Sky & Telescope - January 2021 - 4

SPECTRUM

by Peter Tyson

New Year's Resolutions

The Essential Guide to Astronomy
Founded in 1941 by Charles A. Federer, Jr.
and Helen Spence Federer

THE TURN OF A NEW YEAR is a good time to turn over a new leaf.

Editor in Chief

Editorial Correspondence
(including permissions, partnerships, and content
licensing): Sky & Telescope, One Alewife Center,
Suite 300B, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA. Phone:
617-500-6793. E-mail: editors@skyandtelescope.org. Website: skyandtelescope.org. Unsolicited proposals, manuscripts, photographs, and
electronic images are welcome, but a stamped,
self-addressed envelope must be provided to
guarantee their return; see our guidelines for
contributors at skyandtelescope.org.

Advertising Information:
Tim Allen: 773-551-0397
E-mail: tallen@skyandtelescope.org
Web: skyandtelescope.org/advertising
Customer Service: Magazine customer
service and change-of-address notices:
skyandtelescope@emailcustomerservice.com
Phone toll-free U.S. and Canada: 800-253-0245
Outside the U.S. and Canada: 386-597-4387

JANUARY 2 021 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief Peter Tyson
Senior Editors J. Kelly Beatty, Alan M. MacRobert
Science Editor Camille M. Carlisle
News Editor Monica Young
Associate Editor Sean Walker
Observing Editor Diana Hannikainen
Consulting Editor Gary Seronik
Editorial Assistant Sabrina Garvin
Senior Contributing Editors
Dennis di Cicco, Richard Tresch Fienberg,
Robert Naeye, Roger W. Sinnott
Contributing Editors
Howard Banich, Jim Bell, Trudy Bell, John E. Bortle,
Greg Bryant, Thomas A. Dobbins, Alan Dyer,
Tom Field, Tony Flanders, Ted Forte, Steve Gottlieb,
David Grinspoon, Shannon Hall, Ken Hewitt-White,
Johnny Horne, Bob King, Emily Lakdawalla,
Rod Mollise, James Mullaney, Donald W. Olson,
Jerry Oltion, Joe Rao, Dean Regas, Fred Schaaf,
Govert Schilling, William Sheehan, Mike Simmons,
Mathew Wedel, Alan Whitman, Charles A. Wood
Contributing Photographers
P. K. Chen, Akira Fujii, Robert Gendler,
Babak Tafreshi

A R T, D E S I G N & D I G I T A L
Art Director Terri Dubé
Illustration Director Gregg Dinderman
Illustrator Leah Tiscione
Webmaster Scilla Bennett
ADVERTISING
Advertising Sales Director Tim Allen

STE V ECOLEIM AG ES / G E T T Y IM AG ES

With this is mind, we're introducing three new columns and a few
other changes with this issue. Collectively, they will help optimize
our observing coverage and ensure we're reaching the broadest range of readers. They should also make clearer the stepped
approach our observing section takes, from naked eye to binoculars to telescope
to big telescope. Plus, we're launching a new pro-am column. To wit:
Evenings with the Stars (page 45): This new column replaces Under the
Stars. Fred Schaaf will still write it, but he'll concentrate on naked-eye stargazing. No binoculars or telescopes here, nor planets or moons - they're covered
further on. Fred will direct his gaze solely at constellations and their stars.
Sun, Moon & Planets (page 46): We're also sharpening the focus of this
long-running column. Rather than describe what all the planets as well as the
Sun and Moon are up to, we'll zero in on a few standout celestial events each
month. Consulting Editor Gary Seronik will tackle this
job. To Fred Schaaf, we extend our deepest thanks and
gratitude for so ably writing this column for 28 years.
Suburban Stargazer (page 54): With many of our
readers today coping with some degree of light pollution, this new bimonthly column, built along the lines
of the newly retired Deep-Sky Wonders, will showcase
deep-sky observing opportunities viewable from the city
out to the suburbs. Long-time Contributing Editor Ken
Hewitt-White will compose this one.
First Exposure (starting next issue): Written by
multiple authors, this new department will alternate every month with Suburban Stargazer. As more and more hobbyists ﬁnd themselves becoming interested
in astrophotography, this piece will provide tips and tricks to help beginner
imagers capture their ﬁrst shots with basic equipment.
Pro-Am Conjunction (page 57): With the AAS now our parent organization, it's the perfect time to start reporting on the ever-increasing number of
fruitful collaborations between professional and amateur astronomers. Observing Editor Diana Hannikainen will write this bimonthly column. She's ideally
suited for the task, having worked as a professional astronomer in high-energy
astrophysics for more than a decade before joining S&T.
Lastly, we swapped positions of the planet orbits diagram (now in Planetary
Almanac) and the ecliptic chart (now in Sun, Moon & Planets).
Otherwise, all remains the same as you've come to
expect it in S&T, including lots of dark-sky-site content.
We hope you appreciate these enhancements - which,
unlike most New Year's resolutions, we intend to keep.

AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL
SOCIETY
Executive Ofﬁcer / CEO, AAS Sky Publishing, LLC
Kevin B. Marvel
President Paula Szkody, University of Washington
Past President Megan Donahue, Michigan State
University
Senior Vice-President Joan Schmelz, Universities
Space Research Association
Second Vice-President Geoffrey C. Clayton, Louisiana
State University
Third Vice-President Stephen C. Unwin, JPL, California
Institute of Technology
Treasurer Doris Daou, NASA Planetary Science Division
Secretary Alice K. B. Monet, U.S. Naval Observatory (ret.)
At-Large Trustees Marcel Agüeros, Columbia University;
Kelsey Johnson, University of Virginia; Tereasa Brainerd,
Boston University; Hannah Jang-Condell, University of
Wyoming; Edmund Bertschinger, MIT

Visit shopatsky.com
Shop at Sky customer service:
shopatsky.com/help

Newsstand and Retail Distribution:
Marisa Wojcik, mwojcik@i-cmg.com
Comag Marketing Group

Subscription Rates:
U.S. and possessions: $54.95 per year (12 issues)
Canada: $69.95 (including GST)
All other countries: $84.95, by expedited delivery
All prices are in U.S. dollars.

The following are registered trademarks of
AAS Sky Publishing, LLC: Sky & Telescope and
logo, Sky and Telescope, The Essential Guide to
Astronomy, Skyline, Sky Publications, skyandtelescope.org, skypub.org, SkyWatch, Scanning the
Skies, Night Sky, SkyWeek, and ESSCO.

http://www.shopatsky.com http://www.shopatsky.com/help http://www.skyandtelescope.org/advertising http://www.skyandtelescope.org http://www.skyandtelescope.org http://www.skypub.org http://www.skyandtelescope.org

Sky & Telescope - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - January 2021