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

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Beth Nielsen Chapman's "The Mighty Sky" headed to Grammys

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

For some time now, my good friend Rocky Alvey, director of Vanderbilt University’s Dyer Observatory in Nashville, has collaborated with country music star Beth Nielsen Chapman on a children’s CD of great music about the stars. The Mighty Sky, as it’s called, has not only been a big success, but now has a Grammy nomination. Congrats to Beth and to Rocky!! I encourage you to check it out.And I also give you the full press release they have just issued, below. This compilation of ...

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OSIRIS-REx launches new YouTube video series

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

An exciting new planetary science mission slated for launch in 2016 is gearing up at the University of Arizona and elsewhere. OSIRIS-REx, which stands for Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, is a NASA venture that will sample an asteroid and return it to Earth by 2023. This will be a truly groundbreaking venture in the history of planetary science. The mission is a partnership between the University of Arizona, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Cen...

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Catalina Sky Survey seeks observer for full-time job

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

My good friend Rik Hill of the Catalina Sky Survey, one of the great observing projects in the history of astronomy, writes that the survey has a job opening. Part of the University of Arizona, the survey team uses three telescopes to discover asteroids and comets, as well as search for near-Earth objects that could intersect our orbit. The position of observer is based in Tucson, Arizona. “This is a job well suited to amateur astronomers,” said Rik, part of the Catalina team, &...

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Join us this spring for Chile's great observatories!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Late in May, I’ll have the privilege of touring some of the world’s greatest observatories with a select group of Astronomy readers. As you know, the southern Milky Way brims with rich star fields, glowing gas clouds, and splashy star clusters. We will have ample opportunities to view this inky black sky from the best location on Earth — at 23° south latitude in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Our Chile’s Great Telescopes expedition, in partnership with MWT Associat...

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"Astronomy" sponsors April's Northeast Astronomy Forum

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Once again this year, Astronomy magazine will be a proud sponsor of the largest telescope show and amateur astronomy expo in the United States, the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF). This year’s NEAF will be held April 12–13 at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, about an hour northwest of New York City. The event features exhibitors showing their telescopes, binoculars, cameras, and accessories, and typically boasts more than 150 manufacturers and retailers. Astronomy ma...

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Gearing up for our big Tucson star party

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

In about three weeks, members of the Astronomy magazine staff will put on a big public star party event at Pima Community College, East Campus, in Tucson, Arizona. This will be an all-day event with solar observing, talks, and nighttime observing on Saturday, February 8, 2014. The campus is located at 8181 East Irvington Road, on the southeastern edge of the city, and the event will be held at and near the campus observatory. The day of astro activities begins at 10 a.m. and concludes at 9 p.m. ...

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An incredible look at a star cluster

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

You can see it with the naked eye on any winter night. Floating high up in the sky, in the constellation Taurus, is a little dipper-shaped grouping of stars called the Pleiades or Seven Sisters — the 45th entry in Charles Messier’s famous catalog of nebulous objects in the sky. Viewing the Pleiades becomes even more amazing with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, which allow seeing a multitude of faint stars surrounding the brighter ones. Large backyard telescopes even reveal...

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Watch the discussion: Exoplanet Explosion

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Yesterday, I joined Associate Editor Sarah Scoles, Discover Editor at Large Corey Powell, and Discover Associate Editor Bill Andrews for a Google Hangout discussion on everything you need to know about one of the hottest topics in astronomy right now, exoplanets. Astronomers have found more than a thousand planets in other solar systems, and thousands more candidates await confirmation. While some members of the exoplanet zoo host liquid water and could be life-friendly, others boast rainstorms...

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Now is the time to see Jupiter!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The King of Planets starts off the New Year with a bang. Jupiter is at its best for the year during the first few days of January, shining brilliantly at a point in the sky astronomers call opposition — opposite the Sun. This means it’s at maximum brilliancy, reflecting the greatest amount of sunlight straight back to us, and it’s also visible all night, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. The largest planet in our solar system is so big that it could hold 1,266 Earth...

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An incredible image from Iran

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

When I was hanging out at the Astronomy booth at November’s Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo in Tucson, a very nice young man from Iran came up and introduced himself. Oshin Zakarian is a very talented astroimager, is quite active with The World at Night, and enjoys sharing his work with enthusiastic amateur astronomers everywhere. He recently sent me one of his pictures, which I share here, and it speaks for itself. Happy New Year!...

