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There are other considerations that should be taken into account when criticizing the choice of images included in Sky & Telescope. These are the cost of licensing and the time, effort and difficulties involved in establishing the true copyright owner.  Getting it wrong might expose the publisher to legal risk.

For our series of papers on Worsley's navigation on Shackleton's 1914 Trans-Antarctic expedition, we had to seek permission in writing from the Canterbury Museum, HMNAO, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Penguin Books and the Scott Polar Research Institute.  All but the last were free and I think we paid £65 at the special academic rate for the image of Worsley and James taking sights on the ice at the stern of Endurance. For a popular magazine with a wide circulation the licensing fees might be quite substantial. Also for example, Penguin Books says that you should allow 6 to 8 weeks for approval. The image that appears in S&T has a Creative Commons license associated with it. These are generally quite broad and make the content widely available.

Robin Stuart