Sky & Telescope or Astronomy?

This will sound like a cop-out but I've never been able to make this decision. I've subscribed to both and haven't regretted it. They each bring great articles, columns, and tips to the table.

I have to agree, Ken.
The cost to receive both is miniscule, compared to the investment most of us have in equipment.
Linton

I used to savor both mags when they came out each month, taking new unread issues on vacation to read in a beach chair. It would take me all week to read them in their entirety. Now I am done both in 20 minutes. I still buy them but they are a shadow of their former selves. I do miss the now defunct mags like CCD Astronomy, Telescope Making, and DeepSky.

After a lapse of about 40 years, I subscribed to S&T a couple years ago, but let it lapse after only a year.

There are still some interesting articles, but not nearly enough each month (some months there were none), and the lurid covers were a turn off for me. I really looked forward to the arrival of each issue back then, and still refer back to those old issues occasionally (they're bound), so it wasn't just being a kid.

As noted, YMMV.

S&T. Both are fine, of course, but if you can only afford/have time for one, S&T, for sure.

mis dos centavos

Both have digital versions. Astronomy you can get through either Kindle or B&N Magazines. But Astronomy does not give a reduced subscription for digital.

S&T uses Zinio. If your computer doesn't handle Zinio or you object to some policies - you can get a PDF download. S&T does charge less for the digital copy.

To clarify, our digital edition is free with the price of the print subscription.

Both have digital versions. Astronomy you can get through either Kindle or B&N Magazines. But Astronomy does not give a reduced subscription for digital.

S&T uses Zinio. If your computer doesn't handle Zinio or you object to some policies - you can get a PDF download. S&T does charge less for the digital copy.

You can get Astronomy through Zinio also, that's how I get it.

Can either of them be read by a person who has a WinXp computer? I have no interest in any of the other readers mentioned.

Thanks;
Steve Coe

I find Sky & Telescope to be on a higher educational plain than Astronomy. They have a more technical/serious attitude. But I like Astronomy because it's seems to be geared to the average amateur astronomer. Sky and Telescope is not nearly as technical as it was 10 years ago when I got out of astronomy. But I just subscribed to both and get a lot out of each magazine.

As has already been pointed out they are a bargain compared to other items, dinner out, cable TV, eyepieces, etc.

Can either of them be read by a person who has a WinXp computer?

Steve,
And I thought that I was the only one I have access to S&T but never used the digital version. Just gave it a try now and it works fine on my XP. Zooms in for the small print(actually for me its all of the print), easy to turn pages. Looks like its all printable which could be handy for some of the observing related articles. I may have to do this more often.

Eric

BTW, I think that I just found a couple of books I would like to check out.

I like both, there isn't much difference between each.

I agree
-have taken S&T for years
-Astronomy on and off
-generally like S&T a little better (maybe just habit)
-got both a year ago and believe Astronomy is catching up to S&T
my suggestion is to get a years subscription to both,
or get both on news stands for a few months,
and then decide which you like better
-some issues S&T is better, some Astronomy
most here view S&T as a little more advanced, Astronomy more for beginners

edj

I don't think one is really better then the other. I enjoy both of them...

I don't think one is really better then the other. I enjoy both of them...

+1

I have subscribed to both over the years and currently only get Astronomy. The "newly remodeled" magazine is better than ever with a great mix of hard science, observing articles and news. I'm 62 and should wear reading glasses, but I don't, and unlike Gene, I have no issues with the font size in the new Astronomy. Both are great magazines and are worthy of your support. YMMV.

Regarding the font size, I realize that many people are fine with the new changes. As I see it, the issue centers on the people who are not. The people who are fine with the smaller text also did not mind the larger text previous to January. The text prior to January and the previous months was not all the large to begin with. In my opinion, the editors could have made the changes they did, but left the size of the text alone. Had the editors done that, I would have remained a subscriber.

Sky & Telescope ... longer pedigree and all issues became available on DVD

If I had to choose, I'd pick S&T, however, the differences are less than they used to be. They both seemed to have moved towards a common ground.
However, S&T has "Deep Sky Wonders" by Sue French as well as Gary Seronik's "Telescope Workshop".

As it is, I don't choose. I get both, as well as SkyNews.

If you are a magazine reader, you probably subscribe to more than one magazine.

Amateur Astronomy is a fun quarterly with articles about stargazing, star parties, and lots of observing-related stuff.

Astronomy and Sky & Telescope are both aimed at the amateur without a lot of science and physics background.

I think Astronomy Now is a little shallower than either Astronomy or S&T.
And Sky News is a little too beginner-oriented.

Astronomy Technology Today will keep you up to date on the hardware of our hobby.

Scientific American usually has at least one good astronomy-related article each month.

Discover has astronomy-related news stories.

Nature occasionally has an astronomy article.

What we lack is an astronomy magazine for the people with science backgrounds that feel comfortable looking at a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and know what a 'horizontal branch' is.
I think ALL the popular astronomy magazines are aimed at beginners, or at least people who have been in the hobby only a few years.
Where is the astronomy magazine for the person with a good working knowledge of astrophysics?

