The International Space Station may not inspire everyone with awe, but it has kept humanity consistently in space at all times for just over 9 years. NASA photo I inadvertently let an anniversary slip by a few weeks ago. It wasn’t a major one (I’m not sleeping on the couch), but it was nifty enough that I wish I could have celebrated appropriately. I refer, of course, to the ninth anniversary of the last day every human being was on Earth. On October...

This isn’t going to happen in 2012! Baseless theories, like a proposed planetary alignment on the scale of this photo illustration, have led many to fear the year 2012 needlessly. Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (NASA) photo Rejoice, for the end is nigh. Not of the actual world, of course, but of 2012 ’s marketing campaign. As you are no doubt aware, Roland Emmerich’s end-of-the-world epic, 2012 , opened this weekend. As in Emmerich’s previous movies...

NASA’s done a good job getting us into space, but should it work harder on convincing people why that’s a good idea? NASA photo Chances are you’ll recognize the phrase, “To boldly go,” as part of the monologue introducing each episode of Star Trek . I’ve heard it called the most famous split infinitive in the English language, and whatever a person’s science knowledge or familiarity with Star Trek , they’ll usually recognize “To boldly go — where...

In this artist’s illustration, an orbiter works together with blimps and rovers to explore an unfamiliar landscape. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory photo Wolfgang Fink has a dream straight out of science fiction: Instead of sending a paltry robot or two to distant planets, scientists should send multiple expendable robots. Robots that can talk to one another and adapt to unexpected events. Robots that can think. Creepy as that might sound to some,...

Stewart David Nozette, later arrested by the FBI for attempted espionage, worked on the LRO’s Mini-RF hardware. NASA Phot o We here at Astronomy magazine try to stay out of politics as much as we can because, after all, astronomy can be plenty controversial on its own — Pluto , anyone?. But sometimes, we just can’t help it. Take, for instance, the case of Stewart David Nozette (pictured at right), the former NASA scientist who was arrested October...

STS-125 astronauts Mike Massimino (lower left) and Mike Good (right, on arm) rehearse Hubble Space Telescope repairs in NASA’s NBL in this IMAX footage from Hubble 3D . NASA photo Toni Myers is my kind of big-time Hollywood director. She’s worked on such famous space-themed IMAX movies as Space Station 3D , Destiny in Space , and 1985’s The Dream is Alive . I remember seeing Dream is Alive when I was just a kid, and it played no small role in my fascination...

While it’s no secret that Astronomy magazine just opened its own observatory , don’t think it’s something only professionals can aspire to. The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) has been working to establish a permanent dark observing facility for more than 2 years now, and it’s impressive how much they’ve already done. After finding a good spot, the group had to convince the surrounding community they wouldn’t be lousy neighbors. Apparently...

As a journalist, I’ve had the chance occasionally to meet some famous people and even interact with them. Just a few weeks ago I joined many of my colleagues to hang out with noted author Dava Sobel , and I’ve taken classes from pretty famous physicists. I once even interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, trying to ask professional, interesting questions and not reveal how awestruck I was to be in the man’s presence. Until yesterday, that had been the undisputed...

As the wind picks up and the skies cloud over (at least here in Wisconsin), it can be hard to remember that nice, balmy weather will someday return. That’s why Russell Genet’s work is so important. As the facilitator of the Alt-Az Initiative and co-chair of its Hawaii conferences, he works not just to promote development of and scientific research on smaller telescopes, but to keep astronomy buffs warm in the cold months too. Mostly, though, it’s...

While it’s important to be professional and keep an adult attitude toward science and its popularization, we can all agree that it’s awesome to hear Carl Sagan sing about the cosmos in this tribute video on YouTube . Sounding like a cross between Auto-Tune-abusing T-Pain and The Matrix ’s Agent Smith, Sagan describes the natural beauty of the universe in a song called “A Glorious Dawn.” Seeing as how Sagan probably was the most successful science...