2020-05-01_Astronomy

8 ASTRONOMY • MAY 2020

ASTRO LETTERS

Remembering 2019

Your January issue was spectacular.

The “Top 10 space stories of 2019”

shows what was accomplished this

past year. The overload of informa-

tion is overwhelming, but the article

on black holes took my breath away.

In his editor’s note, David Eicher

masterfully expresses the death and

birth of stars as the grandest recy-

cling program. Little did I know what lurks behind the

beautiful “like a diamond in the sky” stars at night.

But the most exhilarating story was in Quantum

Gravity. It covered the mighty super-Earth exoplanet,

K2-18 b, and its signs of habitability. I’m looking forward

to another astronomical year! — Shobha Kaicker,

Mississauga, Ontario

Forever teaching

Each month I look forward to receiving Astronomy. I had

the wonderful experience of teaching high school astron-

omy for the final six years of my 35-year career.

The article in the January 2020 issue indicating water

vapor has been identified on planet K2-18 b includes the

information: “The researchers were able to tease out the

undeniable fingerprint of water vapor in the atmo-

sphere.” This line was an opportunity to inform your

readers that the “teasing out” was done by the research-

ers’ use of spectroscopic analysis. Adding that informa-

tion to the article would certainly benefit your readers.

— Frank Lock, Gainesville, GA

A job well done

I appreciate Senior Associate Editor Alison Klesman. Not

only were her answers in January’s Ask Astro clear and

concise, I noticed she was the sole expert providing all of

the answers. I hope Alison’s colleagues give her a well-

deserved pat on the back. — Jim McLeod, Charlotte, NC

Televised eclipse

Thank you for the fine article “Astronomy’s electronic

revolution” in the February issue. I can relate to it as

I used an RCA TK11 television camera, which had an

image orthicon as the pickup device, to televise a lunar

eclipse in 1960. — Bob Zuelsdorf, Grass Valley, CA

K2-18 b is a super-Earth

exoplanet, discovered

in 2015.

We welcome

your comments

at Astronomy Letters,

P.O. Box 1612,

Waukesha, WI 53187;

or email to letters@

astronomy.com.

Please include your

name, city, state, and

country. Letters may

be edited for space

and clarity.

ESA/HUBBLE/M. KORNMESSER

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