liz and Bill’s Cosmic Adventures”! We’re so excited, we used an exclamation point. This project has been about 4 months in the making (although it feels like 14), so...

What a busy week in astronomy! With last week's Geminid meteor shower, tonight's total lunar eclipse , and the winter solstice tomorrow, it's easy to overlook another event that may not be as big, but could be just as much fun. On December...