Astronomy Now

Lore & Background

Astronomy Now was co-founded by Patrick Moore, who served as its first editor, along with original publisher Angelo Zgorelec, John Mason, Peter Cattermole, Ron Maddison, Iain Nicolson, and Art Editor Paul Doherty. Subsequent editors have included Martin Beech, Timothy Lyster, Fiona Gammie, Steven Young, Pam Spence, Paul Parsons, and Keith Cooper. The magazine is published by Pole Star Publications Ltd.

Each issue contains regular sections such as News Update, The Night Sky (with contributions from lunar expert Peter Grego, technical illustrator Greg Smye–Rumsby, and supernova-discoverer Mark Armstrong), Absolute Beginners by Carole Stott, In the Shops reviews, Key Moments by Ian Seymour (a feature running since 1992), Picture Gallery with astrophotographer Nik Szymanek, Society News, Tech Talk by Martin Mobberley, and Ask an Astronomer answered by Edward Herrick-Gleason. A 'Light Pollution Corner' was added in 2007, written by Bob Mizon of the Campaign for Dark Skies.

The magazine also produces special editions, including a Yearbook released each autumn, and has held an annual exhibition and conference called AstroFest since at least 2015 at Kensington Conference and Events Centre in west London. The magazine presents a Lifetime Achievement Award at AstroFest; winners have included Iain Nicolson (2015), Ian Ridpath (2017), and Allan Chapman (2023).

Reader's Guide

Astronomy Now holds a significant place in British amateur astronomy as the principal magazine for enthusiasts, according to a 2012 Royal Astronomical Society article. Its content bridges practical observing guides—such as The Night Sky and Absolute Beginners—with in-depth feature articles on missions like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, MESSENGER, Planck, and the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as cosmology and observing technology. The magazine's regular sections, many contributed by long-standing writers like Ian Seymour (since 1992) and Martin Mobberley, provide continuity and depth. Special editions like The Grand Tour of the Universe (2006) and Exploring Mars (2004) extend its reach to broader audiences. The annual AstroFest conference, featuring speakers such as Brian Cox, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and Martin Rees, and the Lifetime Achievement Award, underscore its role as a community hub. The magazine's legacy is built on its consistent monthly publication since 1987, its focus on both amateur and professional readership, and its active engagement with UK astronomical societies through Society News and Astrolistings.

Did You Know?

• The first editor of Astronomy Now was Patrick Moore, who co-founded the magazine with original publisher Angelo Zgorelec.
• The magazine's 'Key Moments' section has been written by the same contributor, Ian Seymour, since 1992.
• AstroFest, the magazine's annual exhibition and conference, is held at Kensington Conference and Events Centre in west London.
• The magazine's 'Light Pollution Corner' was added in 2007 and is written by Bob Mizon of the Campaign for Dark Skies.

Who Pursues the Night Sky

Amateur astronomy is defined less by formal credentials than by passion. Practitioners typically lack a professional degree in astrophysics and do not earn their living through the field, yet many bring considerable experience to their observations. The community spans casual hobbyists who glance at the Moon with binoculars to seasoned observers who collaborate alongside professional astronomers on serious research. For centuries, the line between amateur and professional was blurred; many figures who shaped our understanding of the cosmos worked within an amateur framework. It was only in the early twentieth century that professional astronomy crystallized into a distinct, institutionally supported discipline, creating a clear boundary between the two worlds. Today, most participants view the sky after dark, though a subset dedicates time to daytime solar observation and eclipse watching. The shared thread is a desire to connect with celestial objects—whether through the unaided eye, a pair of binoculars, or a telescope housed in a private or club observatory—driven by curiosity rather than institutional mandate.

From Naked Eye to Radio Waves

The toolkit of the amateur astronomer is remarkably diverse, shaped by individual interests, budgets, and ambition. At one end sits the simplest approach: stepping outside and letting the naked eye or a pair of binoculars frame the night sky, a method that still offers a wide field of view and unmatched portability. Moving up the scale, portable telescopes, club-observatory instruments, and fully automated GOTO mounts with setting circles allow precise targeting of deep-sky objects. Astrophotography has surged in popularity as digital cameras, DSLRs, and purpose-built CCD and CMOS sensors have made capturing the sky far more accessible than earlier generations could imagine. Beyond visible light, a small but dedicated minority ventures into infrared filtering and radio astronomy. Grote Reber, working as an amateur in the late 1930s, built the first dedicated radio telescope to track down the space-originated radio emissions first detected by Karl Jansky. Today, some amateurs construct their own radio dishes, while others gain access to decommissioned research instruments such as the One-Mile Telescope. Telescope making itself has become a recognized sub-hobby, with enthusiasts either crafting optics from scratch or commissioning custom builds.

Contributing to Science and Community

Although most amateur astronomers pursue the hobby for personal fulfillment, the collective output of the community carries genuine scientific weight. Observers routinely monitor variable stars, track double-star systems, record sunspot activity, and log occultations of stars by the Moon or passing asteroids. Perhaps most dramatically, amateurs have discovered transient events that professional surveys missed—comets, galactic novae, and supernovae in distant galaxies. These contributions place hobbyists squarely within the citizen-science movement. Beyond the observing deck, amateur astronomical societies play a vital educational role, advising newcomers on how to locate and interpret celestial targets while promoting the broader science of astronomy to the general public. Sidewalk astronomy—setting up telescopes in parks and public spaces for casual viewing—extends that outreach further. It sparks curiosity in astronomy and science at large, and simultaneously draws attention to the growing problem of light pollution, which washes out the natural darkness that makes faint objects visible. In this way, the hobby serves as both a laboratory and a public forum.

A Practice as Old as Civilization

The roots of amateur sky-watching stretch back to the earliest human civilizations. Babylonian, Chaldean, and ancient Egyptian observers used nothing more than the naked eye and simple tools to track celestial bodies, build calendars, and predict eclipse dates—knowledge that directly informed agricultural planning and atmospheric forecasting. For millennia, the act of watching the sky was a communal, practical endeavor rather than a specialized profession. The modern form of the hobby began to take shape in the mid-nineteenth century, when a class of wealthy Grand Amateurs equipped their estates with increasingly powerful instruments. A true democratization arrived after World War II, as manufacturing advances brought affordable telescopes and optical components within reach of millions, swelling the amateur community to a global scale. The twentieth century also saw the boundary between amateur and professional practice harden into a clearly defined distinction. Yet the spirit of the early sky-watchers—observing with whatever tools are at hand, sharing findings, and marveling at the heavens—remains the heartbeat of the hobby today.