SUNSET: 
iOptron's Big Piers
iOptron now offers piers for observatories. Each Permanent Pier is capable of supporting loads of up to 163 kg (360 lb) and is available in three heights: 600-mm (23½-inches) for $448, 800-mm for $478, and 900-mm costing $498.
60-Second Astro News: A Cosmic Butterfly, How Mars Formed Its Moons, and Surviving a Supernova
A short take on astronomy news finds a cosmic butterfly testing theories of galactic evolution, a new idea for the formation of Mars's moons, and the discovery of a stellar thief that survived a supernova explosion.
The Kavli Foundation Q&A: How Will the TESS Mission Accelerate the Hunt for Livable Alien Worlds?
The just-launched Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) could soon provide the breakthrough identification of dozens of potentially habitable exoplanets right in our cosmic backyard
News & Views from the 2018 Northeast Astronomy Forum
The editors of Sky & Telescope report experiences from last weekend's Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) in Suffern, New York — one of the busiest years ever for the world's biggest astronomy trade show.
QHYCCD's Cooled CMOS
QHYCCD announces another addition to its COLDMOS camera series, the QHY367C ($4,399), a 14-bit, full-frame CMOS camera for deep-sky astrophotography.
AdventureKEEN's Constellation Book
The award-winning book Night Sky: A Field Guide to the Constellations by naturalist Jonathan Poppele is now in its second edition and available from AdventureKEEN.
iOptron's New Centerbalance Mount
iOptron now offers the CEM120 ($3,999), a heavy-duty equatorial head that positions the weight of the scope over its true center of gravity compared to typical equatorial mounts.
60-Second Astro News: A Relic Galaxy, Changing Ceres & The Aurora Named "Steve"
Hubble reveals a relic galaxy, Dawn sees the surface of asteroid Ceres changing, and scientists probe an auroral phenomenon named "Steve."
The Kavli Foundation Q&A: A "Living Dead" Star Sheds Light on the Early Universe
A newfound star in a nearby galaxy appears to have cheated death by blowing up at least twice as a supernova. It could be a throwback to the first stars that ever formed.
60-Second Astro News: Merging Black Holes, Distant Super-Supernova, and Arecibo's Fate
Supermassive black holes en route to merger have strange dynamics in their gas disks. Astronomers have spotted the most distant spectroscopically confirmed supernova. And NSF decides the fate of the Arecibo Observatory.
Diana Hannikainen
Observing Editor Diana Hannikainen is thrilled to join the staff of Sky & Telescope, where she is reconnecting with the night sky that so mesmerized her in her youth. Following an undergraduate degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Diana decided to explore her Finnish roots, and headed over…
60-Second Astro News: Exoplanets, Comet 41P & Milky Way Clouds
Citizen scientists have discovered a system of five sub-Neptune planets, NASA scientists follow the spin of Comet 41P, and speedy clouds of gas shed light on the Millky Way's history.
West Coast Favored for Total Lunar Eclipse on January 31st
The total lunar eclipse on January 31st — the first of two in 2018 — will be a predawn spectacle that favors western North America.
Total Lunar Eclipse "Trifecta" on January 31st
Wednesday's total lunar eclipse occurs on January's second full Moon — and also when the Moon is nearly its closest to Earth.
Oceanside Photo and Telescope's Narrowband Luminance Filter
The OPT Triad Tri-band narrowband filter is designed to pass wavelengths centered at 493 and 656.3 nanometers and is available in 1¼-inch and 2-inch formatted cells for $375 and $775 USD, respectively.
Field Tested Systems' Spectra Table
RSpec now offers a unique poster of the Periodic Table of the Elements. The Periodic Table of Spectra poster ($6.95) measures 36 by 24 inches and displays the emission spectra of every known element seen in the universe.
QHYCCD's Full-Frame CMOS
QHYCCD rolls out a new model in its COLDMOS camera series, the QHY128C ($3,499) 14-bit, full-frame CMOS camera for deep-sky astrophotography.
Poor Year for the Quadrantid Meteor Shower
The Quadrantid meteor shower is usually one of the year's best. But this year's event will be spoiled by strong light from an intruding Moon.
What is the Winter Solstice?
The moment the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky marks the December solstice, the official beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere (where it is called the winter solstice) and a time of great celebration in many northern cultures.
