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International Year of Astronomy 2009

Professional and amateur astronomers around the world are gearing up for a year-long celebration of understanding and enjoying the cosmos.

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Urban Observing: A Podcast Discussion

Listen to a podcast discussion between S&T senior editor Alan MacRobert and associate editor Tony Flanders on theory and practice of urban observing, skyglow, and well-designed lights.

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The Brightest Burst

On March 19, 2008, NASA’s Swift satellite captured an intense burst of gamma rays from outer space. What made this event so amazing was its distance: halfway across the visible universe.

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George Ellery Hale’s Journey to Palomar

Todd and Robin Mason's new documentary, which airs on public television starting Monday, November 10th, recounts the remarkable story of the telescopes that unlocked the secrets of the cosmos.

Click here for a preview of their television documentary, which airs on public television starting Monday, November 10th.

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Join the Hunt for Supernova Light Echoes

In a fascinating article in the June 2008 issue of Sky & Telescope, astronomer Douglas L. Welch (McMaster University, Canada) explains how amateur astronomers can help professionals observe light from supernova explosions that rocked our Milky Way Galaxy hundreds of years ago. The key is to use CCD imaging to…

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Movies of the World at Night

The World at Night, or TWAN, is a new program developed by the nonprofit group Astronomers Without Borders. The project seeks to cultivate a universal worldview by assembling a collection of stunning photographs of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites set against a nighttime backdrop of stars, planets, and…

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Echoes of the Big Bang

Learn more about how certain aspects of the cosmic microwave background clue astronomers in to some of the universe's fundamental properties.

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Your Thoughts on Bethlehem's Starry Night

Nina Alden Thune In the December issue of Sky & Telescope, Aaron Michael Adair compares the various astronomical theories behind the fabled Star of Bethlehem and examines whether any of them are plausible at all. His conclusion may have surprised you. Now we want your take. Feel free to join…

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Remembering "Project Moonwatch"

When the Space Age dawned 50 years ago, a worldwide army of amateur astronomers provided crucial satellite-tracking information unavailable by any other means.

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S&T Unveils New Format and Design

Sky & Telescope's October 2007 issue introduces a new format and design but remains true to its history and mission.

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Chaos in the Early Solar System

The orbits of the giant planets were moved by the interaction of trillions of small icy bodies.

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Hinode's Solar Movies

X-ray observations of the Sun from the international Hinode spacecraft have been assembled into solar movies.

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Astronomy in Popular Culture

Jane Sanders Astronomy is finding its way into more and more aspects of popular culture. Many cars have celestial names — for example, the Ford Taurus and Mitsubishi Eclipse. Tonight Show host Jay Leno often refers to astronomy in his on-the-street interviews. Even the comic strips in our daily newspapers…

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Phobos Transits Mars

ESA/Osiris Team In late February the European Rosetta probe, on its way to a rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, flew past Mars. In order to reach the meeting point with the right velocity, Rosetta slung itself around the Red Planet, skimming a mere 250 kilometers (155 miles) above the…