Category Archives: Free Astronomy Magazine

Free Astronomy Magazine – September-October 2020 Issue Available For Reading And Download

Posted on September 10, 2020 8:51 am - - Leave a Comment

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (September-October 2020) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure at www.astropublishing.com.

September-October 2020 includes a selected survey of astronomical content of local and cosmological interest from NASA/ESA, ESO, ALMA, as well as two feature articles from our fearless leader/editor Michele Ferrara. The feature articles in this issue discuss:

  1. “Betelgeuse – 100 years of uncertainties” – this article was 100 years in the making, but found itself updated with as-of-August scientific reporting in the final 100 hours before going to print (well, 150). The previous (pre-August) analyses were believed to be an adequate explanation, then the new reports indicate that that previous explanation did not, by itself, explain everything observed by us all since late last year.
  2. “In the mind of ET” – Continuing a multi-issue exobiology thread, this next article is a very interest perspective on the state of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (and not just SETI), based on the recent NASA award of Adam Frank (and collaborators) at the University of Rochester.

For those wanting a quick look at what the issue has to offer, the Table of Contents is reproduced below.

The web browser-readable version: www.astropublishing.com/5FAM2020/

Jump right to the PDF download (15 MB): September-October 2020

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Free Astronomy Magazine – July-August 2020 Issue Available For Reading And Download

Posted on July 4, 2020 1:07 pm - - Leave a Comment

And Happy 4th, fellow astrophiles!

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (July-August 2020) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure at www.astropublishing.com (click the link to go directly to the issue).

July-August 2020 includes a selected survey of astronomical content of local and cosmological interest from NASA/ESA, ESO, ALMA, as well as three feature articles from our fearless leader/editor Michele Ferrara. The feature articles in this issue discuss:

  1. “All the planets of Proxima Centauri” – the science for this article was quite literally being published as the article itself was being put together, about as fast a processing of journal-article-to-magazine as one can do while putting others together.
  2. “A supernova or Sagittarius – which should we thank?” – I’ve mentioned in many lectures that our own Sun is either the second or third stellar inhabitant in our vicinity, with a local supernova sparking the formation of it and our Solar System way back when. Recent studies indicate that other events 5-ish billion years ago might have instigated the events that lead to “us.”
  3. “The principle of mediocrity and the habitability of galaxies” – lump this use of the word “mediocrity” with the scientific use of the word “theory,” please. It is a joy to know that fundamental debates are being had in the astronomy and astrophysics literature and that there remains plenty, plenty yet to know for those pondering their futures in STEM.

For those wanting a quick look at what the issue has to offer, the Table of Contents is reproduced below.

The web browser-readable version: www.astropublishing.com/4FAM2020/

Jump right to the PDF download (15 MB): July-August 2020

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Free Astronomy Magazine – May-June 2020 Issue Available For Reading And Download

Posted on May 6, 2020 8:32 am - - Leave a Comment

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (May-June 2020) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure at www.astropublishing.com.

It is my hope that you had opportunity to read the perspectives from several amateur astronomers (myself included) and their organizations in the March-April issue (announcement).

May-June returns to the selected survey of astronomical content of local and cosmological interest from NASA/ESA, ESO, ALMA, as well as our fearless (and isolated in Italy) leader/editor Michele Ferrara. The two highlights of original content include an analysis of a recent journal article on the possibility of observing meteors entering the atmosphere at sub-relativistic speeds (try reading that three times fast) and another journal article (and entire research project from Cornell) on the possibility of using the known light-releasing behavior among lifeforms on Earth as a possible way to check for life on (nearby) exoplanets.

For those wanting a quick look at what the issue has to offer, the Table of Contents is reproduced below.

The web browser-readable version: www.astropublishing.com/3FAM2020/

Jump right to the PDF download (18 MB): May-June 2020

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Special Issue! Free Astronomy Magazine – March/April 2020 Issue Available For Reading And Download

Posted on March 20, 2020 7:34 am - - Leave a Comment

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (March-April 2020) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure at www.astropublishing.com.

Yes, the issue is a series of articles about the importance of amateur astronomers coming together as a community through outreach, just in time for a global pandemic to keep everyone from coming together (for a while, anyway). The issue features an opening article by myself and an international perspective (Spain, Catalonia and Italy) by the editor Michele Ferrara and other contributing language editors on the general topics of the state of amateur astronomy and outreach in our respective locations.

For the opening story, I went with a very CNY-centric perspective on some of the great observing/outreach events, as well as their hosts, we’ve known in the past decade-or-so (while trying to name-drop all the area astronomy clubs in the process). These include shout-outs to some of the better-known lectures/observers, including David Bishop with ASRAS, Larry Slosberg with CNYO, James Callens with Western NY Astronomers, Bob Piekiel and his near-rock-solid monthly schedule at Baltimore Woods, my favorite classicist and dark sky proponent Prof. John McMahon, and the late, great Barlow Bob.

For those wanting a quick look at what the issue has to offer, the Table of Contents is reproduced below.

The web browser-readable version: www.astropublishing.com/2FAM2020/

Jump right to the PDF download (18 MB): March-April 2020

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Free Astronomy Magazine – January-February 2020 Issue Available For Reading And Download

Posted on January 2, 2020 11:43 am - - Leave a Comment

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (January-February 2020) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure at www.astropublishing.com (click the link to go directly to the issue).

Feature articles this month include:

(1) a great read on the history of the discovery of the (dwarf) planet Pluto

(2) SOFIA confirming the collision of two planets in an old star system

(3) details about the landing site selection of Jezero Crater for Mars 2020 (with an image from the article featured about and downloadable from www.jpl.nasa.gov…PIA23239).

For those wanting a quick look at what the issue has to offer, the Table of Contents is reproduced below.

The web browser-readable version: www.astropublishing.com/1FAM2020/

Jump right to the PDF download (14 MB): January-February 2020

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