As we get closer and closer to July 20, the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 and celebrating man’s first steps on the Moon, more cool ways to commemorate the Apollo program are popping up. NASA has a bunch of events planned already, and I’m sure they’ll announce more in the weeks ahead. Here are a few highlights: July 2: Take a virtual tour of the Apollo Lunar Sample Processing Lab and Storage Vaults at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. You can...

Special contribution from Astronomy magazine illustrator, Roen Kelly Very seldom do I get a request to write for the magazine. Smart move on management’s part. However, it just so happened a book of paintings arrived at the Astronomy offices. The book, Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World , showcases the paintings of Alan Bean. Who better to review the book but one of the staff artists? The book is unique in that, as many of you know, Alan...

“Now therefore, we, the Board of Trustees and its President, do hereby proclaim the dark sky over the village of Barrington Hills a fitting attribute for the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.” So states the proclamation dated December 15, 2008, and originating from Village Hall, Barrington Hills, Illinois. Just before the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) began, the village’s board of trustees took up the cause against...

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a real astronaut? What would it be like to feel the g-forces of spaceflight? How do you perform everyday tasks out in space? Well, here’s your chance to find out. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of man’s first steps on the Moon, Astronomy magazine is teaming up with Borders and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to bring astronomy enthusiasts the “Train Like an Astronaut” Sweepstakes. Now through July 27, you...

On Saturday night, June 20, once again a clear night, good friends, and a 30-inch telescope combined to make a memorable observing session. Astronomy Editor David J. Eicher and I had been at developer Gene Turner’s Rancho Hidalgo in Animas, New Mexico, for 2 nights already, but both had been cloudy. (See my blog about why .) See more pictures from Dave and Michael's trip to Rancho Hidalgo . Earlier in the day, Turner proclaimed, “Tonight will...

Each week, Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich , a master at explaining how to observe, posts a podcast about three objects or events you can see in the sky. In each episode, Michael highlights: One object you can see without any optical aid One object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescope One object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope Targets for June 26-July 3, 2009 Naked eye: The Keystone Small telescope: Globular cluster...

Now that the August 2009 issue of Astronomy is in the mail or already in hand, we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest web extras to give subscribers exclusive complementary information to this special issue about our return to the Moon. Take a sneak peek inside the August 2009 Astronomy magazine . If you subscribe to Astronomy , make sure you’re registered with Astronomy.com so you can access these great extras. Here are this issue's highlights...

Spending time in the desert in New Mexico in June usually means automatic clear skies. However, after departing for the Rancho Hidalgo astronomy development on Thursday, Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I found ourselves trapped by clouds . We had an unusual monsoon pattern that carried stuff up from the south much earlier than it usually does. Nonetheless, the sky gods were kind to us, and by Saturday the atmosphere was clearing. It became apparent...

Monsoon — In the United States Southwest, a southerly weather flow characterized by increased humidity, periodic showers, and heavy clouds; usually occurs from mid-July to mid-September. If you’re thinking that doesn’t sound like a great scenario for two Midwestern astronomers looking to observe, you’re right. Thursday afternoon, Astronomy Editor David Eicher and I arrived at Rancho Hidalgo in Animas, New Mexico. Each of us came armed with a detailed...

On Thursday, Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I traveled to Tucson and then made the 3-hour drive to Rancho Hidalgo near Animas, New Mexico. We spent a couple days with a stellar array of amateur astronomers at the site, flummoxed by a very unusual event for this time of year — two straight cloudy nights. A weird, early season, monsoon-type flow was pushing clouds up from the south. See more pictures from Dave and Michael's trip to Rancho Hidalgo...