Sky & Telescope April 2002 [antikvár]

We're Everywheref an important astronomical event happens anywhere in the night sky at any time a supernova, a lunar occultation, a storm on Saturn it will be observed by readers of this magazine. I can say this with confidence because Sky Telescope has subscribers in 135 countries around the world. This interesting piece of trivia came to light as we were preparing to mail our first issue of 2002. Regular readers know that every January we include our Skygazer's Almanac, a handy guide showing when bright stars and planets are visible, when the Moon rises and sets, and what time twilight ends throughout the coming year.We used to prepare just one version, for North America. But to better serve the sizable fraction (25 percent) of readers who live elsewhere, we recently began to produce a second chart for Europe and a third for the Southern Hemisphere. In the course of figuring out which version to send with each magazine, we found that we reach subscribers in 135 nations and newsstand buyers in 60. Depending on whom you ask, there are 189 to 192 countries in the world today, so Sky Telescope has a presence in about 70 percent of them. Amazing!We try hard to keep our global readership in mind as we plan each issue. Our annual previews of the year's best lunar and planetary occultations used to concentrate on events visible from North America, just like the Skygazer's Almanac. This year, for the first time, we included events occurring over Europe, Australia, and New Zealand too (see the January and March issues).We used to print an evening sky chart for the Southern Hemisphere in every other issue, but for several years now we've done it monthly. And, with this issue, we are further enhancing our coverage of southern astronomy. If you look at our list of contributing editors at right, you'll find two new additions: Australians Greg Bryant and Les Dalrymple. Greg will write an expanded commentary to accompany our Southern Hemisphere's sky chart; his first one appears on page 90. Les will contribute regularly to Deep-Sky Notebook, and he and Greg will help us report on research news, club activities, telescope-making innovations, and other astronomical developments down under.With staff or contributing editors from (or in) the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia, our editorial roster reflects the remarkable diversity of our readership. It's appropriate that a magazine serving a truly international audience is put together by a staff with a truly global perspective. I trust that no matter where you live or where you travel, you'll find Sky & Telescope an indispensable companion.