September/October 2007
Volume 3. Number 5. Issue 25
COVER STORY
Fifty Years of Space Travel
We look back on a magnificent half-century of adventure and discovery.
By Todd Cole
NEWS & FEATURES
News Notes
• A Galaxy Core's Shadow Play
• A Weird "Hot Neptune"
• It's Official: Eris Outweighs Pluto
and more...
Spotlight On...Looking Deep in Dorado
The nearby galaxy NGC 1672 shows delightfully striking examples of star formation.
By Matt Watson
The Universe in a Computer
Step inside the incredible world of computational cosmology, where a new model of the Universe is made every day.
By Geraint Lewis, Chris Power, and Christopher Fluke
Carina's Stellar Cauldron
With its latest 400-megapixel mosaic, the Hubble Space Telescope weaves a grand tapestry of starbirth in the sprawling Carina Nebula.
By Ray Villard
Hinode Reveals the Sun
Japan's newest Sun-watching satellite is providing dazzling close-ups of flares and other magnetic activity.
By Monica Bobra
From Chaos to the Kuiper Belt
Billions of icy bodies beyond Neptune remind us that the early Solar System was a frenzy of planet-building activity.
By Mark Littmann
OBSERVING & EXPLORING
Southern Binocular Highlights
Pretty Globular NGC 6541
By Les Dalrymple
Sun, Moon, and Planets
Mercury Closes In on Spica
By Greg Bryant
Tonight's Sky
Toward the South Celestial Pole
By Greg Bryant
Deep Sky Delights
A Patch of Pavo
By Les Dalrymple
Celestial Calendar
Shadows from the Edge
By Steve Kerr
Two Returning Comets for Spring
By David Seargent
Exploring The Moon
Secrets of Descartes and Ina
By Charles A. Wood
PRODUCTS & REVIEWS
Astronomy Online
Dragging the Stars Around
By Stuart J. Goldman
Test Report
Next-Generation Video: Adirondack's StellaCam3
Leave your computer at home! This new camera instantly displays video images on any television monitor of everything from the Moon and planets to deep-sky objects.
By Johnny Horne
New Product Spotlight
• Vixen Optics's Cassegrain Tube Assembly
• Meade's mySKY
• The Imaging Source's DMK camera
Books & Beyond
• All Points South
ACTIVITIES & PEOPLE
Astrophotography
Good Moons from Bad Locations
By Terry Lovejoy
Woomera's Diamond Anniversary
By Kerrie Dougherty
The Deceptive Sky
By Dennis L. Mammana
Discoveries
The Missing Eleven Days
By David Ellyard
Community News
By Mike Salway
Gallery
Astrophotos from our readers
Ask AS&T
• Achilles in the sky
• Superdark matter
• Digital SLR or CCD camera?
and more
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Spectrum
There's Much To Celebrate
By Greg Bryant
Letters
• Comet McNaught Collector's Edition
• Picturing Constellations
and more
Subscription Offer
FREE Back Issues and Moon Chart CDs! See our offer
Manufacturer & Dealer Directory
Focal Point
We Are Stardust: Spread The Word
By Daniel Hudon
Index to Advertisers