A field journal,
written from below.
Most astronomy writing assumes a telescope, a clear horizon, and a degree in physics. We assume a balcony, a folding chair, and an evening with nothing better to do — and we work outward from there.
Write with us.
We accept short pitches from observers at any level — a 200-word note on a memorable evening is just as welcome as a 4,000-word piece on stellar nucleosynthesis. Send what you have.
Pitch an entrySlow astronomy.
Careful writing.
We publish one long-form entry per lunar cycle. Each piece is researched against primary sources — observatory archives, peer-reviewed papers, JPL ephemerides — and then translated into something a reader can carry into the dark with them.
There are no breaking-news takes here. The sky has been moving for 13.8 billion years; another week will not hurt it. We would rather get the constellations right than get them first.
When we use a photograph, it is credited. When we are unsure, we say so. When we are wrong, we correct in place and note the date.
The people behind the page.
Dr. Aroha Marsh
Astrophysicist, Cerro Tololo. Writes the monthly long-form entries on planetary atmospheres.
Lev Olafsson
Captures the journal’s covers from a converted shed in Reykjavík. Specialty: faint nebulae.
Mei Tanaka
Maintains the rise/set tables. Believes a good chart can replace a thousand words.
Theo Okafor
Files dispatches from Mauna Kea and the SAAO. Most likely to mention coffee.
Sara Linde
Runs the Field Updates newsletter. Insists that astronomy is for everyone with sky overhead.
Yusuf Akram
Translates the very big things — dark matter, expansion, deep time — into things a reader can hold.