Welcome to BBC Sky at Night Magazine - skyatnightmagazine

A conjunction of the moon with Venus and Jupiter, Chanthaburi, Chanthabur, Thailand, 28 November 2019. Credit: Chakarin Wattanamongkol / Getty Images

5 upcoming conjunctions visible in the night sky, and how to see them

Astronomy FAQs How can I reduce light pollution at my telescope?

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

Noctilucent clouds. Credit: Meindert van der Haven/istock/getty images

Noctilucent clouds What they are and how to see them

The International Space Station appears in the night sky above Banff National Park, Canada. Also visible in the image is the auroral phenomenon known as STEVE. Credit: Alan Dyer/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images

How to see the International Space Station in the night sky

Latest articles

Get started in astronomy

Take your first steps in stargazing with our beginners' guides

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

10 of the best binoculars for astronomy in 2020

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

12 top tips for stargazing

Celestron Omni XLT AZ 102 Refractor/basic mount

The best telescopes for astronomy beginners

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

How to choose your first telescope

Read more beginners' guides

Astronomy in isolation

Stargazing and science activites for lockdown

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

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

Jon Hicks header Credit: Jon Hicks

Stargazing with binoculars: a beginner’s guide

Space science

Spiral galaxy NGC 2273. Credit: Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Greene

Eye On The Sky Hubble spies a spiral within a spiral galaxy

NASA JPL scientist Kevin Peter Hand

Interview Exploring icy moons of the Solar System for signs of life

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?

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?

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Astronomy equipment reviews

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

Canon EOS Ra astrophotography camera review

Canon EOS Ra astrophotography camera review

Orion Monster Parallelogram mount, GiantView 25x100 binoculars

Orion Monster Parallelogram mount, GiantView 25×100 binoculars

SharpStar 20032PNT 200mm superfast Newtonian reflector

SharpStar 20032PNT 200mm superfast f/3.2 Newtonian reflector

Omegon Tri Finder finderscope mount review

Omegon Tri Finder finderscope mount review

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

Read more equipment reviews

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

12 top tips for stargazing

Podcasts

A view of Venus captured by JAXA's Akatsuki orbiter. © PLANET-C Project Team

Radio Astronomy Podcast Venus special: farewell to the evening star

Listen to the latest podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine, in which we look back at 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

Radio Astronomy Podcast 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

Jerry Woodfill (left) is on hand in the mission evaluation room during the Apollo 11 mission. Credit: NASA

Radio Astronomy Podcast An interview with Apollo 13 Mission Control's Jerry Woodfill

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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

Creat a pinhole camera and track the path of the Sun across the sky

How to make a pinhole camera

A view of comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS on 21 March 21st 2013, Carinthia/Austria at AMOS Observatory. Credit: RenePi / Getty Images

How to see and photograph comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS

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

Astronomy FAQs I would like a telescope I can use with my EOS 7D and laptop. Any suggestions?

Massive galaxy UGC 2885 Hubble Space Telescope, 5 January 2020 Credit: NASA, ESA, and B. Holwerda (University of Louisville)

Astronomy FAQs What type of mount is best for deep-sky astrophotography?

Astrophotography can be tricky to do from a big city shrouded by light pollution. Credit: Paul Carstairs / Alamy Stock Photo

Astrophoto guides

How to capture astrophotos from a light-polluted city

Astrophotography galleries

Hubble has helped to define the shape of the Ring Nebula, revealing it to be doughnut shaped, with lower density material at its core. Credit: Credits: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Gallery Hubble highlights: 16 of the space telescope's most iconic images

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

Astrophotography

Gallery The 7-8 April Supermoon, in pictures

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

Hubble at 30 21 incredible 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

Spaceflight

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

Earth from space: the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia captured from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/ESA

Eye On The Sky Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast glimmers in International Space Station image

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo by Julian Leek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

SpaceX Crew Dragon to launch in historic first crewed mission

Earth, as seen by the Bepi Colombo spacecraft. Credit: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Eye On The Sky Bepi Colombo spacecraft's final glimpse of Earth

A mission to Uranus could teach us a lot, including about the early Solar System. Credit: Mark Garlick / Science Photo Library

Why we should send a spacecraft to explore Uranus

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

How to polar align an equatorial mount safely using the Sun. Credit: Dave Eagle

How to safely polar align an equatorial mount using the Sun

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

More DIY astronomy projects