Blogs

  • Blog Post: Welcome Chris Raymond, Astronomy's new managing editor

    Astronomy 's new managing editor, Chris Raymond, actually began his career in publishing some 22 years ago with Astronomy and Kalmbach Publishing Co. Astronomy: William Zuback photo As Editor David J. Eicher explained in May’s “This Month in Astronomy ,” the magazine’s executive editor, Dick McNally...
  • Blog Post: Little Johnny, we hardly knew ye

    [caption image="/blogs/astronomy/Misc/Buffet-table_small.jpg" targeturl="/blogs/astronomy/Misc/Buffet-table.jpg"] The long line of file cabinets affectionately referred to as the “buffet table” by the staff of Astronomy magazine bears a wealth of tasty viddles June 4,...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy belongs in space, right?

    Courtesy of NASA's "Face in Space" program, the entire crew of Astronomy magazine will be aboard STS-134, the final mission of the space shuttle program, sometime in November. William Zuback photo With pulsar-like regularity, Astronomy magazine’s editorial and art staff gathers every Wednesday...
  • Blog Post: Mars Rocks!

    Cornell University’s Jim Bell thanks attendees June 10, 2010, and hints at what the evening has in store during a private reception before his public presentation. Bell is an associate professor in Cornell University’s astronomy department and lead scientist on the Pancam color-imaging system used by...
  • Blog Post: Book review: “A Question and Answer Guide to Astronomy”

    A Question and Answer Guide to Astronomy by Pierre-Yves Bely, Carol Christian, and Jean-René Roy (Cambridge University Press, 2010). Chris Raymond photo One of the perks of working for a magazine is that we generally receive advance copies of relevant books from publishers seeking “ink” to promote their...
  • Blog Post: Podcast #100!

    Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich records weekly podcast #100 in Kalmbach Publishing Company’s video/sound studio, July 22, 2010. Chris Raymond photo Astronomy magazine achieved a milestone Thursday, July 22, when its weekly observing podcast reached the century mark. With clocklike regularity...
  • Blog Post: Book review: “1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die”

    1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die — The Best Sky Objects for Star Gazers by Michael E. Bakich. Springer, 2010. Despite working as editor of a monthly magazine for funeral directors for many years, I must admit I dislike the term bucket list — as in, “I want to do the following things before...
  • Blog Post: Fire Drill

    [caption image="/blogs/astronomy/Misc/FIRE_DRILL_SEPT232010_SMALL.jpg" targeturl="/blogs/astronomy/Misc/FIRE_DRILL_SEPT232010_LARGE.jpg"]The staff of Astronomy magazine seriously awaits the all-clear signal following a company-wide fire drill on September 23, 2010. Chris Raymond photo...
  • Blog Post: On-the-go Astronomy goes live

    Your smart phone just got even smarter thanks to the launch of Astronomy magazine’s new mobile site. In tandem with our newly updated website, www.astronomy.com, which launched this week, Kalmbach’s crack team of cyber gurus also created a new site optimized to deliver our most popular content...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy magazine visits Yerkes Observatory

    Did you know that the world’s largest refracting telescope is located less than an hour from Astronomy magazine’s headquarters? Founded in 1897, Yerkes Observatory sedately sits on the shore of Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. On December 3, 2010, the staff of Astronomy , its publisher...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy mobile adds daily observing events

    Astronomy magazine’s mobile-friendly website just added another reason you should immediately bookmark http://m.astronomy.com in your smart phone’s browser. Already offering on-the-go access to the latest astronomy and space news, staff blogs, and our jaw-dropping Photo of the Day, Astronomy...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy senior editor celebrates silver milestone

    Congratulations to Senior Editor Richard Talcott, who this week celebrated his 25th anniversary with Astronomy magazine! And Rich, on behalf of the staff, I sincerely apologize. [caption image="/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/astronomy.Misc/5076.TALCOTT25Asmall...
  • Blog Post: NASA: Please keep delaying STS-134

    Last June, I shared my excitement about submitting a photo of the Astronomy magazine staff to NASA’s “Face in Space” website so we could vicariously fly aboard space shuttle Endeavor on STS-134, the final mission of the U.S. space shuttle program. At the time, that flight was scheduled...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy magazine now available on Nook

    In response to reader requests, Kalmbach Publishing Co. launched its first-ever digital version of Astronomy magazine today on the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader . From the Nook Newsstand , users of this increasingly popular hand-held device can now order single issues or subscribe directly on their...
  • Blog Post: LEGO and NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Partnership Rocks!

    Those who know me understand that within my 45-year-old frame beats the heart of a child. I still play video games, still shake presents under the tree in the days leading up to Christmas, and still feel that same sense of awe when viewing the rings of Saturn like I did when I first glimpsed them through...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy magazine now available on Zinio

    In response to reader requests, Kalmbach Publishing Co. launched a digital version of Astronomy magazine on the Zinio digital magazine platform this week. Users of this leading software application can now order single issues or subscribe directly from their iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac or PC, and select...
  • Blog Post: Long story short re: Asteroid 2005 YU55

    Have you ever noticed how by the time most people use the phrase “Well, to make a long story short,” it’s usually too late? You know what I mean ... You’re standing there listening patiently to someone for like five minutes, hearing all about their Aunt Gertrude and the locusts...
  • Blog Post: Watch December 10 total lunar eclipse live via SLOOH

    Tomorrow’s total lunar eclipse of the Moon will provide an unforgettable experience — for those fortunate to live in (or travel to) the western United States, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Asia. Anyone living east of a line from Ohio to Mississippi, however, won’t see anything...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy magazine now available on special collector’s DVD set

    Do you suffer from sagging bookshelves? Do you routinely walk in zigzags in your home to get from point A to point B because of the stacks of Astronomy magazines taking up space everywhere? Do your children or grandchildren conceal themselves behind those paper towers whenever you play Hide-n-Seek, snickering...
  • Blog Post: Here’s meteorite in your eye!

    Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper. Cookies and milk. Heidi Klum and Seal . Excluding that last pair, some things just go together and form a comforting bedrock on which we can rely. [caption image="/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/astronomy.Misc...
  • Blog Post: Astronomy.com named top 100 educational website

    I’m pleased to announce that Astronomy magazine’s website, Astronomy.com, was selected by Homeschool.com as one of its “Top 100 Educational Websites of 2012.” Every year, Homeschool.com asks its “product testers” to submit a list of their favorite educational Internet...
  • Blog Post: Book review: "Transit: When Planets Cross the Sun"

    If you’re reading this, I hope you feel the same sense of luck as an astronomy enthusiast that I feel to be alive right now . In less than three months, you and I will have the chance to view one of the rarest of all predictable celestial events — the transit of Venus across the face of our...
  • Blog Post: "Broken" Apollo 11 rocket engines found in Atlantic

    I’m embarrassed to admit this, but, according to my parents, when I was a mere three years old and watching the Apollo 11 launch July 16, 1969, on our tiny low-def TV, my infant vocal cords supposedly uttered “Aw, he broke” after the first-stage Saturn V engine separation. [caption...