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Catch a great meteor shower this weekend!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The beginning of a new year brings a celestial spectacle this weekend that skywatchers should not miss. Over the next few days, Earth will be passing through a stream of cosmic debris left in the wake of a near-Earth asteroid, 2003 EH1. Intersecting this trail of rocky particles means that some of these little guys will be pulled down into our atmosphere by Earth’s gravity, causing a nice meteor shower called the Quadrantids. The Quadrantid meteors peak in activity each year on January 3. ...

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Happy New Year from Astronomy magazine!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Here’s to a happy new year to each and every amateur astronomer in the world! 2013 has been a great year, but the following year seems to be shaping up to be even more exciting. In early March, Ann Druyan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and their Cosmos production team will be presenting the second version of Cosmos, Carl Sagan’s famous television program, on the Fox broadcast network, beginning on Sunday, March 9. That should draw an enormous audience worldwide and will, we hope, inject our h...

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A great visit with Celestron in Los Angeles

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

I’ve had a wonderful time visiting some of the greats of the telescope industry for the last few days in Los Angeles, along with Astronomy’s Publisher Kevin Keefe and our Ad Manager Jeff Felbab. On the heels of our great meeting with Joe Lupica and others at Meade in Irvine, California, on Thursday, we spent much of the day Friday with Celestron’s executives, discussing all that’s going on at their very busy headquarters in Torrance. We enjoyed catching up with new Celest...

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Meade Instruments charges ahead with new management

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Every amateur astronomer on the planet knows about the telescopes, binoculars, and accessories from Meade Instruments Corp., one of the largest telescope manufacturers our hobby has had ever since its founding four decades ago. As most amateur astronomers know, Meade has undergone a challenging time over the past few years with a variety of issues in the company, but I can tell you that the business is on the verge of making an enormous comeback. In mid-October, Meade announced the completion of...

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Guest blog: AstroTanja interviewed by Maria Grusauskas

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

A young journalist recently introduced herself to me, Maria Grusauskas, who lives in the Bay Area and works at Orion Telescopes and Binoculars. Maria urgently directed my attention to a spectacular imager of the night sky, a South African woman named Tanja Sund, whose photos are quite stunning. Maria recently interviewed “AstroTanja,” as Sund likes to go by, and the interview was posted on Orion’s website. I have the pleasure of sharing the interview with you here, and con...

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Dave Eicher producing Starmus book with Brian May and Garik Israelian

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

A short time ago, Brian May asked me to work on a book with him and friend Garik Israelian, an amazing Armenian-Spanish astronomer who works on supernovae, black holes, and other fun stuff. You probably know Brian as the legendary guitarist of the rock group Queen and also a Ph.D. astrophysicist and member of Astronomy magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. This is going to be a really exciting book, published by the talented Robin Rees of Canopus Books in London, and we’re aiming to h...

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Enter the National Science Foundation ISON Photo Contest!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) may have vaporized, but our photo contest hasn’t. Many astroimagers shot great pictures of the comet from September through November 28, and the National Science Foundation, Astronomy magazine, and Discover magazine would like to reward you for doing so! Our contest features prizes up to $2500! Were you lucky enough to catch the comet before it disintegrated? If so, your photo may be a winner in one of several categories. Send your images now! See here for contest de...

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Catch Geoff Notkin on The STEM Journals!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Arizona science popularizer and meteorite dealer Geoff Notkin, veteran of the TV show Meteorite Men, now has a new show that has been running for a time on Arizona’s Cox Cable Network. Called The STEM Journals, the show features Geoff traveling to different places in Arizona that feature science, technology, engineering, and math topics — thus, the show’s title. Geoff is a good friend of the magazine and a great, entertaining guy. I encourage you to see the show in Arizona...

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Brian May becomes Patron of Herschel House

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

An outstanding development in England yesterday: Queen guitarist, Ph.D. astrophysicist, and Astronomy magazine Editorial Advisory Board Member Brian May has become a patron of one of the country’s most important astronomy-related historic sites, Herschel House in Bath, England. Here is the press release issued yesterday: The Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath is delighted to announce that Dr. Brian May CBE, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society has agreed to become their new Patron, s...

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Queen/Brian May Stereo Cards Contest winners!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Over the past month, we’ve run a hugely successful contest in which readers of the magazine could enter to win one of five autographed sets of astronomical stereo cards, along with an OWL stereo viewer, signed by Queen guitarist, Ph.D. astrophysicist, and Astronomy magazine Editorial Advisory Board member Brian May. We asked readers to write a 200-word essay on their favorite Queen song, establishing what it means to them and why. We received quite a few great entries, and the judging was ...

