With a statue of Lenin in the foreground, Boris Stromar imaged the eclipse from Novosibirsk, Russia. It looked grim the day before and grim the day after. But we stood under a blistering hot sky near Novosibirsk, Siberia, with nary a cloud in the sky on eclipse day. Never have I seen such perfect eclipse weather. The eclipse was beautiful, lasting 2 minutes 20 seconds, for our intrepid 160 travelers who came along with Astronomy magazine and MWT Associates...

Last week, I traveled to Tucson, Arizona to produce several stories for Astronomy magazine, which you’ll see in upcoming issues. I was privileged to travel with my colleague, Senior Editor Michael Bakich, and his wife Holley, both seasoned sky observers. After our exploration of the meteorite scene at the annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (see previous blog), we made our way down to Portal, Arizona, a 2½-hour drive from Tucson, for some dark-sky...

Here's something I'll strive to do with this blog every once in a while: provide you with suggestions for deep-sky observing. I'd like to suggest viewing some of my favorite objects, some of which are a little off-the-beaten-path. If you observe these objects, image them, or sketch them at the eyepiece, be sure to send us your material and we'll publish as much of it as we can in Astronomy or on our web page. Feel free to contact me...