12

Chandrasekhar: the Most Distinguished Astrophysicist of his Time, Richard E. White
Chandra's career, highlighted by the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics, spanned decades and continents.

18

Chandra: The Man Behind the Science, Nalini Easwar
To the members of the family he evoked the feeling of a forbidding figure, but his gentle and approachable nature came through in every personal interaction.

22

Extrasolar Planets: The Ongoing Saga, Paul Deans
Here is an assemblage of press releases and Web items spotlighting exoplanets, as astronomers draw closer to finding the Holy Grail of extrasolar worlds — an Earth-like planet in a star’s habitable zone.

27

Astronomy in the News
Ripples in the rings of Jupiter, Voyager 1 nears the limit of the Sun’s solar wind, and a giant ring of black holes — these are some of the discoveries that recently made news in the astronomical community.

Departments

4

Editorial, Paul Deans
Do You Explore?

5

First Word, James G. Manning
Bueller Speaks

6

Annals of Astronomy, Clifford J. Cunningham
Dual Birthdays: Wright and Pingré at 300

7

Astronomer's Notebook, Jennifer Birriel
Refining the Extragalactic Distance Scale

8

Planetary Perspectives, Daniel D. Durda
Swapping Comets with Our Stellar Siblings

9

Armchair Astrophysics, Christopher Wanjek
Crunchy Neutron Stars with a Liquid Core

10

Education Matters, David Bruning
Creating the New Age of Education, Pt. II

11

Reaching Out, James Lochner
The Year of the What?

32

Society Scope/ASP Supporters
Meet Us in Baltimore

34

Sky Sights, Paul Deans
Eclipses Galore

39

Reflections, Thierry Legault
The Sun, an Eclipse, and the ISS