Astronomy magazine editors share their unique insight from behind the scenes of the science, hobby, and magazine.
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Astronomy goes to the movies

Posted 14 years ago by David Eicher
Are you one of those amateur astronomers who sees references to space or astronomy in the movies and either wants to capture the moment because you loved it or or can’t stand it because of inaccuracies? The editors of Astronomy want to know your favorite (or least favorite) moments in astronomy in the movies. 

 As an example, I’ll provide a dramatic moment from a 1930s classic. Everyone knows the legendary Gone with the Wind, starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh in the Civil War classic about...
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NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program begins

Posted 14 years ago by Karri Ferron
Although the fall season doesn’t officially start for another few weeks, it is time to head back to school (for those who didn’t already start last week). College students probably have just spent an arm and a leg on books, room and board, and tuition. And some might now be thinking, “I could really use some scholarship help right now.”Well, for those studying aeronautics or related fields, NASA offers a great opportunity: the NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program. Starting tomorrow, September 1,...
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NASA’s uncertain future

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Two stories last week suggest that the NASA of tomorrow will be substantially different from the NASA of today. The New York Times had a story August 24 questioning whether NASA could possibly reach its stated goals of another Moon landing by 2020 given the poor funding it receives. Apparently, a blue-ribbon panel commissioned by the Obama administration considered the current manned-flight plans “not executable” without serious increases to the organization’s budget. (The panel also thought it ...
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August 28-September 4, 2009: Thuban, the Hercules Cluster, and the Veil Nebula

Posted 14 years ago by Michael Bakich
Each week, Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich, a master at explaining how to observe, posts a podcast about three objects or events you can see in the sky. In each episode, Michael highlights: One object you can see without any optical aidOne object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescopeOne object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope Targets for August 28-September 4, 2009 Binoculars: ThubanSmall telescope: The Hercules Cluster8-inch or larger telescope: The Ve...
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Picking the year’s top astronomy stories

Posted 14 years ago by Liz Kruesi
Each year Astronomy magazine publishes an article highlighting what we consider the top 10 astronomy stories of the previous year. I’ve started working on the article for 2009 and thought I’d share a few of our ideas for the big stories. We also want your feedback. So if there’s a story you feel strongly should be on our list, let us know!Of course, the mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope has to be on this list. Reviving the aging telescope (and possibly giving it another 5 years) is im...
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Introducing Caltech’s new home for astronomy and astrophysics

Posted 14 years ago by Matt Quandt
A guest blog from Lynne Hillenbrand, Caltech’s executive officer of astronomyThe Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics on the campus of the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, California, is home to many of the world's pioneers in astronomical discovery, experiment, and theory. Our new building, opened in January, was designed to incorporate groups from across the campus into a single space and to foster their interactions, collaborations, and new discoveries. This new cr...
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October 2009 web extras for subscribers

Posted 14 years ago by Karri Ferron
Now that the October issue of Astronomy is in the mail, we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest web extras to give subscribers exclusive complementary information on the issue.Take a sneak peek inside the October issue.Also, watch Editor Dave Eicher's video preview of the October 2009 issue.If you subscribe to Astronomy, make sure you’re registered with Astronomy.com so you can access these great extras.Here are this issue's highlights:Associate Editor Liz Kruesi explains Edwin Hubbl...
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Pluto’s planetary predicament

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
As I’m sure we all know, Pluto, the former ninth planet in our solar system, suffered a demotion 3 years ago when the International Astronomical Union reclassified it as a dwarf planet. I won’t get into the specifics behind the decision, but I will say the public outcry over what I’d expect to be a minor scientific matter always baffled me. As Dr. Michael Brown of Monash University in Melbourne has put it, the debate’s like arguing over the distinction between a mountain and a hill. Personally, ...
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Pluto in my heart

Posted 14 years ago by Michael Bakich
My 4-year-old godson, Dylan, lives in Las Vegas. His mother, Jennifer, recently bought him an astronomically themed lunch box. On it were the planets of our solar system. After studying the image for some time, Dylan asked his mother why his lunch box pictured only eight planets.You might be asking the same question. This week is the third anniversary of the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) decision to remove Pluto from the family of planets. In my opinion, this verdict represents one of...
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New video: Dark matter explained

Posted 14 years ago by Liz Kruesi
In my newest video, I give you an overview of dark matter, that mysterious stuff that makes up some 90 percent of the universe’s mass. During the last few decades, astronomers have gained convincing evidence that stars, gas, and dust aren’t all there is to the universe. Most of it is “dark” — both dark matter and dark energy. This video focuses on dark matter, and it’s the second video in a series called “Cosmology 101.” Also check out the video about the Big Bang.Editor’s note: “Cosmology 101: ...
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Watch the Perseids fly

Posted 14 years ago by Michael Bakich
Longtime Astronomy contributor John Chumack of Dayton, Ohio, sent us a video we had to share with you. It shows 3 nights of Perseid meteor activity beginning with the evening of August 11 and continuing through the morning hours of August 14.During that time, Chumack recorded more than 240 meteors. He condensed the videos into a movie that runs just under 1 minute. During that minute, you’ll see the stars advance as Earth rotates. The Moon rises three times, once per night. Venus also rises abov...
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Will we have another Galileo?

