Welcome to BBC Sky at Night Magazine - skyatnightmagazine

An image of the Sun that looks strikingly like a Halloween jack o lantern. This image was captured by NASA's SDO probe. Credit: NASA/SDO

Halloween Astronomy How to plan a spooky stargazing session

Ancient oasis discovered on Mars points to Red Planet’s wet past

A beginner’s guide to nebulae

Mercury passing in front of the Sun captured in 2006 by the Solar Optical Telescope. Credit: Hinode JAXA/NASA/PPARC

Transit of Mercury, 11 November 2019: what it is and how to see it

Dr Angelos Tsiaras of University College London.

Interview Angelos Tsiaras discusses exoplanet K2-18b and the search for water in the Universe

Latest articles

Stargazing for beginners

New to astronomy? Get started with our newcomers' guides.

The Orion Nebula

A beginner’s guide to nebulae

Aurora GettyImages-903096726

Aurora The complete guide

The Pleiades, as seen through a telescope. This cluster is known as 'The Seven Sistsers' in Greek and also Aboriginal mythology. NASA, ESA, AURA/Caltech, Palomar Observatory The science team consists of: D. Soderblom and E. Nelan (STScI), F. Benedict and B. Arthur (U. Texas), and B. Jones (Lick Obs.)

A beginner’s guide to stars

Read more beginners' guides

Space science

'Dr Space Junk' Alice Gorman.

Dr Space Junk: interview with a space archaeologist

An image of the aurora over Earth, as seen from the International Space Station on 26 June 2017. Credit: NASA

What causes the Northern Lights?

Patrick Moore pictured at his house in Selsey with a globe of the Moon. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

How Patrick Moore mapped the Moon

A false-colour image showing aurorae hovering over Saturn’s south polar region. Credit: VIMS Team, U. Arizona, U. Leicester, JPL, ASI, NASA

What do aurorae look like on other planets?

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Astronomy equipment reviews

The latest telescopes, cameras, binoculars, mounts and accessories tried and tested.

ZWO 1.25-inch Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector. Credit: 365Astronomy

ZWO 1.25-inch Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector review

Celestron 2-inch diagonal with XLT coatings

Celestron 2-inch diagonal with XLT coatings

Atik Narrowband Filter Set

Atik Narrowband Filter Set review

Altair Astro Hypercam 183M Pro Tec 4GB mono CMOS camera. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Altair Astro Hypercam 183M Pro Tec 4GB mono CMOS camera review

Meade LX65 Series 8-inch ACF telescope. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Meade LX65 Series 8-inch ACF telescope review

Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 PMC-Eight equatorial mount review. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 PMC-Eight equatorial mount review

Read more equipment reviews

Astronomy guides

Aurora Over Teepees, Yellowknife. Credit: iStock/ Getty Images

A traveller’s guide to aurora hunting

A sense of wonder: from a dark-sky site a wealth of deep-sky objects can be seen even with the naked eye, including the Milky Way, Orion Nebula and star clusters such as the Pleiades and Hyades. Credit: Mixetto/iStock/Getty Images

Deep-sky astronomy: a beginner’s guide

Slooh's Chile setup. Credit: Slooh Observatory

Armchair astrophotography: how to use a remote telescope

Good preparation will help you get the most out the darker autumn and winter nights. Credit: Astrobobo/iStock/GettyImages

The astronomy season returns: how to prepare for darker nights

Podcasts

Jim-Al-Khalili

Radio Astronomy Podcast Jim Al-Khalili, OSIRIS REx, IIAPY 2019, tardigrades on the Moon

An artist's impression of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. Credit: NASA

Radio Astronomy Podcast Chasing comets, Indian lunar ambitions, Juno at Jupiter

Kraftwerk performing at the Bluedot Festival 2019. Credit: Lucas Sinclair

Radio Astronomy Podcast Bluedot 2019 Festival Special

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Astrophotography

Guides and galleries to help you get imaging the night sky

Credit: abriendomundo / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Astrophotography

Astrophotography All you need to know to image the night sky

A Spitzer Space Telescope of a region within the Milky Way. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Milky Way Project

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Spitzer Space Telescope views cosmic bubbles in infrared

Jupiter captured in radio waves. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), I. de Pater et al.; NRAO/AUI NSF, S. Dagnello

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Radio waves reveal what's beneath Jupiter's clouds

The Medusa merger. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Hubble captures two galaxies colliding

Gamma ray observation of the Moon by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope images the Moon...but not as we know it

Planetary nebula NGC 2022. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Wade

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Hubble Space Telescope images the death of a Sun-like star

Astrophotography galleries

Into the Shadow László Francsics, Budapest, Hungary, 21 January 2019. Category: Our Moon (overall winner). Equipment: Sony Alpha 99 camera, 250mm Newtonian, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount.

Astrophotography

IIAPY 2019 winners revealed

Keeper of the Light James Stone, Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia, 21 July 2017. Equipment: Nikon D750 camera, 15 mm lens. (IIAPY 2018 category: People & Space).

Astrophotography

IIAPY Australian astrophotography

Mariusz Szymaszek, Garðskagi lighthouse, Iceland, 2 February 2016. Equipment: Sony A7S camera, Samyang 14mm lens.

Astrophotography

Gallery Best readers' images of the aurora

The Rosette Nebula, William Tan, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, ZWO ASI1600MM camera, Skyrover 110ED doublet len, iOptron ZEQ25 mount.

Astrophotography

Gallery The best nebula astrophotos sent in by readers

A selection of images released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT

Gallery Chandra X-ray Observatory marks 20th anniversary with new astro images

Credit: Giovanni Fidone‎

Astrophotography

Sunspots: AR2192 in pictures

Spaceflight

Celebrating the latest missions and the history of humanity's journey into space

Alexei Leonov pictured during the Voskhod 2 mission that saw him become the first person to perform a spacewalk. Credit: Getty Images / SVF2 / Contributor

Alexei Leonov, the first person to spacewalk, dies aged 85

Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan. Credit: Debbie Rowe

Interview Astronaut Kathy Sullivan on Hubble, Space Shuttle and being the first US woman to spacewalk

The Dream Chaser pictured following a 60mph tow test at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, California. Credit: Ken Ulbrich

Whatever happened to spaceplanes?

Space shuttle Columbia launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying the first United States Microgravity Laboratory, June 25, 1992. Credit: NASA

A history of NASA’s Space Shuttle

Buzz Aldrin pictured on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Credit: NASA

Apollo 11 the journey to land on the Moon

Carey Lisse, an instrument scientist on the New Horizons science team reacts after the team received confirmation from the spacecraft that it has completed the flyby of Pluto, Tuesday, July 14, 2015 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Interview New Horizons' Kuiper Belt encounter

Abigail_Fraeman_NASA

Roving robots on Mars: interview with a NASA Opportunity scientist

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Wendy Stenzel

How the Kepler space telescope came to be

DIY Astronomy

Read our practical 'How To' guides to get the most out of your observing sessions

How to hold your binoculars steady during long observing sessions. Credit: Steve Tonkin

How to hold your binoculars steady

The sensor of a DSLR camera is tucked behind the reflex mirror – as such, the camera has to be switched on while you clean it. Credit: Ian Evenden

How to clean your DSLR camera sensor

The finished smartphone finderscope. Follow our guide to make your own. Credit: Mark Parrish

Build a smartphone finderscope for your telescope

Click here for more DIY Astronomy projects