Astronomy magazine editors share their unique insight from behind the scenes of the science, hobby, and magazine.
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Additional images from the China Eclipse Tour

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
Along with the other 186 people on our ship, the Victoria Prince, I found myself reporting from China during our last week with very limited Internet capability. Thus, I could not send images with the final blog posts during the week of July 20. To make up for this, I am now posting a selection of images from the last week of the trip that includes shots of eclipse day. Enjoy!Previous post: We visit a RevolutionaryPhoto credit: David J. Eicher ...
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Volunteers help pick out Green Pea galaxies

Posted 15 years ago by Bill Andrews
In a twist on the amateur-astronomer-helps-professionals storyline, Yale astronomers discovered a group of galaxies by enlisting citizen scientists’ help not with stargazing, but computer gazing.  The galaxies, dubbed the “Green Peas” because of their small, green appearance, were discovered as part of an online project called Galaxy Zoo, where volunteers have helped classify galaxies in a huge online picture gallery since 2007. Apparently the volunteers’ help was essential, with only 250 G...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: We visit a Revolutionary

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
Here's my final blog from the China 2009 eclipse tour the Astronomy magazine editors have conducted, along with Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates. Sunday we travel to Shanghai, board a plane in the afternoon, and fly back to Chicago and then to Milwaukee. See all the images from Dave's tour in our solar eclipse 2009 trip gallery.This morning our group of 187, including Senior Editor Rich Talcott and his wife Evelyn, boarded buses in Nanjing and traveled through the city to see a holy place...
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Astronomy contributor images new Jupiter impact site

Posted 15 years ago by Karri Ferron
Astronomy magazine contributor and longtime imager John Chumack had some luck spotting the new Jupiter impact site from his home in Dayton, Ohio, July 24, and he was nice enough to share his account with us:Even though the seeing sucked, and the sky was full of thick haze, I was able to capture the impact mark on Jupiter.I shot these images with my ToUcam PRO II webcam attached to my 6-inch f/8 cave reflector from my front driveway last night.Unfortunately, the neighbors’ trees block my view fro...
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Mysterious gamma-ray bursts continue to surprise

Posted 15 years ago by Bill Andrews
It looks like gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) just became even more inscrutable. And that’s saying something for the brightest — and potentially most destructive — known objects in the universe. Even though it’s still a mystery just how these things work, scientists believed GRBs originated from a giant “fireball” made up of traditional matter, spewed out during black hole formation. But a recent paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (August 1, 2009) concludes that, for at least one GRB, this can’t...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: We soak in the spectacular scenery of Yellow Mountain


Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
Today our group of travelers left our ship, climbed aboard buses, and made a 2.5-hour journey from our dock to Huang Shan, Yellow Mountain, a national treasure of China. Although the weather was hardly favorable, with rain coming down strongly or sometimes partial clearing and fog and haze rolling by, we journeyed toward our destination through charming little towns, villages, and cities. The pastoral countryside was amazing in that every farmhouse in every land seemed to have crops of all types...
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July 24-31, 2009: Barnard’s E, the Double Double, and globular cluster NGC 6717

Posted 15 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 aid One object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescope One object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope Targets for July 17-24, 2009 Binoculars: Barnard's ESmall telescope: The Double Double 8-inch or larger telescope: Gl...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: Astronomy editor reflects on "best eclipse" he's ever seen

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher


Carefully following weather reports and satellite imagery through the hours leading up to the great Asian solar eclipse, we knew we might well be in trouble. Rather than pushing on eastward to Wuhan, we stopped our ship, the Victoria Princess, at the city of Yichang, well to the east, and had wonderful success. A wisp of cloud hung over the Sun just as first contact occurred, but then it slid to the east, and we had the Sun hanging in a cloudless sky. Given the poor conditions over much of the...
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Fair or foul: Public reaction to news of Jupiter impact

Posted 15 years ago by Bill Andrews
As you’ve probably heard, last Sunday, July 19, amateur Australian Astronomer Anthony Wesley discovered a dark spot on Jupiter.  After alerting the professional astronomers, it turned out the spot, about the size of the Pacific Ocean, likely resulted from a recent and unknown impact. You can see the mark in the image from Don Parker at right.Most of us probably had similar reactions, something along the lines of, “What a neat discovery! This is why astronomy’s great, that dedicated amateurs...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: Post-eclipse sightseeing in Wuhan

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
The day following the fantastic total eclipse, our 187 travelers on the Victoria Princess spent a good part of the day in Wuhan, a large city midway between Chongquing and Shanghai. We climbed aboard buses and traveled to the Hubei Provincial Museum to see historical treasures from the region. The name was familiar to me immediately as a mineral collector from Hubeite, an unusual species that was discovered in this province. See all the images from Dave's tour in our solar eclipse 200...
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Meet Astronomy magazine’s new assistant editor

