May 2005

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The world's best-selling astronomy magazine offers you the most exciting, visually stunning, and timely coverage of the heavens above. Each monthly issue includes expert science reporting, vivid color photography, complete sky coverage, spot-on observing tips, informative telescope reviews, and much more! All this in an easy-to-understand, user-friendly style that's perfect for astronomers at any level.

Features

Stellar archaeology

By Francis Reddy

Star clusters within the Milky Way come in two forms — open and globular. Now, some astronomers suspect they are related.

pg. 34

Space Buzz

Apollo 11 Moon-walker Buzz Aldrin talks about the future of space flight.

pg. 40

Vagabond moons

By Dan Durda, Doug Hamilton

Around each gas-giant planet orbit dozens of small moons born elsewhere. These far-ranging bodies are beginning to give scientists clues to the dark corners of the solar system.

pg. 46

A spiral masterpiece

By Alan Goldstein

Near the end of the Big Dipper’s handle lurks M101, a delightful celestial pinwheel.

pg. 62

Sail a hidden sea

By Robert Burnham

Not all of the Moon’s “seas” are easily visible. Some lie beneath the lunar plains, covered by debris from later impacts.

pg. 68

Small eyes on the sky

By Damian A. Peach

You’ll be surprised by the great images you can create with a small telescope and webcam.

pg. 70

The sky’s knight

By William Sheehan

British amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore has inspired generations of people to look up.

pg. 74

The big easy

By Anthony Nelson

This large scope by StarStructure offers high-quality optics in a lightweight package.

pg. 78

Departments

This month in Astronomy

Catching up with Buzz Aldrin

Beautiful universe

Going deep in Leo

Letters

A familiar friend

Bob Berman's strange universe

Good planets gone bad

Glenn Chaple's observing basics

Do the hop

Interview

Andrew Gould, Ohio State University

News

— Cosmic structure began with mini-halos
— Tiny star has a planet-making disk
— The astronomy of launching a shuttle
— Fix Hubble — or replace it?
— Smallest exoplanet found — and it orbits a pulsar

The sky this month

Ask Astro

New products

— Hazel Stevens framed tiles
— Jensan Scientifics periodic table
— MoonLite Dual Rate CF2-s focuser
— Nikon Lens Pen

Book reviews

— Two Sides of the Moon
— The Story of the Space Shuttle
— The Transit of Venus
— The Living Universe

Coming events

Advertiser index