Please enjoy this guest post from Astronomy magazine Columnist Stephen James O’Meara: Just wrapped up with a successful and fun George Moore Astronomy Workshop at Camp Maskepetoon near Pigeon Lake in Alberta. The Edmonton Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada sponsors the event and hosted me. Aside from meeting old friends, like Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Alister Ling, who gave a wonderful presentation on how best to use the...

Thursday was a short day at the conference. I had to check out of the hotel in the late morning, so I had time only to jump between two sessions (another exoplanet one, and one about near-Earth asteroids [NEAs]). E ditor's note: Liz is posting updates regularly from DPS09 to Twitter.com/AstronomyMag . The exoplanet session focused on what I’ve noticed to be an extremely popular topic here at the conference — modeling exoplanet atmospheres. That...

I started off Wednesday at a lunar science session where presenters focused on results from the Japanese Kaguya mission and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) . Robert Reedy of the Planetary Science Institute discussed Kaguya maps of the Moon. The probe measured gamma rays to study the distribution of elements, and it produced the first global uranium map of the Moon. E ditor's note: Liz is posting updates regularly from DPS09 to Twitter.com...

One thing I’ve noticed at thisi year’s Division of Planetary Sciences meeting is how well members of the planetary science community support each other. Often when asking a question regarding a talk, the questioner starts out with “great talk.” It’s refreshing to see. There’s a lot of competition in the sciences (so much of a career rides on how many papers one publishes), but clearly there’s a lot of collaboration as well. E ditor's note: Liz...

The Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS) was a great success for many manufacturers and exhibitors that I talked to while there. I also thought it was a fun and rewarding trip. Take a look at some of the photographs and videos I made while at PATS. You might see someone you know, at least by name in Astronomy magazine. At right, Astronomy Contributing Editor Mike Reynolds, Scott Roberts, president of Explore Scientific, and Astronomy Contributing...

This week I’m in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, at the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting. I’ll be blogging daily and posting updates regularly to our Twitter , Facebook , and MySpace pages. Then on Saturday I’ll have the opportunity to tour Arecibo Observatory, which is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It should be a good week, filled with lots of news, science updates, and humid temperatures.

During Halloween weekend, when most people are worrying about ghosts, goblins, and what candy to give away, some 300 avid astroimagers from around the world will meet in San Jose, California, for the 2009 Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC). And, guess what? I’ll be there, too. AIC’s board of directors once again invited me to the conference because Astronomy is important to astroimagers. Our magazine represents the largest audience available to photographers...

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...

Astronomy magazine columnist Stephen James O’Meara ’s sent us two blogs from the 2009 Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show. Many thanks to Steve for sending these reports! Day One Arrived in Pasadena Saturday morning and immediately immersed myself in the telescope fever at the Pacific Astronomy Telescope Show (PATS), organized by the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference. This is not a telescope-making convention. It's a telescope expo with more...

This weekend, thousands of avid amateur astronomers and interested hobbyists are converging on Pasadena, California, for the 2009 Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS). And, guess what? I’m here, too. Astronomy magazine represents the largest audience available to manufacturers developing new telescopes, cameras, eyepieces, and a wide array of accessories. I’m looking forward to seeing them all this weekend. It’s get-togethers like this where...