David J. Eicher - Professional Career

Professional Career

Eicher began his career at AstroMedia Corp., the magazine’s publisher, in September 1982 and immediately became a specialist writing and editing stories about the hobby of astronomy, observing the sky, photographing objects in it, and how to use telescopes. He was assistant editor of Astronomy and editor of Deep Sky, and was actively mentored by Berry and by then-Associate Editor Robert Burnham. Eicher wrote many stories about observing deep-sky objects, comets, and other sky targets, and was the publication’s photo editor. Deep Sky started fast and quickly became influential in spreading the word about the ease of observing many previously little-known sky objects, growing to a circulation of 15,000 over the coming few years. The 1980s were an active time for amateur astronomy with the new space shuttle program and the approach of the celebrated Halley’s Comet, which would be visible in backyard telescopes in 1985 and 1986. Eicher became the point man on observing Halley’s Comet and wrote many stories about it during the middle of the decade.

In 1985 Kalmbach Publishing Co., the Milwaukee publisher of Model Railroader, Trains, and other titles, bought AstroMedia Corp. and the Astronomy staff moved across town. Eicher’s role in the magazine deepened as he worked on many science stories as well as observing pieces and by decade’s end, the company moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, 16 miles west of Milwaukee, and by that time Eicher was promoted to associate editor. He also published his first books, The Universe from Your Backyard (a compilation of deep-sky observing stories first published in Astronomy), and Deep-Sky Observing with Small Telescopes, an anthology about clusters, nebulae, and galaxies written by a variety of contributors. Both were received with acclaim in the amateur astronomy community.

In 1992 Editor Richard Berry left Astronomy magazine and his quarterly Telescope Making, which had been published alongside Deep Sky, ceased publication. Kalmbach faced the decision of what to do with Deep Sky. Time spent on this project limited Eicher’s progression on Astronomy, and so the company decided to cease publishing Deep Sky as well. Eicher published four books in 1992 and his role with Astronomy expanded further. In 1996 Eicher was promoted to be the magazine’s senior editor and within a few weeks Robert Burnham left, Bonnie Gordon was hired as editor, and Eicher became managing editor. Two bright comets, Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp, lifted the hobby into a new burst of activity.

By the middle of 2002 Gordon left and Eicher became Astronomy magazine’s sixth editor in chief. He has sharpened the title into being the leader in its field in every respect, with the greatest circulation, most influential website (www.Astronomy.com), many successful special publications, and a program of astronomy outreach for the community that outmatches those of competitors. In his tenure at the magazine, Eicher has written or edited more than 500 stories.