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
An interesting story on Slate.com takes this, the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first telescope, to wonder why we call him by his first name. After all, its subhead points out, “We don’t go around saying ‘Albert’ discovered relativity.” (Briefly, it’s “because that's how he referred to himself.”)But reading it, I wondered if we’d ever have another Galileo. Or, for that matter, if we’d ever see another Albert (Einstein) or even another Stephen (Hawking). As science becomes increasing...
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August 21-28, 2009: Algedi and Dabih, M73, and Gyulbudaghian’s Nebula

Posted 14 years ago by Michael Bakich
Each week, Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich, a master at explaining how to observe, posts a podcast about three objects or events you can see in the sky. In each episode, Michael highlights: One object you can see without any optical aidOne object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescopeOne object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope Targets for August 21-28, 2009 Binoculars: Stars Algedi and DabihSmall telescope: M738-inch or larger telescope: Gyulbudaghian’s ...
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Popularizing the heck out of astronomy

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
I’m a big fan of anything that brings people face to face with amazing science, and it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening in The World At Night (TWAN), an international program to display beautiful images of the night sky in American malls. Exhibiting these pictures in 24 shopping malls across the United States, in cities big and small, is part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, which celebrates astronomy and its greatness on the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the ...
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Book review: First Star I See Tonight: An Exploration of Wonder

Posted 14 years ago by Matt Quandt
Guest blog from Laurance R. Doyle, SETI Institute Principal Investigator Ever forget to wonder about the stars? Robert Eklund’s First Star I See Tonight: An Exploration of Wonder will remind you. This book reminds me why I went into astronomy to begin with: The love of the stars, their beauty, grandeur, purity, playful order, our ancient ancestral relatives. Ah yes, wonder! Ah yes, perspective! I remember now. If you have never gotten to know yourself staying up looking at stars, if you have not...
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Comets provide ideal conditions for bacteria, life

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Aliens and science don’t usually go together. Maybe it’s the, let’s say, “disheveled” look of the overly eager UFO enthusiasts and abductees. Both professional and amateur astronomers alike are quick to distance themselves from talk of UFOs. But that is a far cry from saying there is no alien life. While there remains no solid proof of extraterrestrial life, more and more discoveries do seem to hint that it exists. A July paper in the International Journal of Astrobiology claims that liquid wate...
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Guest blog: MeerKAT’s first single dish of the KAT-7 learns to track

Posted 14 years ago by Matt Quandt
Here's the latest update on the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) project from “Our man in Cape Town,” Benne Holwerda, researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.One of the elementary (but difficult) things for a telescope to do is to stay on target while observing. A telescope’s ability to reliably track an object is crucial for its performance. The first single dish of the KAT-7 is now up and ready in the Karoo, so it is time to see how well it can track something. But how d...
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Storms pop up on Saturn's moon Titan

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Titan’s always been pretty exciting. This saturnian satellite is the second-largest moon in the solar system (bigger even than Mercury and Pluto), and the only moon to have a thick atmosphere, complete with weather patterns. Sure, the extremely cold temperatures mean the rain, clouds, and rivers are liquid methane (natural gas) and not water, but just like Earth’s weather, the forecast can be full of surprises. Astronomers had thought the moon’s tropical desert regions were too dry to ever form ...
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NASA explores martian “Block Island” meteorite

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity recently discovered a roughly watermelon-sized meteorite, the largest ever found on the Red Planet. Even though Opportunity drove by it 2 weeks ago in a Mars region called Meridiani Planum, the rover team decided to have it retrace its steps to examine the unusual rock, dubbed “Block Island.”It might be a pretty big deal. Besides the inherent coolness of meteorites themselves, Block Island might have a lot to say about the martian atmosphere and climate. It weighs t...
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How long have you been into astronomy?

