Astronomy - USA (2022-02)

4 ASTRONOMY • FEBRUARY 2022

16 COVER STORY
Top 10 space
stories of 2021
Over the last year, researchers
mourned the loss of
Arecibo and applauded
the first helicopter flight
on Mars. Plus, commercial
spaceflight really took off.
ALISON KLESMAN

26
Finding Neptune
This ice giant hid from
humanity’s view for
millennia. But eventually, its
sibling planet gave it away.
WILLIAM SHEEHAN

32
Sky This Month
Venus steals the spotlight.
MARTIN RATCLIFFE
AND ALISTER LING

34

Star Dome and

Paths of the Planets

RICHARD TALCOTT;

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROEN KELLY

40

Meet 20 great

astronomers

Throughout history,

innumerable people have

made valuable contributions

to astronomy. But since we’re

short on space, here’s 20,

ranked. MICHAEL E. BAKICH

48

Astronomy ’s tips for

winter observing

Trekking out to your favorite

observing spot requires a little

extra planning this time of

year. But the views are totally

worth it. MICHAEL E. BAKICH

52

QHY 410C: A cooled

color camera

Equipped with a premium

back-illuminated CMOS

chip built by Sony, this

powerful device features

ultra-low noise, which is

perfect for astrophotography.

TONY HALLAS

56

The shape of

the Milky Way

To understand the nature

of our galaxy, astronomers

had to look to distant

island universes.

RAYMOND SHUBINSKI

62

Ask Astro

Heavenly hazards.

IN EVERY ISSUE

From the Editor 5

Astro Letters 6

New Products 61

Reader Gallery 64

Breakthrough 66

Advertiser Index 67

FE ATURES

FEBRUARY 2022

VOL. 50, NO. 2

Astronomy (ISSN 0091-6358, USPS 531-350)

is published monthly by Kalmbach Media

Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P. O. Box 1612,

Waukesha, WI 53187–1612. Periodicals postage

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

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Go to http://www.Astronomy.com

for info on the biggest news and

observing events, stunning photos,

informative videos, and more.

ONLINE

FAVORITES

7

QUANTUM GRAVITY

Everything you need to

know about the universe

this month: a planet

orbiting three stars,

Artemis spacesuit testing,

film stars in space, and

much more!

COLUMNS

Strange Universe 13

BOB BERMAN

Observing Basics 14

GLENN CHAPLE

Secret Sky 15

STEPHEN JAMES O’MEARA

Binocular Universe 60

PHIL HARRINGTON

CONTENTS 48

ON THE COVER

One of this year’s exciting

discoveries is a new type of

supernova. The Crab Nebula

supernova remnant is visible

here. ESO

My Science

Shop

Perfect gifts for

your favorite

science geeks.

Sky This

Week

A daily digest

of celestial

events.

Picture of

the Day

Gorgeous

photos from

our readers.

Trips and

Tours

Travel the world

with the staff of

Astronomy.

Banca do Antfer

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