''Cosmos'' (subtitled The Science of Everything) is a science magazine published in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, by the
Royal Institution of Australia that covers science globally. It appears four times a year in print as ''Cosmos Magazine'', and the online edition is updated daily with news as well as long features and
multi-media
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
content, and includes the print magazine content. ''Cosmos Weekly'' is a subscription-based weekly online edition published on Fridays, and a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
was launched in April 2022.
History
The magazine was established in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in November 2004 by the
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
magazine publishing executive Kylie Ahern and science journalist
Wilson da Silva.
with the first issue published in 2005.
In June 2006, the magazine launched a daily Internet news and features service.
The magazine was the originator of ''
Hello from Earth
Active SETI (Active Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) is the attempt to send messages to intelligent extraterrestrial life. Active SETI messages are predominantly sent in the form of radio signals. Physical messages like that of the P ...
'', a web-based initiative to send messages from the public, each just 160 characters in length, to
Gliese 581d
Gliese 581d (often shortened to Gl 581d or GJ 581d) is a proposed extrasolar planet orbiting within the Gliese 581 system, approximately 20.4 light-years away in the Libra constellation. It is the third planet claimed in the system and (assumi ...
, the (then) nearest Earth-like planet outside the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
. Created as a science communication exercise for 2009
National Science Week
Science Week (sometimes National Science Week) refers to series of science-related events for the general public which are held in a specific countries during a designated week of the year. The aim of such science weeks is to engage and inspire pe ...
in Australia, it collected nearly 26,000 messages that were beamed by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) is a satellite communication station, part of the Deep Space Network of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), located at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory. Opened in 1 ...
on 28 August 2009.
In June 2013 the company, then owned by Luna Media, moved to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
following its acquisition in February 2013 by Australia's
Chief Scientist,
Alan Finkel, and his wife
Elizabeth Finkel
Elizabeth "Ella" Finkel AM (née Sher) is a multi-award-winning Australian science journalist, author and communicator. A former biochemist, she has been broadcast on ABC Radio National, and written for publications such as Science, The Lance ...
, a science journalist, who became editor-in-chief. The Finkels were already part-owners, and acquired the remainder from Ahern and Da Silva, who remained on the editorial staff.
On 1 September 2018, custodianship of the magazine was transferred to
Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus), a not-for-profit science media organisation based in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
In April 2021 ''Cosmos Weekly'' was launched, and exactly a year later, a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
on the LiSTNR app, featuring science explainers, was launched.
[
Writers whose work have featured include ]Margaret Wertheim
Margaret Wertheim (born 20 August 1958) is an Australian-born science writer, curator, and artist based in the United States. She is the author of books on the cultural history of physics, and has written about science, including for the ''New Yo ...
, Jared Diamond
Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, ornithologist, and author best known for his popular science books ''The Third Chimpanzee'' (1991); ''Guns, Germs, and Steel'' (1997, awarded a Pulitzer Prize); ...
, Tim Flannery
Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, Conservation biology, conservationist, Exploration, explorer, author, Science communication, science communicator, activist and p ...
, Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...
, Edward O. Wilson
Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of a ...
, Michio Kaku
Michio Kaku (, ; born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, futurist, and popular science, popularizer of science (science communicator). He is a professor of theoretical physics in the City College of New ...
, Susan Greenfield, Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind.
P ...
, Paul Davies
Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...
, Simon Singh
Simon Lehna Singh, (born 19 September 1964) is a British popular science author, theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include ''Fermat's Last Theorem'' (in the United States titled ''Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve th ...
and Oliver Sacks
Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...
.
Description
''Cosmos subtitle[ and byline is "The Science of Everything". The quarterly print magazine, ''Cosmos Magazine'', is a science magazine published in Adelaide by RiAus, covering international developments in science. The online edition is updated daily with news as well as long features and multi-media content, and includes the print magazine content. ''Cosmos Weekly'' is a subscription-based weekly online edition published on Fridays.]
In the 12 months to March 2022, the print readership of ''Cosmos'' had increased 115.1% on the previous year, lifting it to 114,000.
People
Ian Connellan is editor-in-chief of RiAus, while Gail MacCallum is managing editor of ''Cosmos Magazine''.
Recognition and awards
''Cosmos Magazine'' won 48 journalism and industry awards under Da Silva's editorship,[ including Magazine of the Year at the ]Bell Awards for Publishing Excellence
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
in 2009 and 2006, and Editor of the Year in 2006 and 2005.[
It won a ]Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
/World Conservation Union Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting, an Earth Journalism Award and the American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...
Science Writing Award.
References
External links
*{{Official Website, www.cosmosmagazine.com
2004 establishments in Australia
Magazines published in Australia
Science and technology magazines
Quarterly magazines published in Australia
Magazines established in 2004
Magazines published in Sydney
Magazines published in Melbourne
Popular science magazines
Mass media in Adelaide