Posted 15 years ago by Bill Andrews
Hi, this is Bill Andrews, latest addition to the Astronomy staff and (I hope) author of several subsequent blog posts here. Before I dive right into any celestial happenings, I just wanted to give a little bit of my background and what it's like behind the scenes here at Astronomy headquarters. Although you wouldn't know it to look at me (or read my name), I'm actually a native Puerto Rican, born and raised in a tropical paradise. I also lived in the Seattle and Ft. Laude...
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Hawaiians witness a partial eclipse

Posted 15 years ago by Karri Ferron
Astronomy magazine Columnist and Contributing Editor Stephen James O’Meara sent us this account of the July 22 eclipse from his home in Hawaii:My wife Donna and I had a beautiful eclipse as seen from the Big Island of Hawaii –– even though the Sun was only about 10 percent covered at maximum. We were at the far end of the eclipse track, so not many other populated islands would have seen this event.The sky was perfectly clear, and the eclipse occurred over Kilauea Volcano’s smoking summit calder...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: We visit the Three Gorges Dam

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
**Editor’s note: Dave Eicher prepared this blog just hours before last night’s eclipse. Check out our solar eclipse page to read a recap of Dave’s Twitter (@AstronomyMag) updates throughout the eclipse. Stay tuned for a full report and eclipse images coming soon!**As I sit here writing this, it's 6:30 Wednesday morning in China, on ECLIPSE DAY! The weather forecast has been horrible for most of the region, but our ship's captain has docked us at Yichang, west of Wuhan, and we have a litt...
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Live coverage of solar eclipse 2009

Posted 15 years ago by Matt Quandt
Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher and Senior Editors Rich Talcott and Michael Bakich are in China to witness the eclipse. They will send back live reports via the magazine's Twitter page at http://Twitter.com/AstronomyMag. Not a fan of Twitter? No problem, just go to Astronomy.com's solar eclipse page to follow along.Also, here are three sites that will stream live video of the total solar eclipse: Live Webcast (CHINA) - U. of North Dakota. LIVE! UNIVERSE, Japan Webcast (JAPAN) Tai...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: Cruising the Yangtze River as eclipse day nears

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
Tuesday morning we continued our adventure in China, hoping for a good eclipse day tomorrow. On Sunday we traveled down to Chongquing, a huge city of 8 million in the inner part and 32 million in the surrounding area. It is one of the centers of manufacturing. You know all that stuff you buy from China? A lot of it comes from there. See all the images from Dave's tour in our solar eclipse 2009 trip gallery. Yesterday morning we left our hotel in Chongquing and boarded our ship, the Victoria ...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: Face to face with Xian’s Terra Cotta Warriors

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
One of the greatest historical sites in the world lies tucked outside the huge city of Xian, near an obscure “mountain.” The mountain is actually a vast burial mound where Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, is entombed. But no one knew this until the accidental discovery of a vast chamber of terra cotta figures in 1974, which only happened because a local farmer was sinking a deep well. See all the images from Dave's tour in our solar eclipse 2009 trip gallery. Excavations in the pits con...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trips: Senior Editor Michael Bakich en route to China

Posted 15 years ago by Michael Bakich
The longest total solar eclipse anyone now alive will experience happens July 22. Depending on the weather, millions of people may see the Moon cover the Sun in the daytime. But not in North America.As the lead astronomer for a trip organized by Astronomical Tours, I, along with my wife, Holley, embark Friday on a journey to China to see the eclipse. We’ll return July 30. Our group will fly to Shanghai where we’ll spend 2 days before heading to Jiaxing.There, we’ll view the eclipse — including 5...
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July 17-24, 2009: The Coathanger, globular cluster M22, the Phantom Streak

Posted 15 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 17-24, 2009 Naked eye: The CoathangerSmall telescope: Globular cluster M22 8-inch or larger telescope: The Phanto...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trip: We conquer the Great Wall of China

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
Day two of substantial sightseeing on our Chinese eclipse tour started with a bang as we boarded buses, left Beijing, and headed high into the mountains northwest of the city. There we were stunned to see huge sections of the only structure built by humans that is visible from Earth orbit, the Great Wall of China. After disengaging from our buses, the 187 travelers along with MWT Associates spent more than 2 hours hiking along the long stretches of the wall rebuilt and maintained near Badaling. ...
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Send us your astronomy questions

Posted 15 years ago by Liz Kruesi
Perplexed by planets? Confused by cosmology? Baffled by black holes? Then send in your questions to Astronomy magazine at askastro@astronomy.com.If you have an astronomy question about observing, the planets, stars, cosmology, or astronomy history, send it in! Five are selected each month for publication in the Ask Astro section of Astronomy magazine. If your question is selected, we will forward it to an expert for his or her response. Then, the question and answer will appear together in a fut...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trip: Touring Beijing

