#Sky and telescope how to#
#Sky and telescope full#
#Sky and telescope professional#

#Sky and telescope full#

But, they also have a full page on Chi Cygni, a star in the northern cross with a fascinating variation in its brightness over a year and details on how and when to observe it for the full effect… you’ll want to point your scope in its direction when you read it!

#Sky and telescope how to#

In their Celestial Calendar section, they also cover the Perseids really well: how to observe, best time, counting what you see and some really great background information on the shower and why this year should be one of the best (into the trail of where the comet that created the shower was last seen and a new moon). It’s in the additional content where Sky & Telescope really hits the mark for the backyard telescope (and binocular) user. There is also a ‘Sky at a Glance’ star guide (see picture) which is a double page spread with highlights to look out for through the month.

There is a picture of the path of the planets (and separately, where Jupiter’s moons are on each day) but it isn’t as well designed and compelling as that in Astronomy Magazine.

Northern Hemisphere Sky (pulls out a sky feature in detail for the month)Īs you’d expect, there are some similarities of content:.

The following sub-sections appear every month with a different focus: The observing section in Sky & Telescope magazine is a step apart from Astronomy Magazine’s.Īt 15 pages (plus, in this month’s episode, an additional 6-page special on summer stars) it pretty much doubles the observing content of its more popular counterpart. It even shows how they will look through ‘a’ telescope – but that’s generic and may be better or worse than your own scope.įinally in this section is a chart showing the position of jupiter‘s moons on a daily basis throughout the month. Sky and Telescope Magazine Observation Articles In addition, there’s full data for all the planets (plus Pluto and Ceres), such as magnitude, size and distance. sunset / night / dawn, or if it’s not visible at all because it’s only above the horizon in the day. This chart on a double page spread shows exactly where each of the planets can be found against the night sky.įollowing the line of the ecliptic, you can see when each planet is visible, e.g. You can view it online with this link. ( Note: this is a java applet, so may not run on all machines.) Path of the Planets (click to zoom)įollowing on from the sky dome is probably the most useful section for beginner astronomers: Path of the Planets!

In the middle of the section is a double page spread of their star dome, showing the night sky over the northern hemisphere. This month, it includes a small finder chart for catching a glimpse of Pluto to coincide with the iconic New Horizons flypast. The overview topic for this month is the Perseid meteor shower.Īs you’d expect, there is a thorough ‘when and how’ to view each of the planets and the moon. Half of this section is given over to commentary of the month’s night sky viewing opportunities, two pages at the start and another two at the end. There are eight pages in the August edition of Astronomy Magazine aimed at helping readers get the most out of August’s night sky. We’ll start this review of astronomy magazines with how each publication covers off what’s happening in the night sky. The cover price of Sky & Telescope Magazine is at the time of writing is also $5.99 per month, but you’ll get a big discount on that (almost half price when I last looked) by clicking this link for an annual subscription. Their content is split into four articles (although one of these, on the ‘ crises for Kitt Peak Observatories‘ is 13 pages long covering 3 different-but-linked stories), 16 pages of sky observing features, a product test and 9 regular sections, including telescope workshop and book review. The August edition of S&T is slightly larger that Astronomy Magazine, coming in at 84 pages. which makes it a compelling choice for amateur astronomers across the country.

#Sky and telescope professional#

It is edited almost entirely by amateur and professional astronomers. Although not as big as Astronomy Magazine, Sky & Telescope is much older, being founded in 1941.