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 July 3-10, 2009 Naked eye: The False Comet Small telescope: Open cluster...

Here's the latest update from “Our man in Cape Town,” Benne Holwerde, researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and a member of a team building a new radio telescope called MeerKAT (Karoo Array Telescope): At a recent conference in Groningen, The Netherlands, four instruments stood out as pathfinders for the future Square Kilometer Array (SKA). The SKA will be such an enormous undertaking — financially, politically, technically...

In June, Astronomy Editor David J. Eicher and I visited developer Gene Turner’s Rancho Hidalgo in Animas, New Mexico. On Saturday, June 20, the three of us, plus eight more guests, visited an observatory that stands at 6,500 feet (1,980 meters) elevation on a mountain Turner owns. Outside the facility, we observed the Sun through a high-quality Hydrogen-alpha filter belonging to Turner. Once inside the facility, he gave us a brief description of the...

Here's the latest update on the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) project from “Our man in Cape Town,” Benne Holwerda, researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Engineers on the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) project are constructing a seven-dish prototype, KAT-7. These first seven dishes will help the engineers learn how to build dishes that do not cause interference in observations, connect them up, point them all, and build...

The Sun , a Jacksonville, Florida, newspaper, recently interviewed Mike Reynolds about his life in astronomy. Reynolds is the dean of liberal arts and sciences at Florida Community College at the Jacksonville Kent Campus and won an AstronomyOutreach 2009 AstroOscar for spreading awareness of astronomy education. He is a contributing editor for Astronomy magazine. Read the Q&A, " Astronomy expert Mike Reynolds ." Congrats, Mike! Recent...

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...