Dave's Universe - Astronomy Magazine - Interactive Star Charts, Planets, Meteors, Comets, Telescopes

Dave's Universe

Dave Eicher, editor of Astronomy magazine and science popularizer, brings you thoughts about astronomy, cosmology, nature, the hobby of astronomy, the sometimes disturbingly pseudoscientific culture we live in, and more.

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Uwingu raises money for research through exoplanet names

Posted 11 years ago by David Eicher

Planetary scientist Alan Stern has a name familiar to readers of Astronomy for a long, long time. He’s long been a contributor and a member of the magazine’s editorial advisory board. He has been involved in many space missions, such as the New Horizons mission to Pluto, of which he is principal investigator. Frustrated with the difficulty of astronomy and science funding, earlier this year Stern started his own company, Uwingu, that will raise funds for astronomical research. &ldquo...

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Musings on intelligence in the universe

Posted 11 years ago by David Eicher

In the January Astronomy, I published a short essay about the possible commonness of civilizations in the universe. That opened up a landslide of emails from interested readers, and I wanted to share a few of the comments with you here. My story (on page 9) suggested that with approximately 400 billion stars in the Milky Way and at least 125 billion galaxies in the universe, there ought to be about 50,000 billion billion stars in the cosmos — an amazing number of possible places for c...

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A treasure from William Herschel

Posted 11 years ago by David Eicher

Over the weekend, I had the chance to visit a spectacular museum, the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Located a short 15-minute train ride west of Amsterdam, the museum should be on the list of anyone who loves stepping back into the scientific past. Open to the public since 1784, the museum hosts a spectacular sequence of rooms filled with huge dark-wood cases and amazing scientific collections. There are rocks and minerals, extensive sets of fossils, human skulls, scientific instru...

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On the road: The Great Australian Dreamtime Eclipse, Days 8-10

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Eclipse day finally came in Australia, and despite early troubling clouds, was an immense success for all 200 of our travelers! We were ecstatic!Before the eclipse, however, we spent a couple days at Cairns (pronounced CANS), centered on the World Heritage Site that is the tropical rainforest in the area, and of course on the nearby Great Barrier Reef, a couple dozen kilometers to the east of the continent’s eastern shore. Suffice it to say that everyone really enjoyed either snorkeling o...

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On the road: The Great Australian Dreamtime Eclipse, Days 5-7

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

When I left you from the last blog, it was Friday and we were just getting ready to explore the great city of Sydney, in Australia’s south. What a fantastic city Sydney was. The 200 amateur astronomers traveling along with Astronomy magazine’s group zipped around the city and enjoyed seeing its famous sights, nearly everyone wishing we had more time there. From our lovely Grace Hotel in the city’s center, we explored Sydney Harbour with a lengthy cruise, viewing the many import...

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On the road: The Great Australian Dreamtime Eclipse, Days 1–4

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Wow. Lots of travel, a packed schedule of 12+ hour days, and traveling the Outback with little or no Internet has stalled my blog writing until now. Having arrived in the spectacular city of Sydney today, I hope to make up for it now. About 200 Astronomy readers, accompanied by Senior Editor Rich Talcott and me, have traveled Down Under to witness next Wednesday’s, November 14, rare total solar eclipse, the biggest sky event of the year. We are being ushered along a busy schedule by our to...

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On the road: The Great Dreamtime Solar Eclipse

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

As most of you know, the biggest observational event of the year is fast approaching. On Wednesday, November 14, a total eclipse of the Sun will wash over Australia and the South Pacific and bathe the inhabited parts (northeastern Australia) with almost exactly 2 minutes of totality. Thousands of eclipse chasers are now going to the region. Among those travelers are Senior Editors Michael Bakich, Rich Talcott, and me. I’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon and will fly from Milwaukee to Los An...

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On the road: The Advanced Imaging Conference 2012, recap

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

One of the biggest events for those who love to capture images of the heavens is the Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC), a California meeting that has existed for the better part of a decade. Astronomy magazine is proud to be a sponsor of AIC, and I was honored this year to have been invited to speak. On Friday, October 26, AIC 2012 began at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Santa Clara, California, in the Silicon Valley, and some 300 amateur astronomers showed up to talk about imaging stars, planets, a...

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On the road: A visit to Tele Vue Optics

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

On Monday, October 22, I had a great visit with one of the legendary families of the astronomy world when I hooked up with Al Nagler, David Nagler, and Sandy Nagler, at Tele Vue Optics in Chester, New York. The visit followed the big and successful Urban Starfest held in Central Park in the city, in which the Naglers participated with a battery of telescopes. (See my previous blog post for coverage of that event.)Prior to going on my New York trip, Al Nagler, who I’ve known since I was 16 ...

