Welcome to BBC Sky at Night Magazine - skyatnightmagazine

Noctilucent clouds over Tallinn. Estonia, Europe. Credit: Arsty/iStock/Getty images

Noctilucent clouds: what they are and how to see them

In pictures: Apollo behind the scenes

The Planets: an interview with Brian Cox

Bloodborne, Keijo Laitala, Oulu, Finland, 21 January 2019. Equipment: Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, 150 mm f/7.1 lens.

Astrophotography

Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019: shortlist revealed

Latest articles

The 2 July 2019 total solar eclipse

Everything you need to know to catch totality over South America this summer

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Live stream the 2 July 2019 total solar eclipse

"I was shocked at the shiver of fear that slid through me as the world around me plunged into an unnatural, unstoppable darkness."
Credit: Rui Ricardo/Folio Art

The dark thrill of an eclipse

This image combines many exposures of different durations taken to reveal aspects of the widely-viewed total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017, which was visible from the United States. In the centre the faint circle of the Moon can be seen, with its surface features dimly illuminated in light reflected from the Earth. Around the edge red prominences can be seen and further out the white glow of the corona is sculpted by the Sun's magnetic field.

The astronomers’ eclipse: looking ahead to 2 July 2019

US-eclipse-2017

A tale of two eclipses

HERO (Dallas – USA 2024)

When are the next eclipses?

Stargazing for beginners

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

Credit: Panther Media GMBH/Alamy Stock Photo

How far can you see into space? A deep-sky tour

Dorking at night View from Box Hill England.

A guide to fighting light pollution

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Things new stargazers should know

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Astronomy equipment reviews

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

Opening Screen

Knightware Deep-Sky Planner Mobile Edition

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Celestron RASA-8 telescope

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Six of the best 2-inch dielectric diagonals: £99-£200

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Vixen FL55SS fluorite apo refractor

LRGB-filters-Steve Richards

Astronomik L-RGB Type 2c Colour Filter Set

Space science

Milky Way above the Chilean Atacama Desert. It is here, that ESO'c Very Large Telescope (VLT) is located

What is the Milky Way?

John Ellis - CERN Theoretician

Understanding the Universe: a conversation with a theoretical physicist

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Why does the Moon’s appearance change?

This image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the location of different elements in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant including silicon (red), sulfur (yellow), calcium (green) and iron (purple). Each of these elements produces X-rays within narrow energy ranges, allowing maps of their location to be created. The blast wave from the explosion is seen as the blue outer ring. Astronomers study supernova remnants to better understand how stars produce and then disseminate many of the elements on Earth and in the cosmos at large.

When stars collapse: what is a supernova?

Astronomy guides

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Understanding optical aberrations

Celestial coordinates

A guide to celestial coordinates

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Guides: star-hop the night sky

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How to use a planisphere

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Astrophotography

Guides and galleries to help you get imaging the night sky

Credit: Adrien Mauduit

Astrophotography

How to capture and process images of noctilucent clouds

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Astrophotography guides

A guide to astrophotography stacking

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Astrophotography

How to fine tune star trail images

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Astrophotography

10 simple tips for budding astro imagers

Imaging deep-sky objects, like the globular cluster M13, captures the beauty of distant space

Astrophotography guides

Introducing deep-sky photography

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Astrophotography

Imaging with the Great Lick Refractor

Astrophotography galleries

Bloodborne, Keijo Laitala, Oulu, Finland, 21 January 2019. Equipment: Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, 150 mm f/7.1 lens.

Astrophotography

Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019: shortlist revealed

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

Astrophotography

Beautiful images of the aurora

Dave Walker

Nashville, Tennessee

Equipment: Canon EOS 600D DSLR camera, Skywatcher Star Adventurer, Canon 100-400 IS lens.

In pictures: the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse

$Andromeda Galaxy, Charles Thody, Pembrokeshire, 8 September 2015. Equipment: Modified Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher Equinox-80 ED apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 PRO SynScan mount.$

Readers’ images: top galaxy astrophotos

Star trails at La Silla
Zdenek Bardon, La Silla Observatory, Chile, 14 March 2018
Equipment: Nikon D810A DSLR camera, Zeiss Milvus 2.8/18 lens.

Astrophotography

Hotshots: top readers’ images of 2018

Podcasts

An artist's impression showing the orbital path of asteroid 2014 JO25. Credit: NASA

Podcast: marsquakes, asteroid impacts, secrets of the Solar System

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Lunar eclipses, 2019 space missions and green stars

The annual bluedot festival is three days of music and science at Jodrell Bank Observatory in rural Cheshire.
Credit: Jody Hartley

Podcast: Bluedot Festival 2018 special

'How to' guides

How to build a rolling telescope dolly

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How to thermally optimise your telescope

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How to star test a telescope

Planetary exploration

Get the latest news from humanity's spacefaring probes

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Apollo 8: 50 years on

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New Horizons gets to the heart of Pluto

An illustration of the TESS spacecraft observing an M dwarf star with orbiting planets. TESS is expected to move the hunt for exoplanets into the next era. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

TESS to impress

01 - Lovell Telescope

60 pivotal moments of the Space Age

In the magazine

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March 2019

February 2019

Inside this month’s new-look issue:

November 2018

November 2018

October 2018

October 2018