Astronomy 2025

[astronut]

As some of you may know, Astronomy 2025 will be the last edition.
After 35 years of producing a great product, the boys at QUASAR have pulled the plug.
Considering how much our world has changed I can certainly see why this decision had to be made.
Thank you, the Astronomy ephemeris will be missed.:(:(

[Pierre_C]

Thanks Ken, Glenn, Peter and team for such an excellent resource over so many years.

[Saturnine]

I'm another that will really miss this fine publication, having every edition since 1997, an invaluable resource for shadow transits of Jupiter and the Red Spot as well, all laid out in an easy to follow format. There are the monthly sections and so much more between the covers.
Thank you to Peter, Glen and Ken for your efforts in providing "us" with this valuable resource over the years, enjoy your well deserved break.

[Leo.G]

Pardon my ignorance but is this the publication I purchasey every year when I renew my ASNSW membership which gets mailed to me?


If so this is indeed very sad news, I've passed along older issues to people with children developing an interest in astronomy(and adult friends with an interest) to give them a decent start with information and what they could expect to see.


I'm with Jeff on this, thank you to everyone involved in bringing this fine publication to the people!



Everyone tells me my magazines are no longer being printed and go online like everyone else but I like my magazines. Many went from being monthly publications to bi-monthly to whenever. I do understand the lack of sales affects this but it's still upsetting.

[EpickCrom]

Oh man this is sad news:(

I've bought every edition yearly since 2020 when I started observing, the authors did alude to this possibility in the 2024 edition.. A big thank you to Ken Wallace, Glenn Dawes and Peter Northfield for publishing the magazine since 1990 and for providing us Aussie Amateur Astronomers with such a valuable resource. I'll be buying the final edition this week:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

Yes end of an ERA, there seems to be a lot of that lately. I too will miss these fantastic publications. I will definitely keep this last copy

[Hans Tucker]

IIS potentially shutting down ... decision pending
Astronomy 2025 the final publishing

Bad news comes in threes ...

[Matthieu]

Don't forget Orion/Meade going under!

[OzEclipse]

With the explosion of apps, I can fully understand why they are putting it to bed. Especially if they need to sell a minimum number to at least break even.

If you really want an ephemeris publication like that, it’s a simple matter to put your own together using online resources for your own location. For the past 7 years I have done one for myself, a few friends and past students in my nightscape workshops . Calculations are based on Canberra’s latitude and longitude, not multiple cities and I only cover topics I think are relevant to the limited audience. See attached table of contents.

I did my 2025 handbook last Saturday morning , it took about 3 hrs to calculate and do the layout. I was finished by lunchtime. I distribute mine in pdf format only which individual users can print and or bind at office works or similar.

Joe


Joe

.

[strongmanmike]

You're a clever dude :)

Mike

[Leo.G]

So we send you a postcode and a cheque for how much Joe?
Before you jump in with a "do it yourself you lazy sod" I'm being facetious.
I Agree with Mike, very clever indeed and anyone who's seen your stunning photography already knows that.

[Startrek]

Started my astronomy journey in 2016 , first book I bought was 2016 issue of Astronomy 2016 and have every issue since.
It is a shame about the news but the books format ( not content ) tended to be a bit repetitive. I guess they published it on a shoestring budget.
I usually get one for Xmas from one of my grandkids. So 2025 will be the last
Thanks to the whole team for years of dedication to Amateur Astronomy.
Martin

[OzEclipse]

Thanks for the kind words Mike and Leo! I wrote my first rise and set program for my Texas Instruments 58c programmable calculator in 1979 when I was a teenager still at high school. So while I, "can do the math," I too am a lazy sod and so I use the National Mapping Centre's Sunrise and Moonrise software suites. They produce a nicely formatted annual table of rise and set times. It's also linked to NATMAP's GIS system so you can type in any location, you don't have to enter the LAT/LONG. I use some software from John Walker's Fourmilab and I used to use some USNO software but that went offline for a long time and I found alternatives and never went back.

The only PITA is that using the NATMAP software you can only calculate each table for a fixed time zone so I have to do two calculations, one for daylight savings and one for standard time then edit them together for the appropriate switchover dates-the single most time-consuming part of the project.

I don't want to print & post the book, it's pdf only and anyone is welcome to have a copy for free. You can get Officeworks to print and bind a copy if you want a hardcopy. I mostly use mine in PDF format. I do print out the moonrise/set, twilight times and I always have a Milky Way rise set graph on the wall.

I used to make it freely available but when I saw that only 25 copies per year were being downloaded, I downsized the publication removing some diagrams and tables that used to take a lot of time to draft and I'm less concerned with making the formatting pretty, just readable.

Two weeks ago, I completed the 2025 version in just 3 hrs + 2hrs proofing and correcting :shrug: and it was my intention to only distribute it via a private Facebook group I run for former participants of my Nightscape Photography workshops. But I'm happy to also put it on a publicly accessed page on my website.

It's calculated for Canberra's latitude and longitude. Rise & set times vary with both longitude and latitude depending upon the declination of the object.

Rise & set times for my location in the central west near Young vary from 0 to 7 mins later than the tabulated times. Bathurst might be even less than that being almost the same longitude as Canberra.

Rise & set times for Sydney will vary from 0 - 14 mins earlier than tabulated.

I would think that that's probably accurate enough for most people even in Sydney and up the Central coast. If you want to photograph the Moon or Sun on the horizon, use an app for a precise rise or set time. For the most part, to plan an observing night, you only want to know roughly when the Moon rises or sets.

ASTRONOMY 2025 has already been produced and printed and I don't want to undercut them. So, I'll make mine available publicly and free from 2026 onwards for as long as i continue to produce them. If you want accurate times, the references to the online calculators are listed on each page. So you can calculate your own (you lazy sod) :rofl:

Jovian satellite event times can be copied from here:
https://www.projectpluto.com/jeve25.htm

cheers

Joe

[alan meehan]

Thankyou guys for your great publication its been invaluable over the years enjoy your retirement and clear skies

[Huey]

Thanks to all involved. You've done a wonderful job over the years. I have every copy since 2003 and used it for most of my observations. Your contribution will be sorely missed. However, you richly deserve retirement, enjoy.
Thanks for the great job, the countless hours you spent and your contribution to amateur astronomy. Thanks you all and all the best for the future.


Huey