BBC Sky at Night Magazine: Astronomy, Astrophotography & Space News - BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What to see in the night sky tonight. Credit: Carlos Fernandez / Getty Images

Stargazing What to see in the night sky this month

How bright would the night sky be if we were closer to the centre of the Milky Way?

See Mars, Venus and the Beehive Cluster together in the evening sky this month

Illustration of the planets of the Solar System. Credit: Steve Allen / Getty Images

What’s the farthest planet from Earth?

True shape of Earth. Credit: NASA

How we discovered the true shape of the Earth

What's new?

New to astronomy?

Our simple guides will help you make the most of your time under the stars

Aurora header

14 things new stargazers should know

Friends stargazing. Credit: EvgeniyShkolenko / Getty

Observing guide How to see the planets in 2023

The Moon may always keep the same face turned to us, but the terminator makes sure that face keeps changing. Image Credit: iStock

Why does the Moon have phases?

Man looking at the stars with telescope beside him. Credit: iStock

How to choose your first telescope

More beginners' guides

Astronomy explained

Answers to some of the most commonly-asked cosmic questions

This composite image of the moon using Clementine data from 1994 is the view we are most likely to see when the moon is full. Image Credit: NASA

Astronomy explained Why do we always see the same side of the Moon?

dark-matter-map-hubble-main_0

What is dark matter?

Star Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus

Astronomy explained What is the brightest star?

Globular cluster NGC 3201, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. What makes stars twinkle? Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA. Acknowledgement: Sarajedini et al.

Astronomy explained Why do stars twinkle?

Buyers' guides

Our pick of the best astronomy equipment

Best telescope mounts

Best telescope mounts

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ scale

Best beginners' telescopes

Explore Scientific professional weather centre

Top astronomy accessories

The best telescopes for kids and young astronomers. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Best telescopes for kids

Binoculars are a great way for newcomers to get into astronomy. Credit: lucentius / Getty Images

Best binoculars for astronomy

Best portable telescopes for astronomy travel. Credit: Anton Petrus / Getty Images

Top travel telescopes

More buyers' guides

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Astronomy guides

Celestron Omni XLT AZ 102 Refractor/basic mount

Astronomy FAQs I'm buying my first telescope. Should I get a reflector or a refractor?

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?

Sundogs. Credit: Science Photo Library

Daytime astronomy 6 phenomena to spot before nightfall

Get to a good, dark location away from light pollution and you will see so many more stars. Credit: Carlos Fernandez

How to stargaze in 10 easy steps

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Astronomy equipment reviews

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

Serif Affinity Photo 2 image-editing software review

£69.99 Price for macOS or Windows. iPad: £19.99. Complete Affinity Suite on Universal Licence: £169.99

Explore Scientific G400 15x56 roof prism binoculars scale

Binoculars for astronomy

Explore Scientific G400 15×56 roof prism binoculars review

£329 Price correct at time of review

Sky-Watcher AZ-GTiX mount

Telescope mounts

Sky-Watcher AZ-GTiX dual-saddle mount and tripod

£479 (with tripod)

QHYCCD QHY533C camera scale

QHYCCD QHY533C colour camera

£989 Price correct at time of review

Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Virtuoso GTi Wi-Fi scale

Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Virtuoso GTi Wi-Fi Dobsonian review

£419

Sharpstar Z4 sextuplet apo astrograph case

Sharpstar Z4 sextuplet apo astrograph review

Read more equipment reviews

Podcasts

BBC Sky at Night Magazine Star Diary podcast.

Star Diary 29 May to 4 June, 2023

Star Diary astronomy podcast. Find out what's in the night sky, March 2021

Star Diary 22 to 28 May, 2023

Star Diary astronomy podcast. Find out what's in the night sky, March 2021

Star Diary 15 to 23 May, 2023

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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

Our Andromeda Galaxy image after using Siril’s ‘Image processing’ suite for common processing steps like enhancing the background and bringing out the galaxy’s ‘true’ colour.

Astrophotography guides

How to use Siril free software to process your DSLR astro images

A sequence of close-ups of an NLC rift structure. Subtle changes in the clouds look dramatic once animated and speeded up. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Astrophotography guides

How to photograph and record the motion of noctilucent clouds

Noctilucent clouds. Credit: Adrien Mauduit

Astrophotography

How to capture and process images of noctilucent clouds

Mars passing across the Beehive Cluster in October 2011, imaged through a f/3.3 reflector. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Astrophotography guides

See and photograph Mars meeting the Beehive star cluster

The lumps, bumps, rilles and ancient craters of Crater Gutenberg are particularly rich to examine when the Sun is low

A guide to the Moon’s crater Gutenberg

Astrophotography galleries

apy 2022 winning image

Astrophotography

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 14 See this year's winning images

North America and the Pacific can be seen clearly in this view of Earth captured during Apollo 10, 18 May 1969. Credit: NASA / restored by Toby Ord

Gallery Apollo photos of Earth from space

M20 Triffid by Dee Amos, Taken at Kitt Peak. Equipment: Kitt Peak's visitor centre's 16

Gallery Trifid Nebula

M57 Credit: André van der Hoeven, Terry Hancock, Fred Herrmann, Mike van den Berg and Mathijn Ippel, The Netherlands/USA.

Gallery Ring Nebula

Elephant's Trunk Nebula by Duan Yusef, Essex, UK.

Gallery Elephant's Trunk Nebula

NGC 281: The Pacman Nebula by Mike Garbett, Walsall, West Midlands, UK.

Gallery Pacman Nebula

Spaceflight

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

The first sample tube deposited on Mars by Perseverance rover, 21 December 2022. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

How Perseverance rover’s Mars samples could discover life beyond Earth

NASA Skylab space station. Credit: NASA

The story of the Skylab space station

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover image of a hill named 'Pinestand' showing tall sedimentary layers could have been formed by a deep, powerful river. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

NASA Perseverance rover may have found signs of a powerful ancient river on Mars

Artist's impression of NASA's Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Perseverance NASA's Perseverance rover lands safely on Mars

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

Artist's impression of the Kepler space telescope 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

build artificial star

Build this ‘artificial star’ to test the quality of any telescope or lens

how make bahtinov mask printable pdf templates

How to make a Bahtinov mask

build sky measuring tool

Build a simple tool for measuring the sky

More DIY astronomy projects