Video: Laura Brenneman on Black Holes
Laura Brenneman, author of the article "Spinning Hearts of Darkness" in the May 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope, discusses the surprising subtleties of black-hole spin with S&T's Robert Naeye.
Sky & Telescope Errata: 2011
This article lists all known errors in issues of Sky & Telescope for 2011.
Dan Durda Talks About Asteroid Deflection
Dan DurdaWhat would happen if astronomers found a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth? In the December 2010 issue of S&T, planetary scientist Dan Durda of the Southwest Research Institute describes a number of methods that could be used to avert disaster. In a follow-up to Dan’s article,…
Naked-Eye Exoplanet Host Stars
As of August, 2010, more than 470 exoplanets have been found. The authors have put together a list of 20 naked-eye stars that host exoplanets. Point out some of these at your next star party, and wave hello — who knows, someone may be waving back. The internet is awash…
Luke Keller Talks about SOFIA
Luke Keller NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, better know as SOFIA, is gearing up for its science mission. The flying observatory and its 2.5-meter telescope saw first light from the air this past May. Later this year it will begin science flights in earnest, and in the coming decades…
Sara Seager Talks about Super-Earths
Sara SeagerThe count of known planets outside the solar system continues to rise. At the time of this writing in mid-August, the tally stands at about 470. But it’s not just the rising number of known worlds that demonstrates the remarkably rapid progress in exoplanet research. Astronomers are finding new…
More Amazing HiRISE Views of Mars
We couldn't fit enough eye-popping images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in one Sky & Telescope article, so here are more great images to captivate you.
Earth's Past and the Search for Habitable Planets
Ever since Galileo first turned his telescope to the night sky, people have dreamed of discovering life on other planets besides our own. For centuries, very little progress was made. In the mid-twentieth century, after the canals on Mars had proved to be illusions, extraterrestrial life seemed more remote than…
Great Red Spot Transit Table 2010-2011
Transit times for Jupiter's Great Red Spot are listed through February 2011.
Jeff Hall Talks about Solar Twins
Jeff Hall talks about the search for sunlike stars and what they can tell us about our own Sun.
Spacecraft Imaging for Amateurs: Hyperlink Supplement
An international community of space enthusiasts has become adept at reinterpreting images from planetary spacecraft.
Voices from Educational Planetariums
Directors of small planetariums discuss some of the major issues facing their institutions.
Great Red Spot Transit Table 2009
Transit times for Jupiter's Great Red Spot are listed through the end of 2009.
Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet
This is a sample of one of the many videos you'll get on the Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet DVD from Sky & Telescope. With this DVD, you can explore the Red Planet from the comfort of your chair, and view hundreds of images and videos selected by Dr.…
Abell 2199
Abell 2199 contains hundreds — maybe even thousands — of galaxies. We have selected 72 particularly prominent members to display in the chart on page 61 of the July, 2009, issue of Sky & Telescope. You can view data for these galaxies in one of two forms:: A tab-separated text…
First Earth-Size Exoplanet
S&T IllustrationIn early February, European astronomers broke new ground in the search for extrasolar planets. They announced the discovery of the first planet outside the solar system with a well-measured diameter that can be described as “terrestrial” in size. The planet is less than twice Earth’s diameter, and it orbits…
Imaging the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble
Click above to download the full 3-megabyte JPEG.Dennis di Cicco / Sean WalkerIn the April 2009 issue, beginning with the photographic spread on pages 66-67, Sean Walker (S&T’s Imaging editor) and I describe our efforts using commercially available equipment and image-processing software to create a huge mosaic covering nearly 10%…
Cosmic Cataclysms
Joan Centrella poses with a scale model of one of the three LISA spacecraft, which are designed to detect gravitational waves from black-hole mergers.Bonny Schumaker (JPL) What are the most energetic events in the universe since the Big Bang? If you ask an astronomy aficionado, there’s a good chance the…
Solar Impact: The Sun-Earth Connection
Solar physicist Judith Lean (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) studies how solar radiation affects Earth's weather and climate.Judith LeanAstronomers have long known that sunspot numbers vary over a cycle that averages about 11 years. But do these cycles influence Earth's climate? And what about the longer term? Could the measured global…
What's a Planet?
David Grinspoon is Curator of Astrobiology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.David GrinspoonWhat makes a planet a planet? In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted a definition of "planet" that from its outset, sparked controversy. The IAU defined a planet to be: A celestial body that (a)…