Govert Schilling

A Changing Landscape for U.S. Astronomy

August 23, 2012 | The budgetary writing is on the wall: the National Science Foundation doesn’t have enough money both to operate all of its existing facilities and to build big, expensive new ones. Something’s got to give. > read more

Curiosity Zaps Its First Martian Rock

August 20, 2012 | A rapid-fire burst of 30 laser pulses from the rover’s ChemCam instrument created an incandescent hotspot on a fist-sized rock about 10 feet away. > read more

NASA Keeps Focus on Mars

August 23, 2012 | NASA announced this week that its next Discovery mission will follow Curiosity to the Red Planet, but the project — named InSight — has a much different assignment than the rover’s. > read more

Opening Days of Astronomy’s “Olympics”

August 22, 2012 | Every three years, the IAU holds a conference that brings together astronomers from around the world to address current issues — a sort of astronomy “Olympics.” > read more

IAU Readies for Conference

August 17, 2012 | Stay tuned as astronomer Jay Pasachoff reports from the upcoming International Astronomical Union conference in Beijing, China. > read more

Gary Seronik

Once in a Blue Moon

August 24, 2012 | We’ll see a “blue Moon” next Friday, but what does that mean? From the Middle Ages to the game of Trivial Pursuit, a folklorist explores the origin of the phrase. > read more

Tour August’s Sky by Eye and Ear!

June 22, 2012 | Mark your calendars for the night of Saturday, August 11th, when the Perseid meteor shower will peak. Stay up late to catch the risings of Jupiter and Venus, or just enjoy Mars and Saturn low in the evening twilight. > read more

Sky & Telescope diagram

This Week’s Sky at a Glance

August 24, 2012 | As August comes to its end, Vega takes the zenith. The Teapot is highest in the south. And the Little Dipper dumps into the Big Dipper. > read more