So I used to read Astrophysical Journal, but so many of the long articles are a study of one star cluster or one nebula. And while they can be quite informative, the sheer number of them is mind-boggling, and the magazine is quite expensive.

Then I discovered http://arxiv.org/archive/astro-ph and I was finally able to read whatever I wanted or was interested in. You can keep up with the latest findings (I often read the studies before Space.com reports them).

I find myself wondering, though, what the optimum astronomy magazine would be, and here is what I'd like to see:
--Three to five hardcore astrophysics articles per issue.
--Three to five articles about observing targets beyond the basic 500 beginner objects.
--A few pages devoted to astronomy news
--an article or two on some aspect of astrophotography
--An ATM column/article
--a 'What's in the sky this month' article
--Three to Five equipment reviews, in depth
--An article about star parties, astronomy conventions, upcoming observational events

The above magazine would be expensive, and probably twice or more the thickness of the current S&T, and probably cost $100/year. And I'd trip over myself to subscribe asap. i don't expect I'll ever see it.
But, if it existed, it would have to be an on-line magazine. Print mags are just becoming too expensive to print and mail, alas. We see it every year as magazines disappear or get thinner and thinner. Sigh.

Don! What a great site, thanks for the link!
May a big fat blessing settle on your head.

Excellent post Don!

What we lack is an astronomy magazine for the people with science backgrounds that feel comfortable looking at a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and know what a 'horizontal branch' is.
I think ALL the popular astronomy magazines are aimed at beginners, or at least people who have been in the hobby only a few years.
Where is the astronomy magazine for the person with a good working knowledge of astrophysics?

We had one; but it stopped fitting the above description long ago, in my opinion.

It seems to me that one of the after-effects of the hyperbole surrounding the return of Halley's Comet in 1986 has been a steady downward trend, a "dumbing-down", insofar as a basic knowledge of astrophysics among amateurs is concerned. When the masses (and their money) became interested in amateur astronomy, the studied, scientific and contemplative aspects of it died for the most part, in my opinion.

I had more to say, but...

What we lack is an astronomy magazine for the people with science backgrounds that feel comfortable looking at a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and know what a 'horizontal branch' is.

I think ALL the popular astronomy magazines are aimed at beginners, or at least people who have been in the hobby only a few years.

Where is the astronomy magazine for the person with a good working knowledge of astrophysics?

I've felt this way for a long time. Thanks for confirming that I'm not the only one in that particular boat.

The issue isn't limited to astronomy. I think the average ham radio operator today doesn't know as much about electronics as was typical 25+ years ago. There is no modern equivalent of the wonderful Computer Shopper of the 1990's, which was a great mix of ads for anything imaginable, technical articles, and the fluffier marketing & review stuff and was over an inch thick every month(!)

I suspect it's true in other fields as well.

I find myself wondering, though, what the optimum astronomy magazine would be, and here is what I'd like to see:
--Three to five hardcore astrophysics articles per issue.
--Three to five articles about observing targets beyond the basic 500 beginner objects.
--A few pages devoted to astronomy news
--an article or two on some aspect of astrophotography
--An ATM column/article
--a 'What's in the sky this month' article
--Three to Five equipment reviews, in depth
--An article about star parties, astronomy conventions, upcoming observational events

I'd pay $100 a year for that.

The one other thing I'd suggest adding is at least one detailed scientific article every month summarizing recently-discovered knowledge about the Solar System based on Earth-orbiting and interplanetary spacecraft. Let's not get so hung up on astrophysics that we neglect the part of the universe closest to us!

I subscribe to both. I remember in the eighties when 'Astronomy' had their 'Backyard Astronomer' column. But at the time, I was an astrophotographer-kind-of-guy. Things have changed.

And folks if we aren't happy with either publication, we are free to start our own.

We had one; but it stopped fitting the above description long ago, in my opinion.

That is one of the reasons I enjoy reading the older issues. The science is kind of old but there is still a lot of meat there in many of the articles and it does provide a historical link as to how we got to where we are now. Still fascinating stuff old or not. I have found myself on more than one occasion reading a 25-35 year old book review and then racing to Amazon or some other site to see if it is still available.

Eric

We had one; but it stopped fitting the above description long ago, in my opinion.

It seems to me that one of the after-effects of the hyperbole surrounding the return of Halley's Comet in 1986 has been a steady downward trend, a "dumbing-down", insofar as a basic knowledge of astrophysics among amateurs is concerned. When the masses (and their money) became interested in amateur astronomy, the studied, scientific and contemplative aspects of it died for the most part, in my opinion.

I had more to say, but...

That's the way some old-timers remember the past. The reality is a little different...

I have found myself on more than one occasion reading a 25-35 year old book review and then racing to Amazon or some other site to see if it is still available.

That happens to me a lot. Then, in the 35 year old book's bibliography, I find other, even older books on the subject I'd never heard of before, and then it's back to Amazon...