A place for night sky enthusiasts
I was delighted and surprised to learn that an asteroid has been named after me. The chunk of main-belt debris provisionally known as 1993 FE15 is now officially listed as 20046 Seronik. You can all read about it on Sky & Telescope‘s web site.
Few celestial objects excite the imaginations of stargazers and the general public like a good comet. The recent apparition of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) prompted me to reflect on the all the comets I’ve been fortunate enough to see in the past 25 years. There have been some stunners, some surprises, and a few that could have been great, but fell short. Here’s my (highly subjective) pick of the five most interesting and spectacular comets from the past 25 years.
Continue reading “The Top 5 Comets of the Past 25 Years”
It’s been a busy time of late, full of transition and change for me — the effects of which will become subtly apparent here at GarySeronik.com. Most notably (and happily!) I’m once again with Sky&Telescope magazine, this time as a consulting editor. (Those familiar with my bio will recall I was previously an associate editor there.) As a result, it’s likely this site will see less frequent updates. I’ll still post here as the urge strikes and time allows, but most of my writing will end up in the pages of S&T.
Hope to see you there!
Gary
I invite everyone to check out my web site, FilmAdvance.com.
In addition to astronomy, photography is a big passion of mine. So, I started FilmAdvance.com as an outlet for my photographic explorations. There will inevitably by some astronomy related content posted there, but mostly it’s about seeing the universe through the lens of a camera, instead of the eyepiece of a telescope. Look in on it from time to time to see what I’ve been up to with my cameras and darkroom. Enjoy!
The Cygnus Milky Way photographed from Mt. Kobau.
This past summer I tried my hand at medium-format astrophotography for the first time. While digital imaging has largely eclipsed emulsion-based photography, old-school techniques and materials can still yield pleasing results. There’s just something about a black-and-white Milky Way photo that evokes the work of E. E. Barnard, much the same way that high-contrast landscape photography inevitably draws comparisons with Ansel Adams.
Continue reading “A Farewell to Summer”
The transit begins and the weather is clear!
After a gloomy start to the day and an equally gloomy weather forecast, I had all but given up hope of seeing the transit of Venus. Oh well, I told myself, at least I got to see a bit of the 2004 event. And then, miracle of miracles, at midday the Sun broke through the clouds and by first contact, the sky was clear. Venus bit into the solar limb exactly on time, and all was right with the universe.
Continue reading “Transit!”
My copy of Sky&Telescope’s new Moon globe arrived recently and I’ve been enjoying it ever since. I have a special fondness for lunar cartography. I’m proud to say that I helped create both the Sky&Telescope Moon Map and Field Map of the Moon and I also got to serve as editor for Antonín Rükl’s classic Atlas of the Moon. But there’s one thing that these flat maps and even computer software can’t do very well — show you the entire Moon from any perspective quckly and easily.
Continue reading “S&T’s New Moon Globe”
Waiting for twilight’s end at the Table Mountain Star Party.
The summer star-party season is in full swing once again and it’s time to hit the road! As an editor for Sky & Telescope magazine, I’ve traveled to most major (and quite a few minor) star parties in North America. They’re fun events and tend to have a number of things in common. Here’s a rundown of my top ten star party perks.
Continue reading “Gary’s Top 10 Star Party Perks”
I was recently interviewed for the Houston Astronomical Society’s newsletter GuideStar. I’ve been interviewed a few times before and have found that the quality of the resulting article depends hugely on the interviewer. Prep is everything. And in this case, Clayton Jeter was a real pro. His questions were thoughtful and interesting, and clearly the result of having done his homework.
The complete interview appears after the jump.
Continue reading “Houston Astronomical Society Interview”
Here is a listing of every article I’ve written for Sky&Telescope magazine up to the end of 2009. The index is in chronological order and gives the year, month, page number, department heading, and title. You can do a keyword search using your browser’s search function (activated by pressing Ctrl and F simultaneously) if you’re looking for a specific item.
Continue reading “Complete S&T Index from 1997 to 2009”