Sky @Night Magazine subscriptiions to finish...

[bonzodog]

Sky @Night Magazine can forget any future subscriptions.. pointed out to me quite a while back the lack of .. this month "NO UK IMAGES" in the readers Gallery ~ we're not good enough for a UK "BBC" magazine ... they'll take yer money though ~ no more they won't.

[-philip-]

1 hour ago, bonzodog said:

Sky @Night Magazine can forget any future subscriptions.. pointed out to me quite a while back the lack of .. this month "NO UK IMAGES" in the readers Gallery 

So? 

[bottletopburly]

No there was star trails picture by a chap that bought my telescope 

[x6gas]

3 minutes ago, bottletopburly said:

No there was star trails picture by a chap that bought my telescope 

Incorrect.  There are no UK images in the September issue gallery.

The images are from: UAE (picture of the month); Ireland; USA; Australia; Chile (remote observatory, unclear where the three people with the image credit are from); France; USA; USA; USA.

I haven't submitted an image to S@N for years so I can't really complain but it does seem somewhat surprising that there wasn't a single UK image submitted that was deemed suitable for publication for a magazine that is published in the UK under the BBC brand.

47 minutes ago, -philip- said:

So? 

Well for me, I like to see images that are taken under similar circumstances to my own - objects that are visible from my location, with similar weather limitations etc.  Of course conditions vary greatly across the UK, but not as much as the difference between the home counties and Texas.

Each to their own, but the OP has every right to spend his money how he sees fit.

[-philip-]

1 hour ago, x6gas said:

Incorrect.  There are no UK images in the September issue gallery.

 

Each to their own, but the OP has every right to spend his money how he sees fit.

Of course he does, we all do. However throwing your toys out of your pram because 1 edition doesn't have photo's which are from the UK is ludicrous. 

[x6gas]

6 minutes ago, -philip- said:

Of course he does, we all do. However throwing your toys out of your pram because 1 edition doesn't have photo's which are from the UK is ludicrous. 

Well that would be your opinion of how he chooses to spend his money... but that's not even what he is saying.  If you read his post he is bemoaning a general lack of UK images "...quite a while back the lack of..." and that this month there are no images at all.

I'm confused as to why the OP's decision is so contentious for you but I am sure they are able to defend themselves so I am out of this thread.

[Skipper Billy]

I fail to see why the lack of UK images is an issue.

My outfit goes into hibernation in April and out again in late August as there is no astro darkness between these times and I am sure I am not on my own. So there is going to be a serious lack of images from the UK in these months.

The mag has to fill its pages and they can only print what people send in! Maybe the OP should send his/her images to the mag for publication.

Personally I enjoy seeing things I can image from my location but each to their own. I can see the day when paper magazines dont exist any more and that will be a sad day. 😞 

[Jiggy 67]

I’m not particularly bothered by the lack of UK images, though I did notice it when I read the mag, but I would be interested to know the readership figures in the US for a UK magazine. Maybe there is a bigger readership in the US??

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

My subscription plan is many times cheaper than my yearly bog roll spend so S@N mag's a bargain. In fact it's my go-to toilet read!

The mag is sold internationally, they can only print the best pics they receive and it's been a mostly cloud soaked summer in the UK...

Edited August 21, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[mikeDnight]

I might be that relatively few UK astronomers rate S@N magazine highly enough to bother. I know a small group locally who rarely ever look at it. 

[johninderby]

When you look at the sales of the magazine it shows most readers are in the UK and Ireland  so perhaps they should be reflecting their readership base more. I agree with the point made earlier that there is interest in seeing what UK and Ireland based people can achieve as well as the “best” from others with better observing conditions.

Edited August 21, 2020 by johninderby

[Craney]

.... and you could argue the same about images taken with entry level equipment and those with the hyper-scopes....

[HutchStar]

51 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I might be that relatively few UK astronomers rate S@N magazine highly enough to bother. I know a small group locally who rarely ever look at it. 

I bought Sky at Night for the first time this month. Enjoyed it but didn't think it was worth the £5 it cost.

Any recommendations for astronomy magazines?

[Macavity]

Well, since I cannot get into town to WHS these days, I am thinking
of taking out a SUB to "Atronomy Now"... The Mag I *would* buy! 🥳

But then I generally view ALL such things as..."for entertainment"? 😛
(Apparently these things are rather controversial?)

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Macavity

[paulastro]

3 minutes ago, HutchStar said:

I bought Sky at Night for the first time this month. Enjoyed it but didn't think it was worth the £5 it cost.

Any recommendations for astronomy magazines?

