SUNSET: 
Sky & Telescope February 2012
FEATURED ARTICLES Einstein's Shadow A planet-wide telescope sets its sights on the well-kept secrets of black holes.By Camille M. Carlisle Lowell’s New Discovery Machine The Discovery Channel Telescope will bring the exploration of the universe to the public on a global scale.By Edwin L. Aguirre & Imelda B. Joson Chasing…
Nick Risinger on the Photopic Sky Survey
The February 2012 issue of Sky & Telescope details Nick Risinger’s year-long endeavor to image the entire night sky. Nick traveled to the western United States and South Africa to record more than 37,000 CCD images that became his Photopic Sky Survey. Imaging editor Sean Walker interviewed Nick to find…
The Discovery Channel Telescope
Venerable astronomical institutions rarely partner with large media companies to build new observatories. But such a collaboration is about to come to fruition on a 7,760-foot summit near Flagstaff, Arizona. Construction is essentially complete for the 4.3-meter Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT), a partnership between Lowell Observatory and Discovery Communications Inc.…
Sky & Telescope Errata: 2012
This article lists all known errors in issues of Sky & Telescope for 2012.
Sky & Telescope January 2012
FEATURED ARTICLES How Alien Astronomers Could Find Earth We could make it easier for our counterparts on distant planets to find evidence of our existence. But it would be a massive undertaking for us.By Joseph Lazio Hot Products for 2012 Cruise the editors' 27 picks for gear you might not…
In the Footsteps of the First Recorded Transit of Venus
Eli MaorIn the January 2012 issue of S&T, noted book author Eli Maor describes his visit to the small English town of Much Hoole, where astronomical history was made. In December 1639, one of the village’s residents, a 21-year-old astronomer named Jeremiah Horrocks, became the first human being to successfully…
Sky & Telescope December 2011
FEATURED ARTICLES Measuring Asteroids with Homemade Monsters Using home-built scopes of up to 32 inches, Bob Homes outdoes most of the world for tracking near-Earth asteroids. And he's just getting started.By Mike Lockwood Face to Face with a Giant NASA's new rover Curiosity will take Mars exploration to an entirely…
The November Asteroid Flyby:
Photometry Needed!
Amateur photometrists are being called into action for the little asteroid 2005 YU55, which is passing Earth for a few days around November 8, 2011. Here's what to do.
Sky & Telescope November 2011
FEATURED ARTICLES The Moon & the Origin of Frankenstein An astronomical investigation may have solved a lingering mystery surrounding the origin of the classic horror novel.By Donald W. Olson et. al. Galaxy Zoo and the Wisdom of Crowds By turning to legions of citizen scientists, astronomers have gained new insights…
More Frankenstein Images
Donald Olson, Marilynn Olson, Kelly Schnarr, Ava Pope, and Roger Sinnott at Lake GenevaRussell Doescher In the November 2011 issue of S&T, Texas State University physicist Don Olson, and four coauthors, discuss the origin of the legendary horror novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley. Using astronomical references in the written…
SkyWatch 2012: The Planets
Planets change greatly in appearance over time frames ranging from hours to months. That's both due to superficial effects — rotation revealing different sides of a globe — and fundamental changes on a planet's surface or in its atmosphere. A number of amateur astrophotographers have stitched their own images together…
SkyWatch 2012: The Deep Sky in Motion
Due to the vast distances separating deep-sky objects from Earth, few show obvious changes on scales shorter than a human lifetime. But there are exceptions. The Hubble Space Telescope”™s Advanced Camera for Surveys captured these images (approximately true color) of the expanding light echo around V838 Monoc-erotis. We see an…
SkyWatch 2012: Movies and More
SkyWatch 2012 SkyWatch 2012, the annual publication of Sky & Telescope, will soon be available as a digital download. You can also purchase a hardcopy magazine online, and it should appear on newsstands on October 18th. The theme of this year's SkyWatch is motion. Most people in the 21st century…
SkyWatch 2012: Time-Lapse Skyscapes
In the article "Moving Pictures" from SkyWatch 2012, Lorenzo Comolli and Alessandro Gambaro explain in detail how to create time-lapse movies of the sky and other night scenes with a digital camera. Some of the authors' best videos are available on their website (click on AstroVideos in the left margin).…
Sky & Telescope October 2011
FEATURED ARTICLES Rocks from Heaven Canadian scientists get a close look at a meteor as it breaks up over Ontario.By Philip Downey Super-Charged Supernovae The discovery of powerful supernovae opens the door on violent events that occur before and after stars explode.By David Sinclair Stevenson Chilean Imaging Odyssey Expand your…
Observing Geosynchronous Satellites
The October 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope contains an article entitled "Observing Geosynchronous Satellites," by Randy Rhea. It describes how easy and enjoyable it is to observe these high-flying satellites through a telescope. But it's very helpful if you can predict where to find these satellites and/or identify them…
Jim Bell Discusses Asteroids and Mars
Jim Bell discusses asteroids and Mars missions.
Galaxy Zoo: A CItizen-Science Project
Kevin Schawinski the co-founder of galaxy zoo discusses the project and the future of citizen-science projects
Sky & Telescope September 2011
FEATURED ARTICLES The Battle to Control Light Pollution There's never been a better time than now to make the case for preserving the night sky.By Bob Parks Peering Beneath Jupiter's Clouds NASA's Juno mission will give scientists their first in-depth view of Jupiter's deep interior.By Jon Zander Going Against the…
