Have you downloaded Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope (WWT)? If not, you can find it here , free of charge. Once you kick the tires, be sure to join our community. WWT communities provide tours, images, and other information relating to the night (and day) sky to members. So far, our community features tours covering galaxies, orbiting observatories, our impending (meaning long after you're gone) merger with Andromeda, and naked-eye open star...

Last week, Senior Editor Francis Reddy wrote about his experience with Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope (WWT) at the American Astronomical Society ’s January meeting. Reddy summed up this introduction to Microsoft’s latest innovation as such: Imagine terabytes of astronomical imagery, ranging across the spectrum from radio waves to X-rays, seamlessly integrated and available in an easy-to-use interface. Pan left, right, up, down. Zoom in, merge different...

Al Nagler, John Gallagher, and Stephen James O’Meara (left to right) pose with the Tele Vue refractor and prototype eyepiece. Springfield Telescope Makers, Inc. In a previous blog, Astronomy Associate Editor Daniel Pendick wrote about an exciting auction that will benefit Stellafane , the telescope-making conference held annually in Springfield, Vermont. Participants will bid on Astronomy author Stephen James O'Meara's Tele Vue Genesis refractor...

John Chumack imaged M15 September 9, 2006, from his observatory at the Yellow Springs Research Station in Ohio. John Chumack Fraser Cain , podcaster and web guru behind Universe Today , recently wrote a piece regarding advanced observers' home observatories for Wired 's web site. With observer profiles, astrophotography, and instrument shots, the article introduces readers to some of the leading astroimagers and their advanced equipment. Even...