6 August 2014 sky & telescopeRobert Naeye
Spectrum
Hed.GillSans.
Founded in 1941
by Charles A. Federer, Jr.
and Helen Spence Federer
The Essential Guide
to AstronomyEditor in ChiefOur Special Mars Issue
that our staff does a lot more than produce
monthly issues of Sky & Telescope. Besides our website and assorted prod-
ucts, we publish two annual special issues: SkyWatch and Beautiful Uni-
verse. New editions of these magazines will be coming out later this year.
Last year, we also published a special science issue titled Astronomy’s 60
Greatest Mysteries, which went on sale in June (S&T: Aug. 2013, p. 6). That
issue was such a journalistic and commercial success that we decided to
follow it up with another science magazine devoted to mysteries. Dur-
ing an editorial staff meeting about 6
months ago, assistant editor Camille
Carlisle suggested an issue devoted
to Mars. The staff quickly reached a
consensus, and we went into planning
mode almost immediately.
After a lot of work, and a lot of help
from distinguished authors and artists,
I’m very pleased to announce that Mars:
Mysteries & Marvels of the Red Planet
is now on sale at our ShopatSky.com
website, and also on leading newsstands
in the U.S. and Canada.
I admit to being biased, but I think
it’s a great publication, and I’m con-
fi dent that anyone interested in Mars
will agree. We lined up leading experts
to write the articles: Chris McKay on the search for life, Jim Bell on the
planet’s extreme geology and weather, Erik Asphaug on Mars’s two-faced
personality, Matt Golombek on Mars’s interior, Margarita Marinova on
atmospheric methane, William Sheehan on the greatest blunders of Mars
observations, and Gregory Benford on science fi ction’s changing portrayals
of the Red Planet. Of particular note, the issue contains a special contribu-
tion from Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin and coauthor Leonard David
about future human exploration. Leading science journalists Kelly Beatty
and Emily Lakdawalla chipped in with articles about Mars’s early history
and water, respectively, and Camille and I contributed stories as well. We
also loaded the issue with great photos and art.
I extend special thanks to Camille and design director Pat Coppola, who
did the lion’s share of the editorial and design work, respectively. I extend
my deepest gratitude to all the authors and illustrators who committed
their time and talents to this project. If you want a thorough understand-
ing of what we know about Mars right now, and what are the most compel-
ling remaining mysteries, this 100-page special issue is a must-read! ✦Most of you know
EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief Robert Naeye
Senior Editors Dennis di Cicco, Alan M. MacRobert
Associate Editor Tony Flanders
Imaging Editor Sean Walker
Assistant Editor Camille M. Carlisle
Web Editor Monica Young
Editor Emeritus Richard Tresch Fienberg
Senior Contributing Editors J. Kelly Beatty, Roger W. Sinnott
Contributing Editors Jim Bell, Trudy Bell, John E. Bortle, Greg Bryant,
Paul Deans, Thomas A. Dobbins, David W. Dunham, Alan Dyer, Tom
Field, Ted Forte, Sue French, Steve Gottlieb, David Grinspoon, Paul J.
Heafner, Ken Hewitt-White, Johnny Horne, E. C. Krupp, Emily Lakdawalla,
Jonathan Mc Dowell, Rod Mollise, Donald W. Olson, Joe Rao, Dean
Regas, Fred Schaaf, Govert Schilling, Gary Seronik, William Sheehan,
Mike Simmons, Alan Whitman, Charles A. Wood, Robert Zimmerman
Contributing Photographers P. K. Chen, Akira Fujii, Robert Gendler,
Babak Tafreshi
ART & DESIGN
Design Director Patricia Gillis-Coppola
Illustration Director Gregg Dinderman
Illustrator Leah Tiscione
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