Dave's Universe - Astronomy Magazine - Interactive Star Charts, Planets, Meteors, Comets, Telescopes

Dave's Universe

Dave Eicher, editor of Astronomy magazine and science popularizer, brings you thoughts about astronomy, cosmology, nature, the hobby of astronomy, the sometimes disturbingly pseudoscientific culture we live in, and more.

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Visiting historic Santiago, Chile

Posted 9 years ago by David Eicher

On Thursday, May 22, Astronomy magazine’s tour group to Chile, consisting of some 30 travelers, reached the country’s capital, Santiago. Most of us flew in from Los Angeles before coming from a variety of places. When we arrived in Santiago, we were taken aback by not being able to check into our hotel, as we arrived early in the morning. We would have to wait some hours before coming back in midafternoon, and many of us had been traveling for an entire day. Needless to say, we were ...

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On the road to Chile's big observatories

Posted 9 years ago by David Eicher

Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving for Los Angeles and then on to Santiago, Chile, with a group of 28 Astronomy magazine readers for a very exciting trip. For 10 days, we’ll be exploring some of the most important observatories of the Southern Hemisphere and also enjoying dark-sky views of spectacular deep-sky objects, including the Magellanic Clouds, the Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, and many other attractions. This will all take place in the high Atacama Desert, which may be the greatest p...

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Dave Eicher to be keynote speaker at IPS in Beijing

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

I’m delighted to say that I will be heading to the International Planetarium Society meeting in Beijing, China, June 21–28, 2014, to deliver a keynote talk on communicating astronomy on June 24. The International Planetarium Society meets every two years and is the world’s association of planetarium professionals. Some 500 people are expected to attend the meeting. Many thanks to Jin Zhu, director of the Beijing Planetarium, for his invitation, and thanks for the great hos...

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Astronomy magazine seeks associate editor

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

CONTACT: Megan Swetlick, (262) 796–8776Waukesha, Wisconsin: Astronomy magazine is looking for a new associate editor to add to our staff of science journalists and astronomers in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Astronomy magazine is the largest circulation publication on the subject in the world, with 107,000 monthly print circulation, 400,000+ monthly website visitors, and significant social media activity. Duties include writing and editing stories about cosmic phenomena, advancing the br...

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Guest blog: Alan Stern on Uwingu

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Uwingu: Humanizing Mars—One Crater at a Time! Alan Stern is a planetary scientist and a founder of Uwingu. He is the former head of all science missions at NASA. Many of you have probably heard of Uwingu, a commercial space company founded by planetary scientists and space enthusiasts, including myself. Uwingu’s twin goals are to find new ways to personally engage the public in space and space exploration and to direct half of all the revenues from our business to create a new sourc...

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Behind the scenes at the U.S. Naval Observatory

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the gargantuan U.S. Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., with my friends at Celestron — Kevin Kawai, Jason Mulek, and Brenda Abrica. While I was in town, I got a text message from an old friend, Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory. “You really ought to stop by,” he said. And he was right. So Kevin and Brenda joined me, and on Monday morning, April 28, before we all headed to the airport, Geoff gave us a ...

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A visit to the Air and Space Museum

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Washington, D.C., is loaded with museums. When I was there last week for the USA Science & Engineering Festival with my friends from Celestron — Kevin Kawai, Jason Mulek, and Brenda Abrica — we headed straight to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum after the Friday session of the festival. We had the better part of two hours inside the museum before it closed, and we exited to a driving rainstorm before dinner. We had to make the most of our time, and we sped a...

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Behind the scenes at the National Gem and Mineral Collection

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Before heading to the USA Science & Engineering Festival on Friday, April 25, 2014, I had the great opportunity to visit some friends at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Thanks to Paul Pohwat, collections manager of the nation’s mineral collection, I had a whirlwind private tour of both minerals and meteorites (see my previous blog and photos about the meteorite collection).Here I share a few images from the mineral collection, which contains abou...

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A big second day at the USA Science & Engineering Festival

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Well, what can I possibly say about being at the USA Science & Engineering Festival for the first time? On day two, Sunday, April 27, it was every bit as overwhelming as on the first weekend day. Many thousands of people rolled through the enormous Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the nation’s capital — students, teachers, and enthusiasts of all ages, from babies in strollers to many we spoke to in their 80s and 90s. It was an incredible cross-section of those interested...

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Private tour of the National Meteorite Collection

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

On Friday, April 25, I had a spectacular experience at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Invited by my good friend Paul Pohwat, collections manager of the mineral collection, I visited him for a couple hours and then moved on to spend a couple hours with geochemist Emma Bullock and geologist Cari Corrigan. I want to thank Paul, Emma, and Cari for such amazing hospitality and for giving me a patient, lengthy, behind-the-scenes tour of the greatest collection ...

