Reanimating the 1882 Transit of Venus

June 8, 2004 | Travel 130 years back in time to watch Venus transit the Sun in 1882, thanks to the discovery of 147 forgotten photographs taken by David Peck Todd from Mount Hamilton in California. > read more

Pro-Am Teamwork on the Rise

May 24, 2012 | As demonstrated this week during a gathering of observers in Big Bear, California, amateur and professional astronomers are joining forces as never before. > read more

GALEX Gets New Lease on Life

May 23, 2012 | NASA decided to shut down its Galaxy Evolution Explorer in Februrary. But now Caltech has stepped in with private funding to keep the mission going. > read more

Observing

S&T: Dennis di Cicco

How to Photograph the Transit of Venus

May 3, 2012 | Learn how to photograph the upcoming transit of Venus. > read more

What to Know before You Buy

May 22, 2012 | Telescopes come in an overwhelming variety of sizes, shapes, and prices. To make sense of this embarrassment of riches, you need to ask yourself a few basic questions. > read more

Venus Takes the Plunge

May 1, 2012 | The brightest planet has dominated the evening sky for months. But during May it sinks rapidly toward the setting Sun — and its historic transit across the solar disk in early June. > read more

Tour May’s Sky by Eye and Ear!

April 15, 2012 | Follow the giant arc of bright planets that leads eastward from the just-set Sun: Venus low in the west, Mars midway up in the south, and Saturn over in the east. Then look overhead for the Big Dipper — the “Swiss Army knife” of the night sky. > read more

This Week’s Sky at a Glance

Sky & Telescope diagram

This Week’s Sky at a Glance

May 25, 2012 | Venus drops low in the sunset as its crescent thins to a brilliant hairline — on its way to transiting the face of the Sun next week. > read more

SkyWeek Television Show

View SkyWeek as seen on PBS click here to watch this week’s episodeSponsored by Meade Instruments