Sky & Telescope January 2001 [antikvár]

spectrumSteady As She GoesBI y coincidence this January 2001 issue of Sky Telescope is volume I 101, number 1, so we begin the new millennium (for real this time) I with our own special turn of the odometer. This doesn't mean ST is 100 years old, though. From 1941 through 1959 one volume did equal 12 monthly issues, but every year since 1960 we've published two volumes of sixissues each. So, as it happens, we'11 celebrate our 60th anniversary in November. That's far short of a century, to be sure, but it's a milestone that few special-interest magazines ever reach.Sky Telescope is a rarity for another reason too: in six decades of publication we've had only three editors in chief. Our founder, the late Char-lie Federer, ran the magazine for 34 years. His successor, Joe Ashbrook, was felled by illness bare-ly six years after taking the helm. Leif Robinson, who retired after putting last month's issue to bed, held the top editorial post for 20 years. I'm only the fourth person lucky enough to get this dream job and the first to be born after the founding of the magazine itself.Surveys indicate that a quarter of our subscribers have been reading S&T for 20 years or more. (That's an amazing figure; most publishers would give anything to get that kind of reader loyalty.) Conversely, three-quarters of you have never known the magazine under any other leadership; it's been "Leif and the gang" from your very first issue. As I take the reins, you might be wondering whether Sky Telescope is about to undergo a radical transformation. Don't worry it isn't.I'm not some outsider brought in to shake things up. I'm part of the gang that's been bringing you for years. I joined the editorial staff in 1986, soon after getting my Ph.D. in astronomy at Harvard University. If you don't re-member my name it's because I've spent the last nine years behind the scenes managing our publishing business. That was fun, but it'11 be even more fun to be back where the astronomical action is. With our remarkably expert and tal-ented editorial team already in place, I intend to guide Sky & Telescope on its present course, bringing the universe down to Earth for astronomy enthusiasts worldwide and at all levels of interest and skill.In this endeavor I could use your help. Teil me what you like about the magazine, and what you don't like. Teil me what new features you'd like to see, and what current features you could do without, if any. I may be S&Ts editor in chief, but this isn't my magazine it's yours.