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A big first day at the USA Science & Engineering Festival

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Well, there are festivals and then there are festivals. It was the first time for me to attend the USA Science & Engineering Festival, put on each year in Washington, D.C., and I was absolutely astounded at the first day and a half. I joined my friends at Celestron, the great manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, and microscopes, at midday on Friday, April 25. And then I spent the entire day with them at the Celestron booth, which they kindly allowed me to occupy, along with numerous givea...

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Heading to the USA Science and Engineering Festival

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Early tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to Washington, D.C., to attend the annual USA Science and Engineering Festival, which brings an amazing number of about 100,000 students and teachers to the nation’s capital. Astronomy magazine will be sharing a booth with Celestron, the great telescope manufacturer, and we will be busily talking to aspiring astronomers, planetary scientists, and cosmologists about both telescopes and the hobby of astronomy —and how to enjoy the best maga...

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Know the difference between prograde and retrograde motion?

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission team is gearing up to send a spacecraft to a minor planet, Bennu, and return a sample for analysis. It‘s one of the most amazing planetary science missions of all time! The great OSIRIS-REx outreach team, led by Dolores Hill of the University of Arizona, has produced some terrific videos explaining aspects of asteroid science. I encourage you to check out one of the latest, on prograde and retrograde motions. Enjoy! cs_setInnerHtml('video_5971a746-...

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Mark Gee's "City Lights to Dark Skies" film

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

On the heels of yesterday’s press release from the International Dark-Sky Association, on day two of International Dark Sky Week, check out a beautifully made film by the astroimager Mark Gee. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Mark is an accomplished sky photographer and dark sky activist. Check out his fantastic film. cs_setInnerHtml('video_82700555-ce19-4426-845c-21c48d144c38',''); Happy Dark Sky Week!!...

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Celebrate International Dark Sky Week

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The following news this morning from Scott Kardel, managing director of the International Dark-Sky Association — please take note! . . . . Press releaseTUCSON, AZ - Created in 2003 by high-school student Jennifer Barlow, International Dark Sky Week has grown to become a worldwide event and a key component of Global Astronomy Month. Each year, it is held in April around Earth Day and Astronomy Day. This year celebrations begin Sunday, April 20, and run through Friday, April 26.In expla...

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AAS seeks amateur astrophotographers to exhibit in Boston

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The following news this morning from Rick Fienberg, press officer of the American Astronomical Society, offering an opportunity for astroimagers . . . . . . . Press ReleaseAre you an amateur astrophotographer, and do you live within easy reach of Boston? If so, then at the 224th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, you’ll have a rare opportunity to share your work with professional astronomers. A dedicated poster session in the AAS Exhibit Hall at th...

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Starmus Festival to hold astrophoto competition!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

I’ve blogged before about the sensational Starmus Festival planned for this coming September in the Canary Islands. This get-together of great minds in space exploration, astronomy, cosmology, planetary science, biology, art, and music is like no other event on Earth. Speakers will be announced over the coming weeks — those already in the lineup include astronaut-explorers Charlie Duke, Edgar Mitchell, Jack Schmitt, and Alexei Leonov; Nobel Prize winners Robert Wilson and Harold...

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Al Nagler declares Saturnday

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

I had a great time visiting with Al Nagler, Tele Vue Optic's legendary founder, at the Northeast Astronomy forum last weekend.Al wants you to know that tomorrow, and every day that follows Friday, is hereby declared SATURNDAY.Please see below for the note from Al.And enjoy Saturnday.. . . .I've found that first-time views of Saturn through a telescope typically elicit gasps of delight followed by inquisitive questioning.Saturn's startling beauty can open the door to wonders and knowledge about t...

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Speaking on comets at the 2014 Northeast Astronomy Forum

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Sunday, April 13, was another mesmerizingly busy day at the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), held at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. Attendance was definitely up from last year, and the general feeling was that a flux of new people who have been watching the Cosmos series on FOX may have been filtering into the event. More than 100 vendors exhibited their telescopes, cameras, binoculars, and accessories, and there were plenty of exciting things going on with products, headlined...

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A jam-packed first day at the 2014 Northeast Astronomy Forum

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Wow. I have been to the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) many times since the late 1980s, and I’ve never had a day there quite as jam-packed and intensely busy as was Saturday, April 12, the first day of NEAF 2014. Many thanks to my colleague Jeff Felbab, Astronomy magazine’s advertising sales manager, for setting up our impressive, new and improved booth. We were busy nearly continuously talking to hundreds of amateur astronomers throughout the whole day, handing out magazines, show...

