Eyes on the skies
his is supposed to be a welcome
column, the place where I introduce
and talk about myself.As the new managing editor, I have
been tasked with connecting with
you, learning about your interests
and making sure they are relected
within these pages.So instead, let’s begin with a note
about you.If there is one thing I see in everyone
who is involved with this magazine —
readers, writers, photographers,
producers or general supporters —
it is an immense curiosity.You are visual astronomers. You are
photographers. You are pilots and
writers and lawyers and doctors and
scientists. You are wine aicionados
and experts in medieval music.
You study Shakespeare and Homer.
You travel around the globe and take
in the diferent worlds that can be
seen here on our own planet.Your curiosity brings you to the stars,
where you see so much more.his is why working with SkyNews
appealed to me so much.I, like you, have been staring at those
stars since my youth. I have been
reading about the solar system, deep-
sky objects and exoplanets for some
time, writing a bit about meteors, the
Dominion Observatory and Earth’s
magnetic ield in more recent years.he work I have done leads me to
believe that one of the most import-
ant parts of learning and discovery
is empowering those who are sharing
the knowledge.And so, I want to see you relected
within the pages of this magazine. In
this edition, you can see this attempt
through the piece about Messier March,
which uses photos taken by astropho-
tographers across Canada. It is seen in
Michael Watson’s spectacular photo
of the Milky Way and accompanyingdescription of how he took it. It is in
the pieces about Canadians who have
worked on the Hubble Space Telescope
and Apollo 13.I want SkyNews to follow a trajectory
that helps amateurs learn about visual
astronomy, and I want to detail what
professionals do at the ever-expanding
limits of humanity’s knowledge.he photo above is from a lake in
Athabasca County in rural Alberta.
While I was the publisher of the com-
munity’s newspaper, a local reporter
took the picture. I like how it shows
that those with budding interests
can do beautiful work; this was only
the second time he had shot the
Northern Lights.He is, like you, among the people
all across the country viewing the
night sky.Show us what you see. •The Northern Lights from Baptiste Lake, near Athabasca, AB. (Joel Watson)EDITOR'S REPORT By Allendria Brunjes
SKYNEWS • MAR/APR 2020