For the past 2 days, I've been rearranging the storage areas here at Astronomy magazine. It was lots of work and lots of fun at the same time. And, it got me thinking. Why do some telescopes last 5 years while others last 50? The answer, it turns out, boils down to one word: dust. If you can protect...

One thing's for sure about being a reporter: You can go out of your mind trying to get to the heart of the most complex issue and, in the end, trip over the simplest facts. Eyepiece pioneer Al Nagler, CEO of Tele Vue Optics, Inc. , pointed that out to me today. My article about the pros and cons...

Astronomers meet this week in Washington to discuss the future of Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the largest radio telescope in the world. The leading item on the agenda is how to prevent the telescope — 1,000 feet wide (300 meters) — from going to the scrap yard. In November 2006, the National...

This week and next, I'm sharing a short essay by one of my astronomy friends, Susan Carroll. Susan has been a dedicated observer for more years than most. Her 18-inch Starmaster Dobsonian-mounted reflector is a familiar sight at star parties across Florida and the Southeast (and the Midwest, when...

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...

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...

One place I’ve always wanted to visit is Antarctica. It’s a continent seemingly designed for science geeks and natural-history buffs. Here’s a sampling of scientists now scattered across the bleak landscape: Cosmologists tweak the 10-meter South Pole Telescope , just completed last February; geologists...

One of the pleasures of attending American Astronomical Society meetings is strolling through a sea of poster papers. A poster paper is exactly what it sounds like — it’s an oversized page that summarizes the results of a single study. Now and then, you spot displays where the science comes mixed with...

I love old telescopes. Unfortunately, there aren’t many left you can observe through. Luckily, you can find a great one at Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. This year, Chabot’s 8-inch refractor, made by the famous telescope manufacturing firm of Alvan Clark and Sons, marks its...

Until now, I couldn’t tell you about one exhibit I saw at January’s American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting. The embargo lifted yesterday, when Microsoft announced its WorldWide Telescope project at the TED2008 conference in Monterey, California. Imagine terabytes of astronomical imagery, ranging...