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Heavy-duty imaging at the 2014 Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Day two of the famous Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC) got off to a fast start Friday, April 11, 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Suffern, New York, with about 200 serious imagers attending talks and sharing their love of the universe. Talks began with a breathtaking session by English astroimager Gordon Haynes, who is using a new Tele Vue system from mid-north England to produce incredible views of deep-sky objects, many of them processed in Photoshop with the so-called Hubble Palet...

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Deep thoughts at the 2014 Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC), one of the nation’s two great conferences for sky photographers, kicked off yesterday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Suffern, New York. Some 200 dedicated skyshooters were on hand for a day of talks, vendor displays, workshops, and informal chatting about the rapidly evolving field of astroimaging in a two-day event that precedes the huge Northeast Astronomy Forum, which takes place this weekend.Many old friends were in attendance. The talks ar...

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Northeast Astronomy Forum looms

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Suffern, New York, to attend the Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC), on Thursday and Friday, and the largest annual gathering of amateur astronomy in the United States, the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), on Saturday and Sunday. As always, it will be a pleasure to see many of you there, and Jeff Felbab, Astronomy’s ad manager, will be along for NEAF, with our new and large booth set up. Please drop by and say hello. I’ll be delighted to b...

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Get ready for the StarLight Festival!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

This Memorial Day weekend, I hope you will be in the area of Los Angeles — more specifically, near Big Bear, California. If so, you will be in for an incredible treat. Scott Roberts of Explore Scientific, a longtime friend of the magazine, has assembled an incredible array of fun in the first ever StarLight Festival, May 24–25, 2014, in Big Bear Lake, California. The event is proudly sponsored by Pepsi and is hosted by Scott’s own AstronomyOutreach Network. Quite an array...

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Starmus announces astrophotography school!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The most exciting astronomy meeting of our year will no doubt be the second Starmus Festival, to be held September 22–27, 2014, at Tenerife and La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. A who’s who of astronaut-explorers, astronomers, biologists, chemists, and musicians will gather for an amazing week of talks, socializing, stargazing, and music. Among those who will be attending and speaking are astronauts Charlie Duke, Edgar Mitchell, Jack Schmitt, Alexei Leonov, Vladimir Dzhanibekov...

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A phenomenal Mars shot ... from Earth

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

My friend Robert Burnham sent me a link to this incredible shot of Mars, made by Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley. Anthony used a 16-inch scope and shot the image on March 6, 2014, from Murrumbateman, Australia. At the time, Mars was some 12.3 arcseconds across, and this photo shows great detail in the polar caps, albedo markings, and clouds — just great stuff. Mars is of course at its best in approximately six years just about now, reaching opposition tomorrow. Enjoy the...

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Real Reality Show starts on Astronomy.com

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

A couple weeks ago, I started a series of videos about astronomy and space that are meant to cut to the chase with some current topics that are going on in the field. The first week, I focused on some big news events of the last week of March — the cosmology discovery about inflation, gravitational waves, and so forth. Last week I discussed the distance scale of the solar system, with a chart and a walk down the hall displaying relative distances. You can find the first episode here.A...

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New FOX show wants astronomer in cast

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

A new FOX TV series called Utopia is looking for an astronomer. And you could be the one. Suzanne Gilreath of The Conlin Company in Los Angeles writes that the show, modeled after a successful Dutch TV series, will follow 15 people from around the country for a year as they create a new micro-society. An astronomer is likely to be useful for the group for navigation in the sky, for knowledge of the constellations, and for generally being a pretty smart person. Interested in spending a year of yo...

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Brian May and Rick Wakeman coming to Starmus Festival!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

I have exciting news from my friend Garik Israelian on the amazing Starmus Festival, a gathering on astronomy, space exploration, cosmology, and music, set to be held in the Canary Islands this September. I’m delighted to say that Astronomy magazine is the festival’s exclusive media partner. This is going to be one of the biggest events in recent times for astronomy and space enthusiasts. I’ve already blogged about the event, and the speakers who have been announced, including ...

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Starmus Festival welcomes five legendary cosmonauts!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

I have exciting news from my friend Garik Israelian on the amazing Starmus Festival, a gathering on astronomy, space exploration, cosmology, and music, set to be held in the Canary Islands this September. I’m delighted to say that Astronomy magazine is the festival’s exclusive media partner. This is going to be one of the biggest events in recent times for astronomy and space enthusiasts. I’ve already blogged about the event and the speakers who have been announced, including t...

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