June 2005
Volume 1. Number 6
COVER STORY
Deep Impact: Our first look inside a comet
A $350 million space mission will take the most detailed pictures ever of a comet nucleus and will provide a glimpse into its interior.
By Elisabeth M. Warner and Greg Redfern
NEWS & FEATURES
News Notes
• Enceladus' Invisible Atmosphere
• A Controversial Equatorial Martian Sea
• Exoplanets: The Heat Is On
and more...
Spotlight On...Mars' Hale Crater
An amazing new view of the martian landscape.
By Robert Naeye
Japan's Asteroid Archaeologist
With little fanfare, the Japanese Hayabusa mission will be the first spacecraft to try to bring home a piece of a minor planet
By Beth Ellen Clark and Kelli B. Grant
Lord of the Rings
NASA's Cassini mission is giving us views of Saturn as we've never seen it before.
By Jonathan Nally
Huygens' Heroes
The CSIRO's Parkes Radio Telescope helped save the day when the Huygens space probe reached Saturn's moon Titan.
By John Sarkissian
OBSERVING & EXPLORING
Binocular Highlight
King of the Globulars
By Les Dalrymple
Tonight's Sky
Exploring Lacaille's Deep Sky
By Greg Bryant
Sun, Moon, and Planets
Three's Not a Crowd
By Jonathan Nally
Exploring the Moon
Bumps on the Moon
By Charles A. Wood
Deep Sky Delights
The Fly and the Drawing Compass
By David Frew
Celestial Calendar
It's still daylight, by Jove
By Steve Kerr
Celestial Calendar
A Pre-dawn Trio of Comets
By David Seargent
Celestial Calendar
Targeting Comet Tempel 1
By Greg Bryant
Observer's Log
Amateurs and the Deep Impact Mission
By Elizabeth M. Warner and Greg Redfern
PRODUCTS & REVIEWS
AS&T Test Report
The William Optics ZenithStar 80
Affordable high-quality viewing.
By Chris Toohey
Digital Astronomy
Astronomy Picture of the Day
By Stuart Goldman
Books & Beyond
• The Firefly Encyclopedia of Astronomy
ACTIVITIES & PEOPLE
First Light
Amazing daylight spectacles courtesy of the Sun
By Trudy E. Bell
Ask AS&T
• What would the Sun look like from another star?
• What is the best sze mirror to make?
• Are meteor showers better seen from a light aircraft?
The Astronomy Scene
The 2005 South Pacific Star Party
By Greg Bryant
Activities
Gallery
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Spectrum
On a Mission
By Jonathan Nally
Letters
• That "WOW" Feeling
• A Passion for Astronomy
• Making A Mod
Mission Update
By Jonathan McDowell
Subscription Offer
Focal Point
What's in a Name?
By Randy S. Robbins
Index to Advertisers