Which is the best Astronomy Magazine UK

[AstroMuni]

16 hours ago, gorann said:

but now it is Astronomy Now that I find in my mailbox - a clear improvement! A bit more in depth.

I buy the same and I wish their review of equipment could be a bit more objective (as in clearly pointing out the pros & cons). At the moment it looks like its almost like an advert for the particular equipment 😞 I am waiting for the day they become like the Ziff Davis ZD net publications of old.

[ollypenrice]

18 hours ago, DaveS said:

 

So I thought "what's the point?". I don't have a sexy robotic image from an exotic location, just my back garden.

 

I don't know if my village counts as exotic but, if Dave tells me it does, I will pass this on to the Mayor since it has never previously been so described!  I believe Dave may then find himself ennobled, here, as Chevalier d'Honneur d'Etoile St Cyrice.

I'm not sure that my back patch qualifies as a 'garden' either!!

lly

 

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by ollypenrice
typo

[DaveL59]

ah is that the real reason you built that 'interesting' chair Olly? 😉 

[Zeta Reticulan]

I have The Sky at Night beamed to my electronic reading tablet device, if that's relevant. 

[ollypenrice]

3 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

ah is that the real reason you built that 'interesting' chair Olly? 😉 

Yes, as the roofs slowly collapse the chairs need to get lower and lower...

lly

[DaveL59]

7 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Yes, as the roofs slowly collapse the chairs need to get lower and lower...

lly

I'm sure you knew I was referring to the ennobling, kneel sir knight and all that 😉 

[gorann]

6 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

I buy the same and I wish their review of equipment could be a bit more objective (as in clearly pointing out the pros & cons). At the moment it looks like its almost like an advert for the particular equipment 😞 I am waiting for the day they become like the Ziff Davis ZD net publications of old.

I fully agree. Sky at Night is also only giving out four or five stars to everything they "test",  so it is the net, including SGL and CN, that you need to turn to for objective evaluations.

[Zeta Reticulan]

Objective evaluations from Cloudy Nights? That's optimistic!

[Ratlet]

11 minutes ago, gorann said:

I fully agree. Sky at Night is also only giving out four or five stars to everything they "test",  so it is the net, including SGL and CN, that you need to turn to for objective evaluations.

Forums are great for finding out information.  Just be aware that if you are struggling to get an answer on the forum the best tactic is not to ask a question but to make a post with an answer that you know is wrong, because if there is one thing people can't let alone is some being wrong on the internet.

This fact is known as Godwin's Law.

[PaulM]

astronomy now

[gorann]

20 minutes ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

Objective evaluations from Cloudy Nights? That's optimistic!

 

16 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Forums are great for finding out information.  Just be aware that if you are struggling to get an answer on the forum the best tactic is not to ask a question but to make a post with an answer that you know is wrong, because if there is one thing people can't let alone is some being wrong on the internet.

This fact is known as Godwin's Law.

As always on the net you need to filter what you read and find out who to trust - takes some experience. I know that CN is not like SGL😉

[Astro_Dad]

7 hours ago, gorann said:

As I said I got the August image of the month in AN and it is from my backyard in Sweden😉.

Just had a look - Iris nebula with 13 h worth of data. Nicely done👍 - I’d be pleased just to have an image published let alone image of the month!

[Astro_Dad]

I have both delivered - one is an ongoing gift subscription. AN clearly more in depth but both offer a lot. More targets and projects than I can possibly do in a given month of course! Still prefer physical print copies of magazines vs reading on a screen. 

[gorann]

11 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

Just had a look - Iris nebula with 13 h worth of data. Nicely done👍 - I’d be pleased just to have an image published let alone image of the month!

Thanks! I just wish they had not put the dark square with the text over the Iris. I was quite disappointed but I guess that was the doing of some layout person at the publisher. This is what my image of the month really looks like (sorry for hijacking the thread for posting my images🥴)

Cheers, Göran

Edited August 23, 2022 by gorann

[Zermelo]

32 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

if there is one thing people can't let alone is some being wrong on the internet

https://xkcd.com/386/

 

[gorann]

40 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

I have both delivered - one is an ongoing gift subscription. AN clearly more in depth but both offer a lot. More targets and projects than I can possibly do in a given month of course! Still prefer physical print copies of magazines vs reading on a screen. 

Physical print copies are nice to have and read but when it comes to images they (un)fortunately look much better on my computer screen

[Astro_Dad]

6 minutes ago, gorann said:

Physical print copies are nice to have and read but when it comes to images they (un)fortunately look much better on my computer screen

I was just thinking there how much better your image looks on my phone screen compared to my print copy of the magazine. I’m fact the print version barely does justice. 

