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Get stargazing with Back Garden Astronomy Week

Speeding star reveals the secrets of the Milky Way

Can an exomoon make plants grow?

Space shuttle Columbia launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying the first United States Microgravity Laboratory, June 25, 1992. Credit: NASA

A history of NASA’s Space Shuttle

Aurora over Estonia, 18 March 2015, captured by Kristian Pikner. Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:KristianPikner

A brief history of aurora science

Latest articles

Stargazing for beginners

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

If you're a planetary imager, make sure your laptop and software are ready for a new season of astronomy. Credit: Steve Marsh

Autumn astronomy The best targets for longer nights

The Moon, as seen by the Lick Observatory. Credit: Lick Observatory

Patrick Moore’s guide to observing the Moon

The first question an amateur astronomer often asks after buying a telescope is, 'How far into the night sky can I see with my equipment?' Credit: Panther Media GMBH/Alamy Stock Photo

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

Read more beginners' guides

Space science

The CHIME telescope under a full Moon. Credit: CHIME Collaboration

CHIME telescope and the hunt for fast radio bursts

An image of the aurora over Earth, as seen from the International Space Station on 26 June 2017. Credit: NASA

What causes the Northern Lights?

Patrick Moore pictured at his house in Selsey with a globe of the Moon. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

How Patrick Moore mapped the Moon

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.

Altair Astro Hypercam 183M Pro Tec 4GB mono CMOS camera. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Altair Astro Hypercam 183M Pro Tec 4GB mono CMOS camera review

Meade LX65 Series 8-inch ACF telescope. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Meade LX65 Series 8-inch ACF telescope review

Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 PMC-Eight equatorial mount review. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 PMC-Eight equatorial mount review

The Astronomik 2-inch OIII filter. Credit: Modern Astronomy

Astronomik 2-inch OIII Visual Nebula Filter review

NightCap astrophotography app for iPhone and iPad

NightCap Camera app for iPhone/iPad review

G4-16000 MK II camera and EFW-4L 7-position filter wheel

Moravian Instruments G4-16000 MK II camera and EFW-4L 7-position filter wheel review

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

Jim-Al-Khalili

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

An artist's impression of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. Credit: NASA

Radio Astronomy Podcast Chasing comets, Indian lunar ambitions, Juno at Jupiter

Kraftwerk performing at the Bluedot Festival 2019. Credit: Lucas Sinclair

Radio Astronomy Podcast Bluedot 2019 Festival Special

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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 Seagull Nebula VLT Survey Telescope, 7 August 2019. Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team/N.J. Wright (Keele University)

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Very Large Telescope images the Seagull Nebula

Jupiter, Hubble Space Telescope, 27 June 2019

Astrophotography

Eye On The Sky Hubble captures a new view of Jupiter

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

A section of Mary's Milky Way mosaic. Credit: Mary McIntyre

Astrophoto guides

Astrophotography guide Create a Milky Way mosaic

The final composition of Martin's crescent Venus. Credit: Martin Lewis

Astrophoto guides

How to photograph Venus with a digital video camera

Astrophotography galleries

Stargazing: Photographs of the Night Sky from the Archives of NASA

Gallery Stargazing: Photographs of the Night Sky from the Archives of NASA

Keeper of the Light James Stone, Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia, 21 July 2017. Equipment: Nikon D750 camera, 15 mm lens. (IIAPY 2018 category: People & Space).

Astrophotography

IIAPY Australian astrophotography

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

Astrophotography

Gallery Best readers' images of the aurora

The Rosette Nebula, William Tan, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, ZWO ASI1600MM camera, Skyrover 110ED doublet len, iOptron ZEQ25 mount.

Astrophotography

Gallery The best nebula astrophotos sent in by readers

Perseid meteor Luke Hayes, Essex, 11 August 2016. Equipment: digital camera.

Astrophotography

Gallery The Perseid meteor shower in pictures

A selection of images released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT

Gallery Chandra X-ray Observatory marks 20th anniversary with new astro images

Spaceflight

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

An artist's depiction of the Juno spacecraft in orbit above Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

What has NASA’s Juno mission discovered at Jupiter?

ESA's new Comet Interceptor mission will send a spacecraft to study a pristine comet entering the Solar System for the first time. Credit: Comet Interceptor

Interview How Comet Interceptor will encounter a pristine comet in space

An artist's concept showing NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in front of an infrared image of the Milky Way. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Interview NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope: the legacy of a Universe in infrared

Tim Peake pictured on the ISS as part of his Principia mission. Credit: ESA/NASA

Interview Tim Peake on the future of UK and ESA spaceflight

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 'How To' 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