14

Galaxies Outside the Atlas, Trevor Quirk
There are uncounted billions of galaxies in the universe. As Indiana University astronomer John Salzer well knows, not all of them are easy to classify, and a few even appear to be relics from a bygone age.

19

Kepler and Galileo: Messengers From the Stars, Erik Stengler
Thanks to his telescopic observations of the sky in 1609, Galileo gets all the glory. But at the same time, Johannes Kepler made a fundamental contribution to astronomy.

24

A Messenger to Mercury, Paul Deans
On March 18, a spacecraft named MESSENGER will attempt to swing into orbit around Mercury. Planetary scientists can hardly wait.

27

Astronomy in the News
ESA makes the Sun available to all, red dwarf stars are plentiful (and pack a punch), and a standard cosmological candle isn’t so standard after all -- these are some of the discoveries that recently made news in the astronomical community.

Departments

4

Editorial, Paul Deans
'Twas Brillig

5

First Word, James G. Manning
Living with Extremes

6

Echoes of the Past, Katherine Bracher
80 Years Ago: The Mass of Pluto

7

Annals of Astronomy, Clifford J. Cunningham
The Toledo Letter

8

Astronomer's Notebook, Jennifer Birriel
Teaching Astrobiology Without a Textbook

10

Planetary Perspectives, Daniel D. Durda
The End of an Era

11

Education Matters, David Bruning
Creating the New Age of Education

12

Reaching Out, Bethany Cobb
Risk and Reward

32

Society Scope/ASP Supporters
Thank You to our Supporters

36

Sky Sights, Paul Deans
Saturn Comes into View

39

Reflections, Robert Gendler
Celestial Furnace