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THE ASTRONOMY SCENE

32 Amateur awarded

Aussie gets top astronomy medal

By Jonathan Nally

58 Hunt the moons of Mars

Track down Phobos and Deimos

By Alan M. MacRobert

64 Better views of the planets

Simple accessories, better seeing.

By Thomas Dobbins

68 Test report

We put a Starlight Xpress

imaging ensemble to the test.

By Johnny Horne

72 Astronomer’s workbench

DIY observing equipment

By Jerry Oltion

76 Gallery

Reader's astrophotos

79 Marketplace

80 Indextoadvertisers

82 Focal Point

Getting humans to Mars

By Jim Bell

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p.36 A better alternative for night vision?

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I

have a few welcomes and one farewell to make. First the farewell. Gary Seronik,

who has been writing about observing and telescope making for 20 years, is

moving on to become editor of the Canadian magazine, SkyNews. I know that you,

the reader, and all of us here at Australian Sky & Telescope have benefited greatly from

Gary’s many years of contributions, and we wish him all the best in his new gig.

Taking over from Gary are two new authors, the first of whom, Mathew Wedel, will

be writing most of our Binocular Highlights columns. A paleontologist and professor

of anatomy by day, by night he is what he calls an “adventurous stargazer”. And we

also welcome Jerry Oltion, who is taking over Gary’s Telescope Workshop column

under the new title of Astronomer’s Workbench. Jerry’s column will appeal to a wider

range of DIYers, going beyond telescopes to include homebuilt equipment of all kinds,

from easy-to-make laser collimators to even easier-to-make custom eyepieces.

Finally, you’ll have been enjoying Con Stoitsis’ meteor observing column for a few

issues now. It’s great to have Con aboard to share his knowledge of all things meteoric.

Meteor shower observing is a fun way to get into stargazing — you don’t need any

equipment, it helps you learn the stars and constellations, and it helps beginners

grasp some of the basics of night-time observation. I encourage you to use his hints

and tips to make the most of the showers to which we are regularly treated.

Comings and goings

Australian Sky & Telescope is on Facebook. Complementing our

website, Facebook helps keep you alerted to astronomy news and

information about Australian Sky & Telescope.

Jonathan Nally, Editor

[email protected]

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JONATHAN NALLY

EDITORIAL

EDITOR Jonathan Nally

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