Astronomy November 2015

The Pluto system explored!
by S. Alan Stern
When a NASA spacecraft flew past this distant planet July 14, it forever changed our view of the previously mysterious system.

Year of Pluto
Follow along as New Horizons reveals Pluto’s long-held secrets and relive the history that led us to the solar system frontier.

Relativity turns 100
by James Trefil
Albert Einstein's theory of gravitation forever changed the way astronomers see the universe.

Web Extra: Year of miracles: How did Einstein do it?
by Eric Betz
In this story from the Astronomy magazine vault, science writer Richard Panek shows how relativity wasn’t simply a "Eureka!" moment. Einstein knew he stood on the shoulders of giants.

Hubble Deep Field: The picture worth a trillion stars
by C. Renée James
Twenty years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope spent 140 hours looking deeper than ever before into the universe’s past, and the resulting image changed astronomy in an instant.

Web Extra: The growing Deep Field family
by Korey Haynes
Every iteration of the Hubble Deep Field has looked farther or probed deeper into the earliest reaches of the universe since the original image was unveiled in 1996.

Big Island astronomy
by Katherine Kornei
Snorkeling, sunbathing, and stargazing: Hawaii might just be the perfect vacation.

Behind the scenes of "The Martian"
by Eric Betz
Self-proclaimed science geek Andy Weir never thought The Martian would be published. Now the New York Times bestseller is about to put NASA’s Red Planet plans in the limelight.

History and future meet at Lowell Observatory
by David J. Eicher
Amid a refurbishment of Percival Lowell’s great refractor, this history-laden facility looks to a new age.

Web Extra: More images from Lowell Observatory
by Michael E. Bakich
Here are 10 pictures that will give you an even more in-depth look at what's happening at this grand facility.