Pulp Magazine Cover, February 1959

This magazine contains articles about recent astronomical observations and discoveries. "Venus Brightens" by James Stokley surveys February 1959 evening and night skies, describing the visibility and positions of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn relative to constellations including Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini, Orion, Leo, and others. The piece also reports on lunar observations, particularly a striking discovery by Russian astronomer Dr. N.A. Kozyrev of the Crimean Observatory. Using a 50-inch reflecting telescope on November 4, 1958, Kozyrev observed the lunar crater Alphonsus and detected what appeared to be an active volcano. While monitoring the crater's central peak for fifty minutes during spectroscopic exposure, Kozyrev noticed it become obscured by a reddish cloud. The resulting spectrogram differed markedly from normal lunar spectra, suggesting volcanic activity rather than mere reflected sunlight.