August 2012
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
Will Curiosity find life on Mars?
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission packs the most advanced suite of scientific instruments ever sent to another world.
Web Extra: Hunting for signs of martian life
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory — aka Curiosity — will explore Gale Crater to see if the Red Planet could support life now or in the past.
How twin rovers found water on Mars
In 2004, NASA landed two robot geologists on Mars, hoping to get 90 days of work out of them. After eight years of exploration, Spirit and Opportunity have deepened our knowledge of the Red Planet.
Web Extra: Twin rovers’ meteorite encounters
Earth isn’t the only planet that features rocks from space.
Web Extra: Rovers on wheels
NASA’s four martian rovers all took engineering inspiration from the Soviet Union’s 1970s Moon missions.
Illustrated: How we’ll get to Mars
Landing humans on the Red Planet will be difficult and dangerous — but it can be done.
The Red Planet’s colorful past
Since antiquity, Mars has captured our minds and imaginations, and its study has led to important discoveries — and some of the greatest misconceptions — in planetary science.
Web Extra – The quest to understand the Red Planet
Man’s perception of Mars has changed greatly over 5,000 years.
Imaging heaven and Earth
Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka has made an art of capturing amazing landscapes and skies.
Web Extra: Bridging the land and sky
See even more of Wally Pacholka’s amazing landscape astrophotography.
Explore the Summer Triangle
Although you’ll never see Mars within the area bounded by these three bright stars, you can explore double stars, nebulae, and star clusters.
Web Extra – More treats within the Summer Triangle
This famous asterism is full of beautiful deep-sky targets.
20 best dark-sky sites in the U.S.
Searching for a place to set up your telescope? A top-notch location might be closer than you think.
Astronomy tests Vixen’s compact astroimaging mount
The Polarie Star Tracker makes it easy to take long-exposure wide-field images.
Departments
The Sky this Month
StarDome and Path of the planets
In Every Issue
This Month in Astronomy
Web Talk
Deep-sky showcase
Reader Gallery
Web Talk
Deep-sky showcase
Reader Gallery
Letters
Astro News
New Products
The Cosmic Grid
Astro News
New Products
The Cosmic Grid