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On the road: The Advanced Imaging Conference

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading west to the Advanced Imaging Conference in Santa Clara, California, which starts bright and early on Friday morning and lasts for more than two days. This amazing gathering is one of the biggest for amateur skyshooters around the world and will consist of many talks and workshops, as well as lots of advertisers on scene with their hot new products. Discussions will encompass the whole of astroimaging, from the simplest point-and-shoot capturing of constell...

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On the road: Great success in New York City

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

On Saturday evening, October 20, the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA) of New York hosted a very successful Urban Starfest, a public stargaze in which hundreds of would-be astronomy enthusiasts got their first views through a telescope. Senior Editor Rich Talcott and I traveled to New York and were proud to have helped sponsor the event for Astronomy magazine. Al, David, and Sandy Nagler and others from Tele Vue Optics turned out in force and actively participated with a battery of telescope...

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On the road: New York City Starfest

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Tomorrow morning, Senior Editor Rich Talcott and I will meet up in New York (he’s been busy at the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting) to help put on a major star party in Central Park on Saturday night, October 20. Should the weather hold for us, we’re expecting several thousand people to show up to view the First Quarter Moon, Jupiter, and some other sky treats. For many, this will be their first look through a telescope, introducing them to the hobby of amateur astronomy. Astr...

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Ex-Astronomy editor releases great kids book!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Some of you longtime readers of Astronomy may well remember the energetic, enthusiastic Kelly Kizer Whitt, who worked at the magazine as copy editor and photo editor from 1999 through 2001. I’m delighted to say that Kelly has now produced a terrific children’s book on astronomy titled Solar System Forecast (Sylvan Dell Publishing, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, 2012, ISBN 978-1-60718-5239, $17.95). With Kelly’s great story and writing and illustrations by Laurie Allen Klein, the...

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"Astronomy" New York City event coming up!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

As some of you may have heard, Astronomy magazine will help host a big stargazing event in New York’s Central Park on Saturday, October 20. I’m delighted to say the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA), the club behind the stargaze, has asked me to deliver an introductory talk about the universe before stargazing commences. I’ll speak about our principal target — the First Quarter Moon — Jupiter (which will rise in the late evening), and other targets such as ...

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Join me this April on a Civil War riverboat cruise!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

If you don’t already know this about me, for some years I’ve been heavily into the Civil War. It all started when I was given some artifacts and documents of a great-great grandfather, Darius Wetzel, who fought in the west under Grant and Sherman. That led to a fascination — something to do away from astronomy — and eventually writing eight books on the subject, including The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War (Simon & Schuster), Dixie Betray...

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"Astronomy" to guest at Starfest in New York City’s Central Park!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

If you haven’t already heard, Astronomy magazine will participate in a large star party event in New York City on October 20, 2012, designed to allow thousands of people to get their first glimpse through a telescope. This major event to be held in Central Park will be hosted by the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA), the long-established and largest club in the New York area. Also involved as partners in this venture will be Tele Vue Optics and Adorama. The American Museum of Natural H...

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Karen Jennings named publicity director of the Astronomy Foundation

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Many of you know the Astronomy Foundation (AF), the outreach group that promotes events to spread the joy of astronomy, whose board consists of various executives from the telescope industry. It‘s my distinct pleasure as president of the group to announce that Karen Jennings, the AF’s vice president, will become its director of publicity. The additional role of managing public relations will be seamless for Jennings as she has already been working to build relationships between the p...

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Winners announced in Brian May/Queen “A Kind of Magic” Contest!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Many thanks to all of you who submitted such fantastic essays in the Brian May/Queen “A Kind of Magic” Contest. Brian and I asked you to submit an essay on what you would study if you could magically return to school and focus on an astronomy Ph.D. that would address your wildest dreams in astronomy. The contest was structured like that because, as you may know, Brian returned to finish his Ph.D. in astrophysics after some 35 years of inactivity as he made the music we love so much. ...

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Erika Rix joins "Astronomy" magazine as columnist

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

I’m delighted to announce that experienced sky observer and longtime amateur astronomer Erika Rix of Liberty Hill, Texas, will join Astronomy magazine as a columnist beginning with the January 2013 issue. Erika is a wonderfully talented artist whose eyepiece drawings of astronomical objects preserve memories of great nights out under the stars. Erika’s new column, “Astro sketching,” will replace the page that I’ve created over the past few years, “Deep-sk...

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On the road: The Colossus Telescope meeting in Alberta, Canada, summary

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

I just returned to Milwaukee over the weekend after participating in a fascinating conference in Alberta, Canada. As I mentioned last week, I went to Waterton Lakes National Park far south of Calgary, near the United States border, to visit with 15 astronomers, physicists, and engineers. The subject was the Colossus Project, an incredible venture that will seek funding for and attempt to build the world’s largest telescope, a 74-meter giant. The project was the idea of entrepreneur and ast...

