An interesting story on Slate.com takes this, the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei ’s first telescope, to wonder why we call him by his first name . After all, its subhead points out, “We don’t go around saying ‘Albert’ discovered relativity.” (Briefly, it’s “because that's how he referred to himself.”) But reading it, I wondered if we’d ever have another Galileo. Or, for that matter, if we’d ever see another Albert (Einstein) or even another...

Tomorrow I’ll travel to my old home grounds in southern Ohio to attend the 2009 Apollo Rendezvous meeting in Dayton. I’ll give a talk about Galileo’s telescopes and observations in this 400th anniversary year . Apollo Rendezvous is a nice meeting, held at Dayton’s Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and sponsored by the Miami Valley Astronomical Society. It’s a special event for me; the very first astronomy convention I ever attended was the 1976 Apollo...

Telescopes have extended the human senses to unimaginably distant and inhospitable parts of the universe. A documentary beginning to air this week on public television stations in the United States tells the story of the telescope and its unveiling of the cosmos — starting with that simple little tube Galileo pointed at the Sun, Moon, and stars . The 60-minute documentary is called 400 Years of the Telescope: a journey of science, technology, and...

On Wednesday, April 1, our group of Astronomy magazine travelers on the Galileo tour experienced our last day of enjoying Italy’s sights. We concentrated on several more spectacular areas of Florence, setting off in the morning for the famous Uffizi Gallery (pictured at right), one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Editor's note: We've posted more images from Dave's trip in our Online Reader Gallery's "Trips and Tours"...

Now that your May 2009 issue of Astronomy is in hand, we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest web extras to give subscribers exclusive complementary information on this special collector’s edition that celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning his telescope to the sky. Take a sneak peek inside the May 2009 Astronomy magazine . If you subscribe to Astronomy , make sure you’re registered with Astronomy.com so you can access these great...

On Tuesday, our fifth major day of activities, Astronomy ’s Galileo our group set out on an ambitious and long day focused squarely on Galileo himself. We began by traveling about a half hour outside Florence to Arcetri and the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, an institution founded in 1872. We explored the observatory’s grounds, discussed astronomical subjects with some of the institution’s astronomers, and explored the 14-inch refractor (image...

April includes a key Cornerstone Project for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), which commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning the telescope to the heavens . Here’s what’s in store for you: April 2009 NASA Theme: Galaxies and the distant universe Featured object in the sky: The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) April 2-5: Spend time trying to bring astronomy to a worldwide public with the 100 Hours of Astronomy IYA2009 Cornerstone...

Well, a few hours in Florence convince you why it’s one of the most historic and beloved spots on the planet. Our Astronomy Galileo tour group of 19 enjoyed our first day in the historic city Monday, and it was a long one. We were on the move, walking briskly and efficiently, moving from site to site, like a well-oiled machine. Editor's note: We've posted more images from Dave's trip in our Online Reader Gallery's "Trips and Tours"...

Astronomy ’s Galileo tour group left Rome this morning and stopped today in Orvietro, in southwestern Umbria, where we explored a fascinating and often-overlooked town that was built up originally as an Etruscan fortress. The town (pictured at right) then changed hands repeatedly, with the Romans taking over until Goths and Lombards preceded a self-governing commune that took over the town in the 10th century. Editor's note: We've posted more...

Our second full day of touring Italy concentrated on ancient Rome. We started with the Piazza del Popolo, where the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo provided sensational views of art created by the likes of Carravaggio, Carracci, Bernini, and Raphael. We later saw other churches, including Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs) in part of what was the mammoth Baths of Diocletion, and San Pietro...