Welcome to BBC Sky at Night Magazine - skyatnightmagazine

Keep an eye on the location of Mars throughout December 2019. The stars (above) are shown relative to the horizon at 06:30 UT on 31 December. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Observing guide: the best planets to see in December 2019

ESA’s CHEOPS exoplanet-hunting mission set for launch

What can we do about light pollution?

An artist's impression of NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The big space missions to look out for in 2020

Mag. -3.9 Venus appears 4.8° from a 6%-lit waxing crescent Mon on 28 December. Credit: Pete Lawrence

See Venus the ‘Evening Star’ in the night sky this month

Latest articles

Stargazing for beginners

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

A starry skyscape: The Grand Canyon at night.

10 of the best places for stargazing and astronomy in the USA

A conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the moon from February 2019, taken using an iPhone 7. Credit: Jamie Carter

16 gadgets to turn your smartphone into an astrophotography camera

Sir Patrick Moore pictured at Birr Castle with the device used by the fourth Earle to measure the surface temperature of the Moon. Patrick visited Birr for the filming of an episode of The Sky at Night, broadcast in 1967. Credit: BBC / The Sky at Night

Patrick Moore’s top 10 winter astronomy sights

Read more beginners' guides

Christmas gift guides

Tim Peake reading Newton

Gift guide The best astronomy and space books of 2019

Space Swirl pencils

Gift Guide Astronomy and space gifts 2019

Meade ETX 90 Observer telescope

12 of the best telescopes for children and families

Meade Series 6000 115mm apo refractor

9 of the best telescopes for observing the planets

Celestron Omni XLT AZ 102 Refractor/basic mount

10 of the best telescopes and binoculars for astronomy beginners

Space Murals Wallpaper - Bright Galaxy

Gift guide Space-themed home decor gifts

View more gift guides

Space science

Veil Nebula 24 September 2015. A small section of the outer shell of the Veil Nebula, the remnant of a star’s violent death 8,000 years ago. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team

Gallery 21 incredible Hubble Space Telescope images of the past decade

A cataclysmic flare, propelled from the heart of the Milky Way 3.5 million years ago, was felt 200,000 lightyears away. Credit: James Josephides/Thorsten Tepper-Garcia/ASTRO 3D

Observations shed light on the history of our Galaxy’s supermassive black hole

Artist's impression of lightning storms on Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/JunoCam

Could exoplanets host a global electric current?

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.

Meade 126 Barlow lens

Meade #126 Barlow lens review

Tele Vue 2x Barlow lens

Tele Vue 2x Barlow lens review

HitecAstro mini dew controller

HitecAstro mini dew controller review

Rigel SkyLite RED and WHITE Water Resistant Flashlight with Brightness Control. Credit: Mark Parrish

Rigel SkyLite RED and WHITE Water Resistant Flashlight with Brightness Control review

Evergreen Eyepiece and Filter Kit

Evergreen Eyepiece and Filter Kit review

Orion Optics 8x50 straight-through finderscope

Orion Optics 8×50 straight-through finderscope 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

An artist's impression of ESA's Solar Orbiter. Credit: ESA

Radio Astronomy Podcast 2020 space missions and the latest from the Giant Magellan Telescope

UCL Perren telescope

Radio Astronomy Podcast A look at UCL Observatory's new 80cm Perren telescope

Jim-Al-Khalili

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

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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

The Homunculus Nebula Hubble Space Telescope, 1 July 2019

Astrophotography

Gallery The top space images released in 2019

A dragon and the witch’s hat Craig McDearmid, Kirkjufell Mountain, Iceland, 7 December 2018. Equipment: Sony a7S digital camera, Samyang 14mm lens, tripod

Astrophotography

Gallery Best readers' astrophotos of 2019

The final Jupiter image after further brightness and colour balance correction. Credit: Martin Lewis

Astrophoto guides

Image processing How to remove the effects of twilight from your planetary astrophotos

How to take nightscape photography. Credit: Serge Brunier, TWAN

Astrophoto guides

How to take nightscape photographs

Neil Allen, Norwich. Equipment: iPhone 8, Sky-Watcher Equinox 80 refractor, TS Optics Herschel wedge.

Gallery Transit of Mercury, 11 November 2019

Astrophotography galleries

Lunar Wall Mosaic
Created by the Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center, in the heart of the Space Race, The Lunar Wall Mosaic is a map compiled from thousands of lunar photographs. Detailed maps like this were crucial to the success of projects like Apollo 11.

The Mapping of the Moon

Auroral Crown © Yulia Zhulikova

Astronomy and Society

IAPY 2017: the shortlist

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

Saturn and two of its moons photographed in 1980 by Voyager 1. The moons, Tethys (closest to the planet) and Dione, are visible as bright spots in space next to the gas giant. Tethys's shadow can also be seen on Saturn itself. (Credit: NASA/JPL)

Voyager’s best images of the Solar System

Apollo 11 blasts-off atop a Saturn V rocket: Perhaps the most awe-inspiring scientific achievement of the entire mission to reach the Moon were the incredible Saturn V rockets, one of which can be seen at the Apollo/Saturn V Center of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. While you're here you can also see the podium used by President John F Kennedy to deliver his famous “We choose the Moon” speech in 1962, which set in motion the space race that culminated in Apollo 11. © NASA

From the Moon to the Earth

03 - David ATTIE - M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

Astrophotography

Readers’ pics: galaxies

Spaceflight

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

An artist's concept showing ARIEL in orbit. Credit: ESA/STFC RAL Space/UCL/Europlanet-Science Office

NASA’s CASE instrument added to ESA’s ARIEL exoplanet mission

An artist's impression of ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Copyright: ESA/ATG medialab

Interview How ESA's Solar orbiter will study the surface of the Sun

Pete Conrad next to the Surveyor 3 lander, with the lunar module on the crater rim just 182m away. Credit: NASA

Apollo 12: the story of the second manned mission to the Moon

NASA’s VIPER rover will search for water ice at the Moon’s south pole. Credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter

NASA’s VIPER rover to seek water ice at Moon’s south pole

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 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

More DIY astronomy projects