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Funding astronomy and space in a new way: Alan Stern’s Uwingu

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Planetary scientist Alan Stern has a name long familiar to readers of Astronomy. He’s a longtime contributor and a member of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. Stern has been involved in many space missions, such as the New Horizons mission to Pluto, of which he is principal investigator. Frustrated with the difficulty of astronomy and science funding, he has now started his own company, Uwingu, that will raise funds for astronomical research. “Other sciences all have a m...

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On the road: The Colossus Telescope meeting in Alberta, Canada

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Tomorrow morning, I’ll leave for an important science meeting being held at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. The Colossus meeting will bring together about 20 distinguished astronomers, engineers, physicists, and opticians to discuss a proposed 74-meter aperture filled interferometric telescope. This project is known as — you guessed it — Colossus. If funded and built, this telescope would be the largest telescope in the world by far, outstripping the curre...

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An “art project” promises to light up the Philadelphia sky — even more

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

An “electronic artist,” Rafael Lozano-Hammer, is planning to light up the sky over Philadelphia from September 20 through October 14, 2012, using an array of powerful searchlights. The so-called Open Air art project will employ 24 high-powered beams to create a movable art exhibit that will be visible from at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. Is this art? What is it really accomplishing? We know that, as the International Dark-Sky Association phrases it, poor artificial night...

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On the road: Lick Observatory

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Our two-day stargazing event at Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland, held in conjunction with Celestron, concluded on Saturday night. On Sunday, August 26, I spent much of the day at another center of astronomical history, Lick Observatory. Located at 4,200 feet (1,280 meters) on the summit of Mount Hamilton, south of San Francisco and east of San Jose, Lick is operated by the University of California and is one of the major historical observatories of the United States. Founded wit...

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On the road: Chabot Observatory Star Party, Day 2

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

On Saturday evening, August 26, the Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland, California, hosted the second of two nights of a major star party event. Also participating were Celestron, the Los Angeles-based telescope manufacturer, and Astronomy magazine. The attendance was up from the previous night, with several hundred people heading to Chabot, which is located high above the Bay Area along Skyline Drive in Oakland, to view through a multitude of telescopes, talk about astronomy and r...

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On the road: Chabot Observatory Star Party, Day 1

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

On Friday evening, August 25, the great Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland, California, hosted the first of two nights of a major star party event. Also participating were Celestron, the Los Angeles-based telescope manufacturer, and Astronomy magazine. Several hundred people flocked to Chabot, which is located high above the Bay Area along Skyline Drive in Oakland, to view through a multitude of telescopes, talk about astronomy and recent events in the science and the hobby, tour t...

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On the road: Chabot Observatory Star Party

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

Early tomorrow morning, Astronomy Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I will travel to Oakland, California, to help put on a big star party at the Chabot Observatory and Science Center. The event will be a joint effort between Chabot, Astronomy, and Celestron, the California-based telescope manufacturer. The two-day public star party and astronomy weekend will take place Friday, August 24, and Saturday, August 25. The event will feature astronomy demonstrations, live planetarium shows, illustrated ...

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More blues/rock videos from the “Astronomy” Magazine Blues Band!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

As some of you know, the Astronomy Magazine Blues Band played live at the ALCon meeting in Chicago July 7, 2012. It‘s my pleasure to continue to roll out a few of the videos of our performance as they are produced by Chris Eicher, my son.To see the latest, Susan Tedeschi’s “Rock Me Right,” visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vel9PBv9kvI&feature=plcp.The Astronomy Magazine Blues Band consists of singers Megan Bobo and Steve Kryscio (who also plays guitar and sax)...

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Join us next week in the Bay Area for a major star party!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

At the end of next week, Astronomy Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I will join a large crowd to help put on a big star party at the Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland, California. The event will be a collaboration between Chabot, Astronomy, and Celestron, the California-based telescope manufacturer. The two-day public star party and astronomy weekend will take place Friday, August 24, and Saturday, August 25. The event will feature astronomy demonstrations, live planetarium shows,...

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"Astronomy" to guest at major New York City Central Park star party!

Posted 12 years ago by David Eicher

I’m delighted to announce that Astronomy magazine will participate in a large star party event in New York City on October 20, 2012, designed to allow thousands of people to get their first glimpse through a telescope. This major event to be held in Central Park will be hosted by the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA), the long-established and largest club in the New York area. Also involved as partners in this venture will be Tele Vue Optics and Adorama. The American Museum of Natural ...

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