Astroimager John Bunyan from Grants Pass, Oregon, just sent me a video of Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd). Although the video’s run-time is short (only 5 seconds), it encompasses 2.5 hours of exposures. John shot thirty 5-minute images back to back...

I’m sure this is probably unnecessary advice for many of Astronomy magazine’s readers, but make sure to look up this Friday. That’s when NASA has calculated its 20-year-old Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) should reenter Earth’s...

An amateur astronomer in India recently contacted us to let Astronomy magazine know a bit of comet discovery history. Amar A. Sharma, an active visual comet and deep-sky observer from the Bangalore Astronomical Society in India, told us of the first ...

The landing of space shuttle Atlantis July 21, 2011, marked the end of a great achievement in American spaceflight; it also left an uncomfortable feeling of a great unknown. With the cancellation of the Constellation Program — NASA’s next...

Yesterday, Sunday, September 18, was the last day of the fourth annual Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS) in Pasadena, California. One of the conference’s organizers told me that Saturday was the best day (attendance-wise) in the 4-year...

It’s that time of year again. I’m in Pasadena, California, spending the weekend (September 16–18) at the fourth annual Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS). This gathering gives telescope and astronomy equipment manufacturers...

I’ve just heard from Cheryl Barker, vice president of the Astronomical Society of New Haven , about an event that might interest many of Astronomy magazine’s New England readers: the 21st Connecticut Star Party. We asked her to write a guest...

I spent this past weekend in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. The organizers of the 23rd annual Northwoods Starfest — led by Jon Dannehy — had asked me to speak about an observing-related topic, so I made the 4-hour drive northwest. This year, the star...

When sleuthing a potential or known meteorite impact crater, scientists look for clues. One of these clues is a geological feature known as a “shatter cone.” These objects — also called shocked rocks — bear the patterns of high...