Sky & Telescope

Sky & Telescope was founded by Charles A. Federer and his wife Helen Spence Federer. The duo had formed the Sky Publishing Corporation in late 1939 to manage a magazine called The Sky, which focused on content for the amateur astronomy community. Then in mid-1941, they took on the editorial management of another magazine,The Telescope, where articles appeared presenting scientific findings for a popular audience. The first issue of Sky & Telescope — November 1941 — was published from a new office at the Harvard College Observatory.

In 2006, Sky Publishing Corporation was sold to New Track Media, a portfolio company of the private equity firm Boston Ventures. In 2014, New Track's portfolio was sold to F+W Media. Following the mid-2019 bankruptcy of F+W media, the American Astronomical Society acquired Sky & Telescope.

For decades before the rise of the internet, Sky & Telescope played a vital role in joining amateur astronomers across the country, and eventually across the globe. The magazine played an important role in the dissemination of knowledge about telescope making, through the column "Gleanings for ATMs" that ran from 1933 to 1990. In December 1995, the magazine published the Caldwell Catalogue, which was authored by Patrick Moore.

The magazine's main competitor is Astronomy.