Which Astronomy Mag do you read?

Dampsquid

Which Astronomy Mag do you read?

Sev

Its 'Sky and Telescope', and its an american magazine, like 'Astronomy'. Astronomy and Space is the Irish mag.

I'm subscribed to Astronomy and Space, but I think Sky and Telescope is excellent, and I'll pick it up whenever I see it.

Redshift

Dampsquid, I made some corrections to your poll so the titles are correct:) Thanks for posting.

Red

albertw

Bit of a plug here, but there is also Arcturus from the IFAS, its only been going for the last few months, its now on issue 3, but its free!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irishfas/files/
arc_may_03.pdf

Cheers,
~Al

halenger

It's hard to compare a lot of these magazines to be quite honest. Astronomy/Astronomy Now and Sky and Telescope are the big corporate ones with paid writers and staff etc. Then there are the Club ones i.e. Astonromy & Space and Arcturus.

They all deserve praise but mostly the Club ones in my opinion. They show what really can be done.

I mainly read Astronomy & Space but I've read some articles in Sky and Telescope. It's rather good though it does have quite a lot of advertising but hey that's how people make money, ain't it? :-)

Saruman

Astronomy and Space here myself.

jArgHA

Astronomy & Space and Sky & Telescope are both excellent publications. S&T undoubtedly has better content but with the financial backing behind it this is not surpirising.

Whereas A&S does not have as many full page advertisements, the one thing which really bugs me about this magazine is the dozens of subtle sales tactics in each issue, eg. "with Mars on it's closest approach to Earth this year in 60,000 years now is the perfect time to buy one of our scopes..." etc..

I understand that AI is a society constantly in need of funds but I believe these sales tactics (in the middle of feature articles) detract from the overall quality of the magaizne.

jAH

albertw

Originally posted by jArgHA
S&T undoubtedly has better content but with the financial backing behind it this is not surpirising.

Whereas A&S does not have as many full page advertisements, the one thing which really bugs me about this magazine is the dozens of subtle sales tactics in each issue

I understand that AI is a society constantly in need of funds but I believe these sales tactics (in the middle of feature articles) detract from the overall quality of the magaizne.

jAH

Hang on a sec.... A&S is full of not very subtle advertisements for their shop. :-)
At least S&T have ads from multiple shops so you can compare prices etc.

And as for AI being in constant need of funding? As a member I look forward to an AGM where whe society members will see the societys accounts. (The rest of my comments are in breach of the fourm charter as they involve questioning the internal working of the company/society :-) )

Cheers,
~Al

halenger

Originally posted by albertw

And as for AI being in constant need of funding? As a member I look forward to an AGM where whe society members will see the societys accounts. (The rest of my comments are in breach of the fourm charter as they involve questioning the internal working of the company/society :-) )

Well I don't think we'll get into this again but the society is constantly changing and improving etc.

If it's any good to you though I can tell you that funds are most certainly always needed. This from a person who has seen the accounts. You could always ask them. I honestly have no idea what the response will be but I don't see any harm in asking.

Redshift

Please drop all discussion regarding the operation of any organizations internal workings sales tactics or whatever. We are here to talk about astronomy and space so please confine posts to that subject. Remember this forum has a zero tollerance policy and I would like to keep our total of zero bans intact.

Redshift

albertw

Originally posted by halenger
Well I don't think we'll get into this again but the society is constantly changing and improving etc.

If it's any good to you though I can tell you that funds are most certainly always needed. This from a person who has seen the accounts. You could always ask them. I honestly have no idea what the response will be but I don't see any harm in asking.

Ive asked before. However I'll fire off another mail and post the response.

However I shouldnt have to. Any other society or club that ive been a member of has been very open about the committee and finances (to the point of having to sit through treasurers reports at an AGM whether you want to or not in some cases!). The whole issue could be settled and laid to rest by AI/A&S Ltd. if they wanted.

Cheers,
~Al

kiki

The Irish one, astromony and space

kiki

Agar

Last year I spent about three months buying each issue of the main Astronomy magazines so I could compare them and decide which to subscribe to. I compared them under a couple of headings, not in any scientific sense, but just according to which gave me most pleasure and value for money.
Astronomy (US) This is the one I liked least, for purely personal reasons. I just didn't like the layout. I have about ten issues, and they are the ones I least return to. Overall it was fairly poor value for money. I'd still pick up a copy if I was going on a train and I had nothing else.
Astronomy & Space (Irl) I have thirteen issues of this magazine and this number will never ever change.
Astronomy Now (UK) This is a nice laid back and fun to read magazine. It's well laid out, accessible and has some unique parts, notably the Focus section which donates three to four articles along a theme. I have a subscription to this magazine.
Sky & Telescope (US) The king of astronomy magazines. If you can't find something interesting in this either as news or as an observing challenge, then you're an astrologer. It's fairly accessible, extremely well laid out, and quite international for a US magazine. I have a three year subscription to this magazine, and if I could take out a life subscription, I would.

A lot of people comment on advertising. C'mon, you don't pick up the RTE guide rather then the TV times 'cos of the ads! These advertisements are a way of keeping up with technological trends, of comparing prices and of fueling daydreams. It's the not-so-subtle advertising as editorial that's annoying. S&T can do it, noticeably in their attempts to flog the Caldwell list, but no one beats ...