Welcome to BBC Sky at Night Magazine - skyatnightmagazine

Graeme Whippy, Essex, UK. Equipment: Nikon D5300 DSLR camera, 55-300mm lens.

Astrophotography

Gallery The 7-8 April Supermoon, in pictures

How do astronauts survive isolation in space?

Why were Apollo 11 astronauts put in quarantine?

Image by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, showing average nitrogen dioxide concentrations over Portugal and Spain, 14 to 25 March 2020. Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019-20), processed by KNMI/ESA

Coronavirus Does lockdown mean clearer skies for astronomers?

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

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

Brighton Astro have been holding online meetings during coronavirus lockdown to help society members stay in touch and learn more about the cosmos.

How to cope with isolation Organise an online astronomy meeting

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

Space science

An image of the 3C 279 jet structure Credit: J.Y. Kim (MPIfR), Boston University Blazar Program, and Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

Cosmic jet imaged speeding from a supermassive black hole

Exploding stars Fred Watson

Aussie astronomy: interview with Australia’s Astronomer At Large

ALMA image of HD101584. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Olofsson et al. Acknowledgement: Robert Cumming

Eye On The Sky Cosmic kaleidoscope created by clashing stars

Galaxy clusters are ideal objects to study in the search for dark energy. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, RELICS

What is dark energy, and how are astronomers trying to find it?

Advertisement

Astronomy equipment reviews

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

Starlight Xpress Trius Pro 694

Starlight Xpress Trius Pro 694 mono CCD camera bundle review

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

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

Tele Vue 2x Barlow lens

Astronomy FAQs What is eyepiece projection and how do I do it?

Canon EOS 1000D DSLR camera body

Astronomy FAQs Why do I need to cool my camera?

How to remove chromatic aberration from your astrophotos. Credit: Paul Money

Astrophoto guides

Image processing How to get rid of unwanted colour fringes on stars

Maxim dl

Astronomy FAQs How do you set up MaxIm DL software for autofocusing?

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?

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

Mission Control’s flight controllers confer during the tense final 24 hours of the Apollo 13 mission. Credit: NASA

Apollo 13 How Mission Control brought the astronauts safely home

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

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