[tomato]

10 hours ago, gorann said:

Thanks! I just wish they had not put the dark square with the text over the Iris. I was quite disappointed but I guess that was the doing of some layout person at the publisher. This is what my image of the month really looks like (sorry for hijacking the thread for posting my images🥴)

Cheers, Göran

Yes, I also disliked the overlaying of text onto your image, especially as it made reference to an object in the image it was obscuring. 
I also note they reserve the right to use any images they don’t publish in future editions, a smart way of building up a free image library. Still, it does mean your image could still get printed.

[Tomatobro]

I used to have S@N and AN via subscription but now only have AN. Its just the better of the two magazines if you can only run to one.

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, tomato said:

Yes, I also disliked the overlaying of text onto your image, especially as it made reference to an object in the image it was obscuring. 
I also note they reserve the right to use any images they don’t publish in future editions, a smart way of building up a free image library. Still, it does mean your image could still get printed.

I've read that if you want to be serious about stock photography, you need to shoot in a square format to allow for rectangular crops in either direction and to leave plenty of blank space around the edges and especially at the top for titles and text.

As you say about the terms, that's the main reason I've never entered any of my non-astro photos in contests.  I like to retain full control of them.

[col]

I went through every magazine I could find over time and ended up with Sky at Night and Astronomy Now.

They both give me what I want in a different way. I particularly like the sky that month in both.

[Carl Au]

On 23/08/2022 at 14:26, gorann said:

It is not impossible. As I said I got the August image of the month in AN and it is from my backyard in Sweden😉.

Utmarkt, bra for dig

[ollypenrice]

On 23/08/2022 at 22:38, gorann said:

Thanks! I just wish they had not put the dark square with the text over the Iris. I was quite disappointed but I guess that was the doing of some layout person at the publisher. This is what my image of the month really looks like (sorry for hijacking the thread for posting my images🥴)

Cheers, Göran

For a long time the French magazine Astronomie presented its top selection of two or three images on full pages. You got the picture in a black frame bearing the object's name and the imager's and nothing else whatever. I thought this was excellent but, sadly, they went the way of the others. (Meaning graphic designers with ADHD scribble over everything!!! ) Like you, I was baffled to see the Iris itself, in your excellent image, glimmering faintly from beneath a text box.

By the way, are you going to head west and haul in the Ghost at some time?

Olly

Edited August 25, 2022 by ollypenrice

[Matt S]

On 11/08/2022 at 15:29, westmarch said:

You do know that most UK libraries have these for free on their ebook app. Ours is called Libby. Use it before it gets cut.

Wow - thanks for the tip. I subscribe to S@N currently and although the app has some good points and the fact I can read it in the apple news app is nice, I just really don’t like how it ends up treating the content. 

The Libby app has the PDF/magazine format - so that’s great for me. Much prefer to read it like that despite the need to pinch/zoom etc. 

My vote is for Sky at Night:

- I think we should support it/the show

- it’s casual but interesting - I don’t have much time to read so a lighter take on topics is good for me

- I like the monthly guides and tours

[Tim]

On 23/08/2022 at 20:55, gorann said:

I fully agree. Sky at Night is also only giving out four or five stars to everything they "test",  so it is the net, including SGL and CN, that you need to turn to for objective evaluations.

Items reviewed by S@N magazine are loaned to the reviewers for a short term by the suppliers that advertise within the magazine. They are "First Light" reviews, an not intended as an in depth critique such as a purchaser of the item might be able to provide after an extended period of use.

In the same way that you are unlikely to send out just any selection of your photos for scrutiny willy-nilly, the suppliers are hardly likely to loan out equipment they think will get a roasting in the magazines. So the very fact that a supplier submits a certain telescope, mount, or other equipment for magazine review in the first place should give you confidence that the supplier is sufficiently impressed by that product to lay it out for review, and so you might rightly expect only 4 or 5 stars items to make it into the magazine.  That said, if there is an issue with the item, we will, and do point it out, and often our observations lead to subsequent editions of the item being improved.

For the sake of consistency and clarity the stars awarded by S@N reviewers are governed by a set of guidelines, and should only be taken as a basic indicator of how the item performed on its first light. In addition, the articles are limited to a set number of words for printing purposes, so we have to be quite specific and sparing with the text, but everything you need to know, from a first light test POV, will be there.

Hope that helps