January 2010
Volume 6.  Number 1.  Issue 42

COVER STORY

Australian Student Observes with 8-Metre Eyes
A Year 10 high school student wins a competition to select an object to image with the Gemini-South telescope.
By Christopher Onken

NEWS & FEATURES 

News Notes

• First Confirmed Rocky Exoplanet
• Protoplanet Pallas
• McNaught's 50th Comet

and more...

Mission Update
By Jonathan McDowell

Cosmic Relief
Another Giant Leap
By David Grinspoon

Discoveries
Voyager 2 meets Uranus
By David Ellyard

Insight - The Colours of Mars

Top 10 Stories of 2009
It was the International Year of Astronomy, and the universe gave us much to be amazed and enthralled in.
By Greg Bryant

The Great 2012 Scare
The world won't end on December 21, 2012, but already your friends and relatives are probably wondering if it might. Here's what to tell them.
By E.C. Krupp

Real Potential Disasters
Asteroid impacts, gamma-ray bursts, supervolcanoes, and mega-tsunamis represent threats to humanity's future, but don't lose sleep worrying about them.
By Robert Naeye

PRODUCTS & REVIEWS

New Product Spotlight

• Faces of the Moon
• DSLR Imaging Guide
• Tele Vue's 21-mm Ethos eyepiece
• and more...

AS&T Test Report
Celestron's CGE Pro Mount
The new CGE Pro is definitely a contender in the heavyweight category of German equatorial mounts.
By Dennis di Cicco

OBSERVING & EXPLORING

Binocular Highlight
Hiding in plain view
By Les Dalrymple

Tonight's Sky
Orion's Wonders
By Greg Bryant

Sun, Moon, and Planets
Mars Shines at Opposition
By Greg Bryant

Celestial Calendar
Comets Past and Present
By David Seargent

Celestial Calendar
History Repeats?
By Steve Kerr

Celestial Calendar
Making the Most of Mars
By Alan MacRobert

Exploring The Moon
The Great Alpine Valley
By Charles A. Wood

Deep Sky Delights
Summer Planetary Viewing
By Les Dalrymple

Double Star Notes
A Bullring of Doubles
By Ross Gould

Targets
Icy Blue Diamonds
By Sue French

ACTIVITIES & PEOPLE

Community News

Targeting the Red Planet
How to image Mars as its opposition season begins.
By Damian Peach

Telescope Workshop
Bigger, Faster, Better!
By Gary Seronik

Melbourne Planetarium
Inspiring generations of visitors
By Tanya Hill

Gallery - The 2009 David Malin Awards

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Spectrum
End of an Era
By Greg Bryant

Subscription Offer
Subscribe and receive a free 2010 Astronomy Calendar!

Manufacturer & Dealer Directory

Focal Point
Remembering the Other Explorers
By Mark Wolverton

Index to Advertisers