Somebody recently asked me about astronomical publications that came
to quick halts, and I recalled the story of "Deep Sky Journal" from
the early 1990's. The editor/publisher was Richard Miles, who was
only able to reach Issue #6 of the quarterly publication before
running out of money. I think an annual subscription cost $24, and he
ran away with everybody's money without delivering any more magazines
beyond #6. As a major contributor to "Deep Sky Journal", I felt a bit
sorry for Miles getting in over his head, but not sorry enough to
defend his quick exit with no refunds. I think he peaked at around
2000 or 3000 subscribers. Deep-sky observing is still just a small
niche, after all.

Another magazine that wasn't meant to be was "Star & Sky", which
promised to be a very nice compromise between "Astronomy" and "Sky &
Telescope" around 1979-1981. It, too, made a abrupt halt after
hooking quite a few subscribers. I have been told by a publishing
insider that, unlike Miles, this case was more of a planned scheme on
the part of the publisher. Many people did not get the goods for
their money. I recently bought the entire run of "Star & Sky", and
found it to be an excellent hobby magazine for its time.

Much more recently, we have the case of SkyTent. I have one of these
excellent dome-tent observatories currently set up in my backyard. I
consider myself a lucky customer. A local friend is among a number of
people who will likely never get any product for their deposit money.
Without being apologetic, I would place SkyTent in the same category
with "Deep Sky Journal." They simply dug in too deep, and elected to
run away from the problem. Do a Google Groups search on SkyTent in
s.a.a. from late 2001 through the present if you're curious about
them.

There are certainly better get-rich schemes than astronomy products.
Still, I wonder if there are other examples of products where amateur
astronomers have been left with no product for their money.

Tom