I agree with this. Some good issues, and some issues with one or two things of interest.  Not worth over £5.00 to me.  This is why I took out a sub a month or two ago and now get it delivered for around £3.50 or so per issue !!!

Now come on you chaps, less than the price of a pint or a coffee per issue in most places.  And, a yearly sub at a price many people are happy to spend on a meal out or to watch a football match etc etc .........

If astronomy is one of your main interests it doesn't seem a lot to me. And of course you dont have to read the bits you aren't interested in.

If the bits you might read aren't worth the price to you, you're not compelled to buy it. You can always go out for a meal or a pint or two instead.

Cheers.

 

 

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, HutchStar said:

I bought Sky at Night for the first time this month. Enjoyed it but didn't think it was worth the £5 it cost.

Any recommendations for astronomy magazines?

My personal favourite is Sky & Telescope, but even that is only a shadow of its former self. Astronomy Now is generally ok. They are all over priced as far as I'm concerned, or it could be that I'm just too tight to part with a fiver.

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

My personal favourite is Sky & Telescope, but even that is only a shadow of its former self. Astronomy Now is generally ok. They are all over priced as far as I'm concerned, or it could be that I'm just too tight to part with a fiver.

I subscribed to S&T from the mid 80's until a few years ago as it had become so poor and dumbed down. Last December I took out a digital sub and was pleased to find that it has improved (even though I find some editions more interesting than others). I don't know if the improvement is associated with it being taken over by new owners, the American Astronomical Society

[DaveS]

AN is generally pretty good (The current issue thumped through my letterbox today), Though I have become increasingly fed up with their "Monthly Guides". Time was, at least the "Object of the month" had a "How to image it" section, and most other worthwhile objects too, now it's merely "How to observe it". As someone who is 99+% imaging I'm feeling left out.

I stopped buying their yearbook for the same reason.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

1 hour ago, HutchStar said:

I bought Sky at Night for the first time this month. Enjoyed it but didn't think it was worth the £5 it cost.

Any recommendations for astronomy magazines?

Look for cheap subscription offers. iirc mine's £16 p.a. 😁

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

1 hour ago, Macavity said:

Well, since I cannot get into town to WHS these days, I am thinking
of taking out a SUB to "Atronomy Now"... The Mag I *would* buy! 🥳

But then I generally view ALL such things as..."for entertainment"? 😛
(Apparently these things are rather controversial?)

 

Well imho you're not far off mate. These mags aren't exactly high brow, but if picked up through a cheap subscription, worth a read, especially on the loo.

[ollypenrice]

On 21/08/2020 at 16:51, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Well imho you're not far off mate. These mags aren't exactly high brow, but if picked up through a cheap subscription, worth a read, especially on the loo.

Vegetables? 

🤣lly

[bish]

I used to buy pretty all of the astro mags I could get from W H Smith. Now I listen to a few podcasts and rarely buy mags, especially as all the W H Smiths near me have closed. I did take up the offer of 6 S&N for £10 though. 

[Tenor Viol]

Physical print publishing is very expensive, even in the digital age. Circulations are modest, so copy prices are inevitably higher. Most magazines for most niche hobbies are a similar price. I still prefer physical copy to e-copy. 

The 'bookzines' (I think that's what they're called) are stupidly expensive at around £15. I mistakenly bought one that is a 'guide to Adobe Photoshop'. I don't know who proof-read it but it was stuffed full of errors like referring to editing a picture of say a castle but the image was of a cat - it was full of issues like that. I rather suspect they've created several books which are similar and done a very bad job of cut-and-paste. 

As for teh nature of images in a mag. I suspect a couple of things:  who's sending stuff in, and British summer is not a good time for imaging.

[gilesco]

Last year I took out subscriptions to S@N, S&T, AN magazines, and I also bought some other single issues of just about anything Astronomy I could find.

The only one I am considering renewing is Astronomy Now. Going through past issues I have found it singularly the most interesting read of all them, it seems I just probably meet their target audience. S&T seems to be thinner than it used to be, and not so useful. S@N also seems thinner, and I just don't enjoy the content all that much.

[skyhog]

I had a subscription to S&T back in the early 70s, My father got me them as a Christmas present back then and I continued with it up until the mid eighties. I used to love that magazine, still in a box in the loft above my garage. I often go up there for something and end up reading one...very nostalgic. I also had subscriptions to guitar magazines, one of my other passions in life. BUT...along comes the internet. Sadly anything that I could get from a printed copy was available online. I'm an avid reader but when it comes to my hobbies, there really is no need to spend money on magazines anymore. I hope they survive but I cannot foresee a future with them.  I did like AN as has been mentioned, had one or two of those, handy to buy in airports where they sometimes sold.