You may have noticed that I’ve been a little off on posting blogs lately. This has been an incredibly busy time, with a number of projects in midstream and several other big things cropping up for Astronomy magazine’s future. Just absolutely...

Here’s a comet exercise of the day, one that will help you appreciate the scale of the solar system. Take a ruler and mark 1 centimeter on a sheet of paper. That’s the distance between the Sun and Earth, 1 astronomical unit (AU), or about...

My book, Comets: Visitors from Deep Space , will be published this fall by Cambridge University Press. Here’s a taste of chapter one, which describes my first adventures with viewing Comet West. Enjoy! When I was young, I fancied becoming a doctor...

Astroimager Lynn Hilborn of the WhistleStop Observatory in Grafton, Ontario, Canada, sent me this fantastic image of the galaxy NGC 5907 in Draco, which is sometimes called the Splinter Galaxy. “Some time ago in an editorial, you requested astrophotographers...

Longtime readers of Astronomy magazine undoubtedly know of our great friend and colleague Sun Kwok of the University of Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading experts on astrochemistry and stellar evolution. I’m delighted to say that Sun’s...

My book, Comets: Visitors from Deep Space , will be published this fall by Cambridge University Press. Here’s a taste of an introductory chapter that describes the impact dangers from near-Earth objects, and specifically, in this chunk, the famous...

Some 60 people will attend an event next month in Los Angeles that is the first of its kind. Telescope manufacturer Celestron will put on an event called Perspective in which they host an invitation-only audience of telescope dealers and astroimagers...

Today’s annular eclipse was visible widely across Australia and other areas of the South Pacific, and early reports have it as a big success. I take pleasure in sharing the report sent by Jay Pasachoff, astronomer at Williams College and a longtime...

Yesterday, I shared a cool 3-D image of Comet PANSTARRS sent by Ph.D. astronomer, Queen guitarist, and Astronomy Editorial Advisory Board member Brian May. Today, I have the good fortune to share another image Brian sent me. You may know that Brian is...

Ph.D. astronomer, Queen guitarist, and Astronomy Editorial Advisory Board member Brian May sent some 3-D images of Comet PANSTARRS (C/2011 L4) the other day. These are absolutely incredible and will blow your mind when you see them in the right way. You...

I think most of you are familiar with Uwingu, the company started by planetary scientist Alan Stern and friends that are raising grant money to fund astronomical research. Astronomy magazine is a partner in this project and strongly supports Uwingu’s...

My book, Comets: Visitors From Deep Space , will be published this fall by Cambridge University Press. Here’s a taste of a historical chapter centering on observations by the Roman philosopher Seneca . . . Enjoy! The Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus...

The Astronomy Foundation, the nonprofit entity started as a telescope industry association to promote the astronomy hobby, seeks a volunteer person to help with corporate fundraising. The position would involve seeking and building funds for the group...

The International Starry Night celebration will take place August 10, 2013, coinciding with the Perseid meteor shower.[/caption]Amateur astronomer and activist Audrey Fischer of Chicago is well known as an influential friend who combats light pollution...

When I was at NEAF in New York last weekend, Astronomical League Vice President John Goss asked me about young people in amateur astronomy. He showed me a copy of the March issue of Reflector , the league’s monthly publication, with the theme of...

Our good friends who work with Sony Pictures, Warren Betts and Brian Boothe, yesterday sent word of a new contest called the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge. This contest will engage students in science, mathematics, and technology to enter a robotics competition...

Over the past three weeks, I’ve taken a vacation down the Mississippi River, speaking about the Civil War on the American Queen riverboat, and also gone to the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), the biggest astronomy expo in the United States, in...

Sunday always starts a little later at the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), the largest telescope trade show in the United States. But by 10 a.m., the show cranked up after a successful day Saturday , and 100 exhibitors showed off their wares —...

Following on the heels of the very successful two-day Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference , the world’s largest telescope show and expo — the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) — got off with a bang Saturday, April 20. As usual, the event...

The second day of the Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC), held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Suffern, New York, kicked off early on April 19, 2013, and brought more than 150 astroimagers together for many amazing talks and presentations. Among the...

The 8th annual Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC), one of the premier events for astrophotographers, kicked off Thursday morning, April 18, 2013, at the Crowne Plaza Conference Center in Suffern, New York. NEAIC precedes the major telescope show...

We’re now just a shade more than three weeks away from the big East Coast astronomy meeting of the year: the Northeast Astronomy Forum. Not only will Astronomy again be sponsoring NEAF this year, but I’ll also be at the Northeast Astro-Imaging...

You know, I can remember when the American government worked — at least at times. The recent standoff with regard to budget in Washington and the resulting sequestration mess underscores the functionality of Congress at an all-time low. It’s...

Our solar system may be down one planet from the good old days, but astronomers have now found more than 860 worlds orbiting stars near us in the Milky Way Galaxy. More than 1,000 other candidates are likely planet detections that astronomers have not...

A couple days ago, I first blogged about a new campaign underway to raise funds for the restoration and renovation of the famous 24-inch Clark refractor at Lowell Observatory. I’m mentioning it again because it’s a tremendously valuable and...