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  • Blog Post: Help discover gravitational lenses

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Deep_2D00_sky+objects/4571.abell370.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Deep_2D00_sky...
  • Blog Post: High-energy astrophysics meeting: Future articles and the “Fermi bubbles”

    Sitting in all these science talks and speaking with the researchers at the meeting of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society is giving me some great ideas for future articles. High-energy astrophysics is a field that doesn’t always get a lot of media (and public...
  • Blog Post: High-energy astrophysics meeting: X-rays and more X-rays

    I’m at the 13th meeting of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society for a few days. Some 400 astronomers have been updating one another on the state of their studies, and I’m here to listen in and learn about the current projects (plus I’ll receive...
  • Blog Post: Iceland 2013: Waterfalls, culture, and aurorae

    I wrote in yesterday’s blog that I’d describe a bit more about the daytime activities of the past few days. On Saturday, we made our way back to Reykjavik from the southern coast. Along the way, the tour stopped at a couple of waterfalls — one of which (the 200-feet-tall [60 meters...
  • Blog Post: Iceland 2013: More aurorae!

    Both last night and tonight we were fortunate enough to see more northern lights. Saturday gave an incredible show and Sunday’s was a nice going-away gift — tomorrow is the day we leave beautiful Iceland. [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs...
  • Blog Post: Iceland 2013: Lava fields and glaciers

    Yesterday morning I gave my astronomical lecture about “The active Sun.” That went quite well — even though many in our travel group had been awake for a late night of aurora sightings. [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles...
  • Blog Post: Iceland 2013: Water wonders and aurorae

    Today we got to see a sampling of Iceland’s amazing natural wonders (including the northern lights!). [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Tours-Iceland+Mar13/2158.gullfoss.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http...
  • Blog Post: Iceland 2013: Reykjavik and the Blue Lagoon

    During this week, I’m aurora hunting from the beautiful island country of Iceland. I’m joining a tour with Astronomy magazine’s travel partner, MWT Associates, Inc. , as the lecturer. While here, I get to learn about Iceland’s impressive geology and rich culture while hoping the...
  • Blog Post: "Cosmic Adventures" video series returns

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-People/1856.CA_2D00_behind_2D00_the_2D00_scenes.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://www.astronomy.com/cosmicadventures"]The new duo behind Cosmic Adventures is Associate Editors...
  • Blog Post: Top honors for an "Astronomy" editor

    Astronomy magazine is pleased to announce that Associate Editor Liz Kruesi has won one of the top awards in astronomical science journalism from the American Astronomical Society. The society’s High Energy Astrophysics Division honored Kruesi with the 2013 David N. Schramm Award for
 High Energy...
  • Blog Post: On the road: AAS January 2013 meeting — supernovae and dark energy

    It’s the end of the third full day, and my last, at the American Astronomical Society meeting. In addition to attending press conferences about exploding massive stars and cosmology, I spent time checking out some of the poster presentations and attending science sessions about imaging exoplanets...
  • Blog Post: On the road: AAS January 2013 meeting — more exoplanets and a donated telescope

    As the second full day of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting comes to an end, exoplanets yet again were a major focus. The first press conference of the day included announcements of surprising planetary systems. First, we learned of evidence of a planetary system in the Hyades star cluster...
  • Blog Post: On the road: AAS January 2013 meeting — exoplanets and high-energy astrophysics

    It’s no secret that the search for extrasolar planets leads to big news. This field seems to be taking the American Astronomical Society meeting by storm, as evidenced by the number of press conferences and how packed the exoplanet science sessions are — standing room only. The first press...
  • Blog Post: American Astronomical Society January 2013 meeting preview

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Tours-AAS+221/3426.Downtown_5F00_Long_5F00_Beach_5F00_900.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00...
  • Blog Post: NASA looking for a few good space telescope ideas

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Telescopes/1157.Hubble.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Telescopes/1157.Hubble...
  • Blog Post: Help "Cosmic Adventures" rock (even more)

    As fellow Associate Editor Liz Kruesi and I approach our 20th episode of Liz and Bill's Cosmic Adventures , we feel like it’s a great occasion for a new title sequence. By the time it airs, we’ll have been using the same music and goofy walking sequence for nearly two years! (Wow, that suddenly...
  • Blog Post: Celebrate 100 years of cosmic expansion knowledge

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-People/2625.Vesto_2D00_Melvin_2D00_Slipher.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-People...
  • Blog Post: Ravinia, revisited

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Star+parties/5228.Ravinia_5F00_table.JPG" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Star+parties...
  • Blog Post: Curiosity’s landing – imaged!

    I just stumbled across this awesome action shot of the Curiosity rover’s landing ! The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard the Mars Renaissance Orbiter captured this picture of the rover’s deployed parachute. The HiRISE team then stretched the image to avoid desaturation...
  • Blog Post: Pairing a bicycle and a telescope

    A great way to get beginners interested in astronomy and stargazing is to set up a telescope in a public location and attract passersby. Some observers have taken to street corners, others to central parks, but in Geneva, New York, one amateur astronomer and telescope maker has a novel idea: pair an...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy and music Tuesday at Ravinia

    [caption image="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Misc/0435.CA-shot.jpg" position="right" targeturl="http://cs.astronomy.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-51-Misc/0435.CA-shot.jpg"]Join...
  • Blog Post: Happy Pi Day!

    As you might know, today (March 14) is Pi Day, as in π, the mathematical constant of 3.14159… (If you’re curious about what it actually means, π is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It’s also an irrational number, meaning its value cannot be expressed...
  • Blog Post: On the road: January 2012 AAS meeting, Wednesday recap

    Even though the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting still has another day of research presentations and invited talks, today was the last day of press conferences — and the organizers made sure it was a good one. [caption image="/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs...
  • Blog Post: On the road: January 2012 AAS meeting, Monday recap

    I’ve successfully survived the first full day of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting. I managed to attend all three press conferences, two invited talks, a session on extrasolar planets, a few science education presentations, and the poster exhibition hall. Plus, I caught up with a...
  • Blog Post: American Astronomical Society January 2012 meeting preview

    Well, it’s that time of the year again — when thousands of astronomers convene to present their new findings. This year, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting takes place in Austin, Texas. It officially begins Sunday the 8th, which is when I head down. I lived in Austin for...