Welcome to BBC Sky at Night Magazine - skyatnightmagazine

Isolating at home can be a challenge, but astronomy is one way of passing the time. Credit: mixetto / Getty Images

Astronomy in isolation Stargazing activities for those stuck at home

How do astronauts survive isolation in space?

Why were Apollo 11 astronauts put in quarantine?

Beth Healey at her home from home: the Concordia Research Station. Credit: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–B. Healey

How to cope with isolation Lessons from a space doctor in Antarctica

BBC Sky at Night Magazine delivery offer

Get BBC Sky at Night Magazine delivered to your door

Latest articles

Astronomy in isolation

Stuck at home? Our guides and How Tos will help you discover the wonders of the cosmos

Radio Astronomy, the monthly podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Access every episode of our podcast Radio Astronomy

The antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Chilean Andes. Credit: ESO/C. Malin

Coronavirus How lockdown is affecting astronomy and spaceflight

ESA Explores podcast host Stephen Ennis pictured with with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano. Credit: ESA

Podcasts Bingeworthy space and astronomy shows for self-isolation

Try our 6 astronomy experiments you can do at home using household objects. Credit: Michael Moltenbrey

6 simple astronomy experiments you can do at home

The rocket ready for lift off: stamp hard on the bottle and your spacecraft will go flying. Image Credit: Jo Richardson

How to build a stomp rocket launcher

Slooh's Chile setup. Credit: Slooh Observatory

Armchair astrophotography: how to use a remote telescope

Space science

Greta Thunberg takes to the stage, Rome, Italy, 19 Apr 2019. Credit: insidefoto srl/Alamy Live News

Environment How can astronomy help us protect Earth?

Asterisms (shown in red) can cross constellations, which are in fact regions of sky, not just the main patterns. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Constellations and asterisms: what’s the difference?

CVMP 1, seen by the Gemini South Telescope

Eye On The Sky Gemini South Telescope views a dying star

Ophiuchus galaxy cluster explosion

Eye On The Sky Astronomers capture biggest explosion ever seen

Advertisement

Astronomy equipment reviews

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

Celestron NexStar 8SE Schmidt Cassegrain review

Celestron NexStar 8SE Schmidt Cassegrain review

Opticron Imagic IS 12x30 binoculars review

Opticron Imagic IS 12×30 binoculars review

Celestron Advanced VX 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope review

Celestron Advanced VX 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope

Televue 5 Powermate review

Televue 5x Powermate review

Altair Astro Self-Centering Smartphone Telescope Adaptor. Credit: Altair Astro

Altair Astro Self-Centering Smartphone Telescope Adaptor

Stellina smart telescope. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Stellina Observation Station 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

US president Richard Nixon pictured with the Apollo 13 astronauts, following their safe return to Earth. Credit: NASA

Radio Astronomy Podcast Apollo 13: 50 years on

The European Space Agency's JUICE mission

Radio Astronomy Podcast Europe in space: the next decade

Radio Astronomy Podcast The story of the BBC’s Horizon programme

Advertisement

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 Rosette Nebula in hydrogen-alpha, before dark frame calibration (left) and with reduced thermal noise after it has been applied (right). Credit: Steve Richards

Astronomy FAQs What is a dark frame in astrophotography?

Supernova SN2011fe in Messier 101 – supernova hunting is an important activity ideally suited to amateur astro imaging. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Astrophoto guides

Image processing Deep-sky imaging for science

Spectroscopy Credit: LWA / Getty Images

Astrophoto guides

Imaging for science Astronomical deep-sky photometry and spectroscopy

How to photograph the Orion Nebula. Credit: David Tolliday

Astrophoto guides

Image processing How to photograph the Orion Nebula

A full-colour Mars and the filtered images from which it was built. Each filter reveals a different aspect of the planet. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Astrophoto guides

Imaging for science How to photograph Mars

Astrophotography galleries

Soviet Space Graphics

Gallery 10 iconic Soviet space posters of the Cold War era

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

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

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

Gallery Transit of Mercury, 11 November 2019

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

Spaceflight

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

The Apollo 13 following their safe landing back on Earth. Credit: NASA

Apollo 13 The story behind NASA's rescue mission

NASA has released the latest ’selfie’ captured by its Curiosity rover, which is currently exploring Mars searching for clues that could reveal the Red Planet’s geological history. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Eye On The Sky NASA's Mars Curiosity rover captures a new selfie

The view from Space on Virgin Galactic's first spaceflight. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Interview Virgin Galactic pilot David Mackay on suborbital flights

An illustration showing the seven exoplanets in orbit around red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. The outer three exoplanets might host liquid water on their surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Seeking out new worlds: a guide to the latest exoplanet-hunting missions

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

Dr Abigail Fraeman, deputy project scientist of the Opportunity rover mission, pictured with a model of NASA's Curiosity rover. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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

Use your own back garden as a Stellarium landscape

Stellarium: how to create a customised landscape

Paul's finished sketch of Jupiter. Credit: Paul Abel

How to draw Jupiter

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

How to hold your binoculars steady

More DIY astronomy projects