James B. Kaler

The Triumph of Dorothea KlumpkeKenneth Weitzenhoffer, Brooklyn, New YorkThe balloon La Centaure, bathed in the light of the full Moon, rose over Paris into a bitter wind a few minutes after 1:00 a.m. on November 16, 1899. Its task was to carry an astronomer above the autumn ground fog to observe...

Discover the Southern Skies IGlen Cozens, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaIF YOU'RE ONE of the matiy peopletraveling to the Southern Hemisphere to view Halley's comet this April, then prepare yourself for another celestial spectacular the southern stars! Any tlark site away from city lights...

The Shaping of Planetary NebulaeBruce Balick, University of WashingtonPLANETARY NEBULAE adorn the galactic plane like Christmas tree ornaments. Generally tiny but bright compared to other diffuse nebulae, they are a delight when viewed through even a small telescope. The Ring nebula in Lyra may be...

focal pointSecret Weapon: AstronomyIN RECENT YEARS the pubhc outcry about the sorry state of precollege science education in the United States has reached a fever pitch. Yet the sobering reality is that the average high school student in this country still takes only one year of science.The reason...

focal pointYou're an Astronomer? What's Your Sign?I'LL BET there's not an astronomer alivewho wouldn't like to have a clear night for every time he or she has heard that one.Astrology how could anyone be idiotic enough to mix that up with astronomy? Yet it happens again and again. I remember the...

The Making of a Better MoonA THICK, formidable-looking book arrived at the office recently. Its stark jet-black cover declares "Origin of the Moon," and for 781 pages dozens of contributors address the esoterica of lunar science. Here can be found an entire chapter on how iridium, plutonium, and...

Returning from its unprecedented second trip into space, Columbia glides toward a landing in California's Mojave Desert.years ago. But hours earlier, in a different part of the building, there had been another "patch raising," this one the first of its kind.The new tradition was born as the first...