After a 10-hour drive from north Florida to Marathon on Saturday, my wife Debbie and I arrived at our vacation rental house for this year’s Winter Star Party (WSP). I chose this particular abode because it sits on the ocean side of Vaca Key and...

The annual Tucson Gem and Mineral show is a huge event that draws more than 100,000 to the city each year to look at hundreds of thousands of minerals, gems, meteorites, beads, pieces of jewelry, and other items that rock and gem folks just love —...

Guest blog from Boston-based astronomers Imelda Joson and Edwin Aguirre about a firsthand experience with a member of the STS-133 Discovery crew: Imagine an astronaut that can work tirelessly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — without needing food...

Last week, Astronomy magazine posted the second episode of Liz and Bill’s Cosmic Adventures . For this one, we focused on extrasolar planets — worlds orbiting stars other than the Sun. This is a hot topic in astronomy, so we wanted to make...

Most of us know, even if it takes a moment to do some quick math, that 12 human beings walked on the Moon’s surface and a few more came just short. It’s still an impressive feat, to be sure (and unlikely to be repeated anytime soon), but if...

Last week, my fiancé sent me a gift at work — a weird little stuffed toy. But after I looked closer, I realized it’s a toy plushie version of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Yes, such a thing exists. The company that makes...

Here goes, the final report from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show this year. Tomorrow I will head home with my Dad, John Eicher, who once again tagged along with me to the biggest show centered on meteorites and minerals in the world. Before I provide...

Yesterday was a big day for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the world’s biggest event for gem and mineral collectors, meteorite enthusiasts, jewelry buyers, and beaders. The so-called “main show,” held at the Hotel Tucson Convention...

Congratulations to Senior Editor Richard Talcott, who this week celebrated his 25th anniversary with Astronomy magazine! And Rich, on behalf of the staff, I sincerely apologize. That last comment needs an explanation. You see, I’d love to say that...

My father John and I bid farewell to the Granite Gap dedication and to dark-sky observing in New Mexico and, on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, drove northwest to Tucson, Arizona, for the annual Gem and Mineral Show. This huge event draws more than 100,000...

Are you part of a nonprofit astronomy group that works to show the public the wonders of astronomy? Could your group use an extra $2,500? If so, have you applied yet for Astronomy magazine’s 2010 Out-of-this-world Award? The deadline for our...

Some 50 amateur astronomers gathered at a new facility near Cotton City, New Mexico, on Saturday, February 5, 2011. The event was the dedication of Shoemaker Discovery Park at Granite Gap, Gene Turner’s ambitious project that is creating a dark...

Hurry! Time is running out for you to enter Astronomy magazine’s 2011 Youth Essay Contest. To enter, write a 300 to 500 word essay in the next 10 days telling us what you love best about astronomy, and you could win an all-expenses-paid trip to...

Outside my office today, a lake-effect snowstorm is dropping flakes the size of small birds into the Kalmbach Publishing Co. parking lot west of Milwaukee. But if the giant storm that’s set to pound much of the United States tomorrow doesn’t...