The Winter 2022 issue (Vol. 51 No. 1) of Mercury magazine is now available for our members!
Featured in this issue:
- After 25 years of development, including 10 years of launch delays, the James Webb Space Telescope is now on station with its mirror open and its operational checks underway. The Christmas launch of the telescope was a long-awaited gift to science, one that will be opened later in 2022 to yield our deepest views into the cosmos. Astronomers are gearing up for a new era of discovery.
- CubeSats evolved from lecture hall tools to crucial scientific instruments. These small satellites have brought both great opportunities for education and outreach, as well as scientific exploration. As of early 2022, NASA has launched over 100 CubeSat missions into space and at least 30 missions are slated for launch this year. Hundreds more CubeSats have launched via other avenues.
- French-born artist and astronomer Étienne Léopold Trouvelot drew stunning views of astronomical phenomena with pastels. See a sampling of the 15-piece collection of his chromolithograph prints released in 1882 by New York’s Charles Scribner’s Sons publishing house.
- We also have our regular columnists reminding us that we all live on the same Pale Blue Dot, recounting the obscure French scientist who studied Saturn and the Moon, describing the importance of servicing missions for a classroom full of students, introducing a new scale model of the solar system, and more. Download your copy of Mercury today to read all the latest space news and opinion!
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Liz Kruesi is the editor of Mercury magazine and Mercury Online. She has shared the stories of astronomy since 2005. Read more articles by Liz.
