August/September 2009
Volume 5.  Number 6.  Issue 39

COVER STORY

Searching for Exoplanet Moons
Astronomers may soon find moons around extrasolar planets, and amateurs could beat the professionals to the punch.
By David Kipping

NEWS & FEATURES 

News Notes

• Hubble's Final Service
• New Funding for the AAO
• Very Fresh Martian Ice Craters

and more...

Mission Update
By Jonathan McDowell

Cosmic Relief
The Earth-Size World Next Door
By David Grinspoon

Australia's New SkyMapper
An unprecedented survey of the southern sky is about to begin.
By Greg Bryant

Discoveries
The Murchison Meteorite
By David Ellyard

A Blue World called Neptune
Twenty years have passed since Voyager 2 flew past Neptune, but astronomers continue to study this gas giant.
By Greg Bryant

Cosmic Code Breakers
Some of the hottest research in astronomy takes place behind the scenes, where laboratory scientists decode the messages in celestial spectra.
By Daniel Wolf Savin, Benjamin J. McCall, and Kate Kirby

Uncovering Mars' Secret Past
A new generation of rovers and orbiters is mapping the Red Planet's minerals - telltale clues to its watery history.
By Jim Bell

PRODUCTS & REVIEWS

New Product Spotlight

• Celestron's FirstScope
• Orion's StarShoot Solitaire AutoGuider
• Saxon's SED65 spotting scope
• and more...

AS&T Test Report
TheSkyX Student Edition
An esteemed planetarium program is now available for PCs and Macs.
By Joe Heafner

OBSERVING & EXPLORING

Binocular Highlight
A Celestial Coathanger
By Les Dalrymple

Tonight's Sky
Messier Bearer
By Greg Bryant

Sun, Moon, and Planets
Oppositions and Conjunctions
By Greg Bryant

Celestial Calendar
Moons in Each Others' Way
By Alan MacRobert

The Very Long Mystery of Epsilon Aurigae
A remarkable naked-eye star will soon start dimming for only the eighth time since 1821. What's going on is still not exactly clear.
By Robert E. Stencel

Celestial Calendar
Tropical Pleiades
By Steve Kerr

Celestial Calendar
Surprising Comets in Winter
By David Seargent

Exploring The Moon
The Ends of the Moon
By Charles A. Wood

Suburban Star-Hop
The Celestial Swan
By Ken Hewitt-White

Deep Sky Delights
Light and Shade
By Les Dalrymple

Double Star Notes
A Crown of Stars
By Ross Gould

Targets
The 12 Labours of Hercules
By Sue French

ACTIVITIES & PEOPLE

Astronomy Online
Excuse Me While I Touch the Sky
By Stuart J. Goldman

Searching for Supernovae on a Shoestring
A backyard astronomer contributes valuable science with modest equipment
By Thiam-Guan Tan

Telescope Workshop
Bigger, Faster, Better?
By Gary Seronik

Amateur Telescope Making
Image Stabilise Your Binoculars
By Alan MacRobert

Gallery

Community News

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Spectrum
You too can do Science
By Greg Bryant

Subscription Offer
Subscribe and receive a free Moon Chart CD! See our offer

Manufacturer & Dealer Directory

Focal Point
Who Will Be Next on the Moon?
By Robert Wolfe

Index to Advertisers