Popular Astronomy Magazine

Popular Astronomy is the bi-monthly magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 of the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Society for Popular Astronomy

Society for Popular Astronomy

The Society for Popular Astronomy is a national astronomical society based in the United Kingdom for beginners to amateur astronomy.It was founded in 1953 as the Junior Astronomical Society by experienced amateur astronomers including Patrick Moore, Ernest Noon and Eric Turner to encourage...

, published in January, March, May, July, September and November. Before 2011 it was a quarterly publication. Before 1981 the journal was known as Hermes, and earlier still it was called The Junior Astronomer.

The magazine aims to present the science in plain English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, avoiding unnecessary jargon

Jargon

Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...

. As well as main features covering professional and amateur research, regular articles include.

AstroNews - updates on some of the most interesting current developments in professional astronomy; Amateur Scene - a look around local astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 clubs; Deep Sky Notes - surveying the season's deep celestial sights; Sky Diary - what's happening in the sky

Sky

The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...

 in the coming weeks; Glorious Universe - comparing amateur and professional observations of celestial objects and phenomena; also, readers' letters, plus book and product reviews, society news, competitions and more.

The magazine also includes a section for Young Stargazers - to help younger readers to understand modern astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

.

Editors past and present

Richard Baum (1953 June–1955 October); Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore

Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...

 (1956); Richard Baum (1957 January–July); Gilbert Satterthwaite (1957 October–1961 April); John Lytheer (1961 July–1964 April); George Teideman (1964 July–1967 April); Ian Ridpath

Ian Ridpath

Ian William Ridpath is an English science writer and broadcaster made famous for his investigation and explanation of the Rendlesham Forest Incident of December 1980....

 (1967 July–1974 April); Paul Sutherland (1974 July–1982 July); Enid Lake (1982 October–1985 October); Ian Ridpath

Ian Ridpath

Ian William Ridpath is an English science writer and broadcaster made famous for his investigation and explanation of the Rendlesham Forest Incident of December 1980....

(1986 January–1989 July; editor-in-chief until 1992 October); Tom Hosking (1989 October–2000 July); Peter Grego (2000 October– ).

Changes of name: The Junior Astronomer from 1953 June until 1960 July; Hermes from 1960 October to 1980 October; Popular Astronomy 1981 January to present.