For centuries, scientists believed that animals and minerals lived in two separate worlds. Then, four years ago, a groundbreaking study led to a dynamic realization: Life on Earth radically altered the way minerals formed on our planet. Last year, a major...

Audrey Fischer is on a mission. This tireless promoter of dark skies has an important milestone coming in her fight to reduce light pollution in Chicago, Illinois — and you can help in a big way. Audrey is a friend of the magazine, one of the organizers...

Astronomy magazine is proud to be sponsoring three big events in the astronomy world in the coming months. First, we will co-sponsor the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) in Suffern, New York, April 28–29, hosted by the Rockland Astronomy Club at...

In the old days at Astronomy , we used to have a saying whenever someone separated Earth science from astronomy— “Earth is a planet, too.” NASA has just released what may be the greatest image yet of our planet, a multicolor photo of...

Astronomy magazine is proud to be sponsoring three big events in the astronomy world in the coming months — I’ll tell you about each of them soon. First, let me mention a major astronomical meeting — ALCon 2012, the annual convention...

Yesterday, news broke about the death of a great figure in the telescope world, Norman Edmund, who died in South Florida last week at the age of 95. The founder of Edmund Scientific Co. in Barrington, New Jersey, Edmund created a huge opportunity for...

For years and years, Don Parker of Coral Gables, Florida, a retired anesthesiologist, has led the world in color planetary imaging by amateur astronomers. His portraits of planets in the solar system are just a cut above everything else that gets produced...

We at Astronomy magazine just learned about the death of a wonderful man and important astronomy enthusiast who helped change amateur astronomy for the better, especially in the 1970s and ’80s. John Sanford died December 11, 2011, after a long illness...

Talented astrophotographer John Chumack has done it again by capturing two aircraft crossing in front of the waxing gibbous Moon, as shot on January 6, 2012, at 5:47 p.m. EST from his backyard in Dayton, Ohio. John used a Canon Rebel Xsi DSLR, a 300mm...

Dean Regas, a longtime friend and contributor to Astronomy , is now one of the hosts of the new Star Gazers , the PBS show that brings you great sky observing info and is the successor to Jack Horkheimer’s Star Gazer . Here is a great story Regas...

Becky Ramotowski is an enthusiastic amateur astronomer who lives in New Mexico, is the author of Secrets of Stargazing, and writes a stargazing blog at astrobeck.com . Check it out! She recently sent me a piece that summarizes some really interesting...

A wonderful woman who was a treasure to the astronomy community died on Thursday — Patricia Tombaugh, wife of Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto’s discoverer. Many who knew her in the astronomy world were hoping she would live to see the New Horizons spacecraft...

Congratulations to Marvin Long of Austin, Texas, and Philip Knight of Wolverhampton, England, for winning the “One Vision” Contest! Marvin and Philip each will receive a set of Brian May’s London Stereoscopic Company’s astronomical...

Ohio astroimager John Chumack captured a delicate waxing crescent Moon from his observatory in Dayton, Ohio, on Thursday, December 29, 2011. He used a 10-inch Meade SCT, an f/6.3 focal reducer, a Canon Rebel Xsi camera set at ISO 400, and a 1/60-second...