Posted 14 years ago by Karri Ferron
Normally, every few months I post a blog sharing the results of some of the more interesting polls we do on the Astronomy.com home page. But this time, I want to focus on only one poll result because, well, I thought maybe you all could provide some insight and feedback.Last week, the poll was a basic demographic question, one I’m surprised we’d never asked before (at least, we don’t have a record of it): “How long have you been active in astronomy as a hobby?” I was expecting a high number to s...
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Thoughts on the new movie, Moon

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Even though it’s technically been out a few weeks already, I saw the movie Moon recently. What better way to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing than by watching a movie all about the Moon and the lonely guy who works there in a mining station? Briefly, the story follows one guy, Sam Bell, (played by Sam Rockwell) and the effects of his extensive isolation on the Moon. Completely alone except for the base’s computer (voiced by Kevin Spacey), the increasingly disturbing event...
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Oh my gosh, the Sun!

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Holy cow, what an amazing picture! Thierry Legault, a well-known astrophotographer, recently captured this literally (in my case) breathtaking image of the space shuttle Endeavor docked with the International Space Station (ISS) as the two vehicles passed in front of the Sun. Another of Legault’s recent shots captured the shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as they transited across the Sun. I particularly like how the perspective makes it look like they’re all there, orbiti...
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A resolution you can keep

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
The European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) just released a striking set of images focused on an unusual star, HD 87643, near the constellation Carina the Keel. The main image (to the right) centers 87643 within its backdrop of bright stars of every color; it’s the expansive kind of star field that’s just soothing to look at. But, even more impressively, ESO also obtained much closer images of 87643, zooming in around 60,000 times. The picture demonstrate...
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NASA wants you (to send questions)

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Ever wondered what an astronaut really does all day? Curious about zero-g hygiene? Want to know what someone on the International Space Station (ISS) thinks should happen to the ISS?Then you should ask! The crew members of the next shuttle mission (pictured at right), scheduled to launch August 25, announced they will answer some of your YouTube-submitted questions during their time on the ISS. Submit a question in English or Spanish. One of the astronauts, Jose Hernandez, is also tweeting (bili...
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Kiss of death for International Space Station?

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Like many recently, I was pretty surprised to learn official plans call for the deorbiting and destruction of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. The international team won’t even be done building the thing until 2011! What gives?I’d thought things were going well for it, what with the crew doubling from three to six in May and the installation of the Japanese “space porch” a few weeks ago. But unfortunately the ISS has funds for only a few more years. For it to stay in orbit (let alo...
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On the Eve of civilian space travel

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
We’re one step closer to taking vacations in space, it seems, after Virgin Galactic showed off its latest launch vehicle Tuesday at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Named WhiteKnightTwo but nicknamed Eve, the plane resembles the hull of a catamaran, with the space between its booms intended to carry the still-in-development SpaceShipTwo, and its paying customers, into space as early as 2011. (Presumably Virgin will come up with a good nickn...
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July 31-August 7, 2009: Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, NGC 6738, and Bernes 157

Posted 14 years ago by Michael Bakich
Each week, Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich, a master at explaining how to observe, posts a podcast about three objects or events you can see in the sky. In each episode, Michael highlights: One object you can see without any optical aidOne object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescopeOne object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope Targets for July 31-August 7, 2009 Binoculars: Small Sagittarius Star CloudSmall telescope: NGC 67388-inch or larger telescope: B...
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See a rotation movie of the new Jupiter impact site

Posted 14 years ago by Karri Ferron
Astronomy contributor John Chumack was finally able to capture the Jupiter impact site with his 10-inch telescope from his backyard in Dayton, Ohio. And he was nice enough to share an image and a Jupiter rotation movie with us. Below is how he put the video together:There was an incredible amount of work that went into this movie. I captured more than 51,820 useable frames, and each full color RGB set had at least 3,900 frames.Running through all the separate RGB channels through Registax was an...
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New book keeps Apollo 11 landing alive

Posted 14 years ago by Bill Andrews
Just in time to keep the Apollo 11 anniversary celebration from dying out, out comes a book called Moonfire. Though, calling it a book seems like kind of an understatement.Not content to simply reproduce Of a Fire on the Moon, Norman Mailer’s gripping contemporary account of the Moon landings, the publishers at Taschen also include some amazing pictures from LIFE magazine and NASA’s own archives. Many of these pictures have not been published or widely circulated before, so glancing through the ...
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September 2009 web extras for Astronomy magazine subscribers

Posted 14 years ago by Karri Ferron
Now that the September 2009 issue of Astronomy is in-hand (or will be shortly), we’ve updated Astronomy.com with our newest web extras to give subscribers exclusive complementary information to the issue.Take a sneak peek inside the September 2009 Astronomy magazine.If you subscribe to Astronomy, make sure you’re registered with Astronomy.com so you can access these great extras.Here are this issue's highlights:Senior Editor Michael Bakich posts all images submitted to Astronomy’s 2009 Astro...
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