SUNSET: 
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)…
Sky & Telescope February 2009
FEATURED ARTICLES Going Over the Dark Side If dark energy is Einstein's cosmological constant, the universe will expand forever at an accelerating rate. If it's not, all bets are off.By Richard Panek Living with Light Pollution Don't let city lights squelch your love of stargazing.By Tony Flanders S&T Test Report:…
Is Dark Energy Bad for Astronomy?
In 2007 Simon White (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Germany) wrote a controversial paper titled “Fundamentalist Physics: Why Dark Energy Is Bad for Astronomy.” Let us know what you think about this subject.
The Mystery of Dark Energy: An Interview with Richard Panek
Robert Naeye, editor in chief of Sky & Telescope, interviews Richard Panek, author of the Dark Energy feature in the February 2009 issue of S&T.
Sky & Telescope January 2009
FEATURED ARTICLES The Race to Find Alien Earths No longer are planet hunters just turning up giant Jupiters and Neptunes around other stars. They're now collecting weird super-Earths. And the first actual Earth-size worlds are probably just a few years away.By Camille M. Carlisle Hot Products for 2009 Our 11th…
Galaxy Archaeology with Amateurs
Using off-the-shelf equipment, R. Jay GaBany was a key team member in the discovery of galaxy star streams surrounding NGC 5907.R. Jay GaBanyAstronomers investigating the origin and evolution of galaxies have discovered clues to these fundamental studies with the help of an unlikely source: backyard astrophotographers. David Martinez-Delgado of the…
The Hunt for Alien Earths
Astronomers are building the tools to find extrasolar planets of ever-lower masses — from giants like Jupiter down to exo-Neptunes and even super-Earths. Soon they'll be finding planets as small as our own. The ultimate goal is to examine these for signs of life. Exoplanet researchers Sara Seager and Dimitar Sasselov, featured in the January 2009 Sky & Telescope, tell about this exciting work.
Sky & Telescope December 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES Titan: Earth in Deep Freeze Saturn's largest moon has remarkably Earth-like mountains, lakes, and dunes — yet their compositions couldn't be more different.By Jason Barnes The Great Total Eclipse of 2009 The century's longest solar eclipse sweeps across China and the Pacific next July 22nd.By Fred Espenak &…
Amateur Asteroid Discoveries
Amateur Paul Mortfield shares his experiences looking for asteroids, variable stars, and other changes in the night sky. He describes his techniques in the December issue of S&T.
Sky & Telescope November 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES Totality 2008: First Look Reports from far-flung expeditions by those lucky enough to be within the shadow of the Moon.By Sean Walker X Rays Mark the Spot For the first time ever, astronomers were able to catch a supernova in the act of exploding.By Alicia Soderberg Building Planets…
Sky & Telescope October 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES Fixing Hubble One Last Time The beloved space observatory is due for a final service call by astronauts. If all goes well, Hubble will be the best it has ever been.By J. Chris Blades A Martian Wonderland Scientists are racing to learn as much as they can with…
How To Identify Stony Meteorites in the Field
Ruben Garcia searches for meteorites with a meteorite cane.Ruben GarciaMeteorite identification in the field is one of the most difficult things for an aspiring meteorite hunter to learn. The skill is most certainly an acquired one. But once that skill is learned, a good meteorite hunter can easily spot a…
Surface Characteristics of Iron Meteorites
This iron meteorite was seen to fall in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in eastern Russia in 1947. Even though it was picked up years after the fall and has started to oxidize, it still shows well-formed thumbprints (regmagylpts) and some remaining fusion crust.Geoffrey NotkinIron meteorites are generally easier to identify than…
Sky & Telescope September 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES Planetary Peculiarities Intriguing discoveries keep on coming from the rapidly expanding universe of extrasolar planets. By Ken Croswell The Coming Giant Sky Patrols What will it mean when machines watch everything to 24th magnitude? For one thing: new opportunities for amateur science under the stars. By Peter Jedicke…
Phoenix: Behind the Scenes
With the future of Martian exploration riding on NASA's Phoenix lander, mission scientists still find time to enjoy the experience.
Astronomical Sky Surveys
An artist's concept of the 8.4-meter Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which should being scanning the sky in 2016.LSST Corp.Astronomers are scanning the sky with a variety of programs that collect gigabytes of data each night — and more are coming. The following links will take you were you can…
Sky & Telescope August 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES The Quest for Dark Matter Astrophysicists know where it is but not what it is. To find out, they're trying to catch the elusive stuff in the laboratory.By Richard Panek Solar Eclipse over Eurasia and a Partial Lunar Eclipse More than a billion people will be in the…
Sky & Telescope July 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES Tuning In to the Universe Combing radio telescopes will tackle big questions like the origin of life and the nature of space and time. By Joseph Lazio, Michael Kramer, and Bryan Gaensler Tiny Planets on Jupiter's Stage Jupiter's moons and their shadows perform dramatic telescope acts almost every…
Watch the Sky From Chile
High above the clouds (and most of the Earth's atmosphere), from 19,000 feet (5,900 meters), the southern sky reveals its true majestic glory. Watch as the heavens rotate above the Chajnantor plateau high in the Chilean Atacama Desert.
Sky & Telescope June 2008
FEATURED ARTICLES A Marvelous Midsummer Night This year, northerns' shortest nights are packed with planetary action.By Fred Schaaf NASA's New Gamma-Ray Trailblazer A soon-to-be-launched satellite promises to provide our best look at the most powerful beacons in the universe.By Robert Naeye How to Hunt for Supernova Fossils in the Milky…
