Astronomy (magazine)

• 1. Introduction

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  Astronomy magazine was born in August 1973 from a college class project. Stephen A. Walther, a journalism graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, had drawn up a business plan for an amateur astronomy magazine as a senior assignment. That first issue ran to 48 pages, carried five feature articles, and told readers what to look for in the night sky that month. What no one could have predicted was that a publication launched by a young man who had struggled so badly in mathematics that his mother feared he would never earn a living would become the largest-circulation astronomy magazine in the world. How did a hobbyist's passion project survive its founder's early death, change hands multiple times, and build a readership that eventually outpaced every rival? The answers lie in the personalities who shaped it, the columns that gave it a loyal audience, and the publishing decisions that kept it alive across five decades.

• 2. The Man Behind the First Issue

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  Walther had been obsessed with astronomy since childhood, developing an early interest in photographing constellations. He worked part time as a planetarium lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which deepened his fluency in presenting the night sky to general audiences. His journalism training gave him the tools to translate that passion into print. He founded AstroMedia Corp. in Milwaukee to publish the magazine, and with help from his brother David he brought the first issue to readers in August 1973. The issues featured astrophotos alongside illustrations from astronomical artists, mixing scientific imagery with accessible writing. Walther died in 1977, only four years after launching the magazine, leaving AstroMedia and its editorial direction to others.

• 3. Editors Who Shaped the Magazine

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  Richard Berry stepped in after Walther's death and left a lasting imprint on the publication. Under Berry, AstroMedia launched two offshoots: Odyssey, aimed at younger readers, and the specialized Telescope Making. When Kalmbach, a Milwaukee hobby publisher, bought Astronomy in 1985, the transition signaled the magazine's move into a larger commercial orbit. Berry remained until 1992, when Robert Burnham became chief editor. That same year Kalmbach discontinued Deep Sky and Telescope Making and sold Odyssey, narrowing the portfolio around the flagship title. Bonnie Gordon, later a professor at Central Arizona College, took the editorship in 1996. David J. Eicher, the creator of the Deep Sky column, became chief editor in 2002 and presided over the magazine into its fifth decade.

• 4. The Columns That Built Loyalty

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  Bob Berman wrote "Bob Berman's Strange Universe" for over three decades, from January 1992 through February 2024. Stephen James O'Meara contributed "Stephen James O'Meara's Secret Sky" from March 2007 until May 2025, covering observing tips and deep-sky objects, planets, and comets. Glenn Chaple's beginner-focused "Glenn Chaple's Observing Basics" ran from January 2003 through December 2022, then returned in August 2023 under Molly Wakeling. Phil Harrington wrote "Phil Harrington's Binocular Universe" across two separate stretches: June 2005 to May 2009, and again from July 2016 to February 2024. As of February 2026, all four original authors are listed as contributing editors. A column called "Telescope Insider" has also run interviews with people in the telescope-manufacturing industry, connecting readers to the equipment side of the hobby.

• 5. What Fills Each Issue

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  Each issue is divided roughly in half, with professional science in the front and hobbyist material in the back. Science coverage reaches across cosmology, space exploration, exobiology, and the work of professional-class observatories, including profiles of individual astronomers. Every issue contains a foldout star map showing the evening sky for that month, with positions of planets and some comets marked. Readers also find star and planet charts, telescope observing tips, astrophotography advice, a reader-submitted photo gallery, letters, event listings, and product announcements. Special bound-in sections have appeared over the years, including a Messier Catalog booklet, a Skyguide listing upcoming sky events, a Telescope Buyer's Guide, a poster showing comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) alongside historical comets, a poster titled "Atlas of Extrasolar Planets", and a diagram of stellar life cycles.

• 6. Reach, Rivals, and Ownership

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  Astronomy's monthly circulation stands at 84,490, making it the largest-circulation astronomy magazine in the world. Most readers are in the United States, but the publication also circulates in Canada and internationally. Its main competitor, Sky and Telescope, reported a total circulation of 62,234 in 2020. For a period in the mid-2000s there was even a Brazilian edition called Astronomy Brasil, published by Duetto Editora. Low circulation numbers led Duetto to close that edition in September 2007. Kalmbach, later operating as Kalmbach Media, held the title for nearly four decades before selling Astronomy along with its railroad interest magazines to Firecrown Media in 2024. The Astronomy staff has also produced standalone publications over the years, among them Explore the Universe, Origin and Fate of the Universe, Mars: Explore the Red Planet's Past, Present, and Future, and 50 Greatest Mysteries of the Universe.