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Our project for a
digital astronomy magazine was born in the summer of 2008 and took
shape in December of that year, with the release of the first
Italian-language issue of the monthly magazine l'Astrofilo.
Initially, the new magazine had a layout similar to that of paper
magazines to meet the habits of readers in the field, but over the
years, it evolved, quickly adapting to the development of new
technologies.
After a transition phase, during which science-themed comics (in the
form of monthly supplements to the magazine) and special
monothematic issues were also published, l'Astrofilo adopted its
current layout at the end of 2011, appearing in print at newsstands
while continuing to provide information online.
That experience lasted until December 2012, confirming the already
noted decline of distribution through that traditional channel.
Since January 2013, we have therefore returned to publishing
exclusively a free digital version, incorporating into the pages
some cutting-edge multimedia features.
In May 2014, Astro Publishing took a decisive step forward,
launching the English-language version, Free Astronomy Magazine
(compensating for the increased editorial commitment with the new
bimonthly frequency).
In January 2016, Astro Publishing took another step forward, making
the Portuguese version of the magazine, Notícias do Espaço,
available to its readers, an experience that lasted two and a half
years (all published issues are
HERE).
In March 2016, the fourth language version of l'Astrofilo, the
French one, MacroCosmos, began publication, strengthening our role
as an international astronomy popularizer.
That role was further consolidated with the Spanish version,
launched in early 2017 with the release of the first issue of the
magazine Universo.
At that time, our magazine was already known by over a thousand
amateur astronomer associations around the world and read by
countless people.
Five years passed, during which the magazine's solidity paralleled
the cohesion of the team of collaborators involved in its creation.
In the summer of 2022, a welcome and unexpected proposal arrived
from Saudi Arabia to create an Arabic-language version of Free
Astronomy Magazine. The idea quickly materialized with the
publication of the first issue, the July-August one. This new
version opened our dissemination efforts to a world almost ignored
by field magazines.
The latest surprise came three years later, in the summer of 2025,
when we also received an offer from China to create a
Chinese-language version of Free Astronomy Magazine. This
achievement represented another important milestone, by considering
the potential number of readers that would be added to those of the
other language versions.
Overall, our magazine is now easily readable by approximately four
billion people.
The goal for the future is to continue to spread high-quality
astronomical culture, always doing better what no one has ever done
before. |