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
On Wednesday the more than 180 travelers along with Astronomy magazine and MWT Associates, all aiming at July 22’s total solar eclipse, spent their first day seeing the wonders of China. In Beijing, they began at Tiananmen Square, the center of the city and of the political and symbolic culture of the entire People’s Republic of China. See all the images from Dave's tour in our solar eclipse 2009 trip gallery.Under sweltering heat that exceeded 100° Fahrenheit, the tourists marched faithfull...
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Journey to the Moon with Apollo 11, part 2

Posted 15 years ago by Karri Ferron
About a month ago, I wrote a blog about WeChooseTheMoon.org, a site by AOL, NASA, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation that invites users to experience a real-time visual and audio re-creation of the Apollo 11 mission. Well, the event starts in less than 24 hours, but there’s still time to sign up to get e-mail updates as the mission proceeds.AOL offered Astronomy a chance to preview the mission before it goes live at 8:02 a.m. EDT and l...
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Solar eclipse 2009 trip: We arrive in Beijing

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
After traveling for 24 hours, I reached Beijing in the early evening and began the first day of the Astronomy magazine-MWT Associates Eclipse Tour to see the July 22 total solar eclipse. We flew from Milwaukee to Chicago and then Chicago to Beijing, in daylight the entire way, passing over the Arctic Ocean between the northern coast of Alaska and the North Pole. We scooted southward over Siberia and then over Mongolia and finally the dry, desert region of north-central China before turning eastw...
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Solar eclipse 2009: Astronomy editors head to China

Posted 15 years ago by David Eicher
Get ready for the century’s longest solar eclipse. This is the big one. After this, we’ll never again see an eclipse of this duration in our lives. In partnership with Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates, I have the privilege of accompanying nearly 200 Astronomy readers and Senior Editor Rich Talcott and his wife Evelyn on a journey to China to see the eclipse. We leave Monday morning, July 13, and return two weeks later. The group will fly to Beijing to visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, t...
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July 10-17, 2009: The Teapot of Sagittarius, globular cluster M4, the Snake Nebula

Posted 15 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 10-17, 2009 Naked eye: The Teapot of Sagittarius Small telescope: Globular cluster M4 8-inch or larger telescope...
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Image a volcanic sunset

Posted 15 years ago by Karri Ferron
Back in the May 2009 Astronomy magazine, Stephen James O’Meara wrote about the atmospheric effects of Kasatochi, a small island volcano in southwestern Alaska that erupted August 7, 2008 (subscribers can still read the article in our online archive). The subject captures two of O’Meara’s great passions — astronomy and volcanoes — so it came by no surprise that I received an e-mail from him June 20 pointing out the great sunsets that would come with Russia’s Sarychev Peak Volcano eruption that be...
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British astronomers capture world's largest ground-based mosaic image of the Moon

Posted 15 years ago by Michael Bakich
Damian Peach is a friend of mine and a British planetary astrophotographer who has been sending me high-quality images for as long as I’ve been at the magazine. He just sent me word of the completion of an incredible project.In April, a team of astroimagers gathered at the home of British astronomer and popularizer Sir Patrick Moore. There, they decided to create the largest ground-based mosaic image of the Moon and enter the Guinness World Records.The group imaged the 9-day-old Moon through vid...
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Apollo 11 documentary records cultural perspective of the historic launch

Posted 15 years ago by Karri Ferron
As some of you may have noticed based on a few of my recent blogs, I’m very excited about the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the lunar surface. A large part of my enthusiasm is because, for me, all the events associated with the anniversary are like being part of the original historical event (I was –17 years old July 20, 1969). So, I thoroughly enjoyed spending a recent afternoon watching Moonwalk One — The Director’s Cut with some of my colleagues.NASA originally commissioned directo...
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July 3-10, 2009: The False Comet, open cluster M23, and globular cluster M69

Posted 15 years ago by Matt Quandt
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 3-10, 2009 Naked eye: The False CometSmall telescope: Open cluster M238-inch or larger telescope: Globular cluster...
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Square Kilometer Array pathfinder projects

Posted 15 years ago by Matt Quandt
Here's the latest update from “Our man in Cape Town,” Benne Holwerde, researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and a member of a team building a new radio telescope called MeerKAT (Karoo Array Telescope):At a recent conference in Groningen, The Netherlands, four instruments stood out as pathfinders for the future Square Kilometer Array (SKA). The SKA will be such an enormous undertaking — financially, politically, technically, and scientifically — that there are several smal...
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