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Comet ISON approaches the Sun

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The time is approaching fast. Within 24 hours, we’ll see how Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) will weather its closest encounter with the Sun, which by the way happens during halftime of the Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions football game tomorrow. I wish I could be happier about that, but with a woeful defense and missing Aaron Rodgers, the Packers are horrible. But that’s another story . . .The comet story, the one that matters for tomorrow, will be quite interesting, especially with all the r...

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Dave Eicher to write big astrophysics book for Cambridge University Press

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Following my recently released book COMETS! Visitors from Deep Space — (I hope you have your copy!) — from Cambridge University Press, I’m now embarking over the next year to write a detailed, full-color, hardcover summary of astronomy, cosmology, and planetary science for the same publisher. The book will contain 100,000 words, 100 color photos and illustrations, and be written for smart general readers. The book will be titled THE NEW COSMOS: Answering Astronomy’s ...

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How to see Comet ISON in the end of November!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The big week is finally here! Not necessarily the best week to view the comet — that may be coming next week. But this is the week astronomers have been talking about for months as it is on Thursday that Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) will pass closest to the Sun, a mere 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers) away from our star’s photosphere, its glowing “surface.”As astronomers who have been watching the comet know, however, the past few days — and the next f...

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Re-watch the Google Hangout: Countdown to Comet ISON

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Last Thursday, I joined Senior Editor Rich Talcott, Associate Editor Sarah Scoles, and Discover's Editor at Large Corey Powell for the magazines' first ever Google Hangout discussion. This one covered everything you need to know about Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) before it makes its closest approach to the Sun a week from today. We discussed how comets work, the history of comets (both ancient and recent), what observations of Comet ISON has told observers and scientists so far, how to view the celest...

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The 2013 Southwest Astrophotography Seminar

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Almost lost in the shuffle of the Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo (ASAE), held in Tucson last weekend, was the first annual Southwest Astrophotography Seminar, which preceded ASAE and lasted for two days. I wasn’t able to attend the astrophoto seminar because my trip was already booked when this “prequel” to ASAE was announced. But Warren Keller, a good friend, astroimagers, autor, and the astrophoto seminar’s organizer, contributes a guest blog on the activities:...

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Watch the discussion: Countdown to Comet ISON

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

At 2 p.m. CST today, I'll be joining Senior Editor Rich Talcott, Associate Editor Sarah Scoles, and Discover's Editor at Large Corey Powell for a Google Hangout discussion on everything you need to know about Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) before it makes its closest approach to the Sun a week from today. If you can join us, great! http://bit.ly/ISONhangout If not, you can watch the event live below or come back later to re-live the excitement of this celestial visitor again and again. Enjoy! cs_se...

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Announcing the Comet ISON Family Photo Contest!

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The much discussed Comet ISON reaches perihelion, its brightest moment, on November 28, Thanksgiving in the U.S. By then it will be only a short distance from the Sun in the daytime sky. You’ll probably be busy watching football and enjoying family and perhaps not observing the comet when it’s extremely close to the Sun’s disk. But in the days running up to perihelion and those afterward, you and your family can interrupt holiday fun to view this celestial visitor. Our Comet I...

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A big day at the Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

Sunday, November 17, 2013, marked the second day of the second annual Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo, organized by Alan Traino and featuring more than 100 exhibitors, many interesting talks and presentations, and hundreds of amateur astronomers flocking to the Tucson Convention Center in the middle of the city. The day began a little more slowly than Saturday had but soon picked up, and the booths of telescope manufacturers and dealers were crowded with those who wanted to shop, talk, and ce...

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Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo kicks off in Tucson

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

The second annual Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo kicked off Saturday morning, November 16, 2013, in the Tucson Convention Center in the heart of America’s astronomy capital. Organized by Alan Traino, for years a driving force behind the Northeast Astronomy Forum in New York, the show attracted more than 100 exhibitors, outstanding speakers, solar observing and other activities, and hundreds of astronomy enthusiasts who flocked into the event by midmorning. I was privileged to attend o...

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Inside the mineral vault at the Natural History Museum

Posted 10 years ago by David Eicher

On Astronomy’s August tour of London, some 25 readers and I had the great pleasure of seeing many important astronomical sites in England.At the Natural History Museum in London, the famous mineralogist Jolyon Ralph met me for a few video walk-throughs showing highlights of the collection. Now, if you’re wondering what minerals have to do with astronomy, the universe makes minerals as elements, and compounds are attracted by electrical charges and form what most folks call ...

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