Australian Sky & Telescope

FOR THOSE OF US of a certain age, it’s sort of hard to believe that 50 years have passed since Neil Armstrong uttered those famous words: “That’s one small step for [a] man… one giant leap for mankind”. Yet half a century has indeed come and gone. An

ASTRONOMERS HAVE DISCOVERED a second galaxy without dark matter. This ultra-diffuse galaxy is one of thousands of large, star-poor objects discovered in recent years. Most of these galaxies have more than the usual amount of dark matter — it’s all th

The expansion of the universe cannot be expressed as a simple velocity. Galaxies are not receding from each other through some imaginary static space. Instead, space itself is expanding, thereby pushing the galaxies away from one another. As a result

There are various ways to determine the distance to another galaxy: VARIABLE STARS The pulsation period of Cepheids – a particular and easy-to-recognise type of variable star – is related to their peak luminosity. Measuring a Cepheid’s period reveal

Apache-Sitgreaves Research Center now offers an integrated Telrad Dew Heater (US$30). The device fits snugly at the base of your Telrad unit-finder’s optical window and is powered with any standard dew controller on the market today that connects usi

Early June 10 p.m. Late June 9 p.m. Early July 8 p.m. Late July 7 p.m. These are standard times. Go outside within an hour or so of a time listed above. Hold the map out in front of you and turn it around so the label for the direction you’re facing

Throughout its life, a star keeps an extraordinary balance between energy pushing out from its core and gravity pulling in. As long as the star burns elements lighter than iron at its centre, this hydrostatic equilibrium will hold steady. But once on

WHEN ROBERT ASUMENDI looked through a binocular telescope, he realised several things at once: • Binocular vision is vastly more comfortable and pleasurable than monovision. (So much so that Hans Lippershey had to build a binocular before the patent

July 2019 is a special month for space enthusiasts as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the first crewed landing on the Moon. There will be plenty of celebratory activities going on around the country. In Brisbane there i