Astrophotography
Whether you’re an astrophotography expert or beginner, our guides and galleries will inspire and help you get the most out of imaging the night sky.
How to point your smartphone through your telescope and capture incredible images of the night sky
The smart telescope revolution | Transforming astronomy
How to photograph a display of night-shining noctilucent clouds with a smartphone
Coax your phone’s camera into low-light mode and catch ethereal noctilucent clouds.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 | See the shortlisted images
Masterclass: The planets in their prime
Join our Masterclass with Pete Lawrence, expert astro imager and presenter on BBC Four’s The Sky at Night at 7pm on 25 April 2024.
Save 20% when you buy all three as a series booking
What's new?
How to find the ancient stellar explosion known as the Crab Nebula
Images of Messier 1, the Crab Nebula, facts about this glowing cosmic cloud and the history of its observation by Chinese and European astronomers.
29 of the best telescopes for astrophotography in 2024
How to choose a telescope for photographing the night sky, and some of the best models available.
Two more strong flares erupted from the Sun this week, as seen by NASA's orbiting solar observatory
More solar flares have been recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Altair's Hypercam 585C colour camera captures deep-sky, planets and the Moon, and all for under £500
From nebulae to the Moon, this jack-of-all-trades does it all for under £500.
Want to capture the Sun kissing the horizon? Find out how with our sunset photography top tips
We'll show you the settings, tips and techniques you need for successfully photographing sunsets.
Astrophotography guides
Follow our astrophotography guides for in-depth tutorials on photographing the night sky, plus image processing advice to help fine-tune your astro images.
Comets
Facts about and images of comets, the rocky, icy celestial bodies that orbit the Sun and can sometimes briefly be seen with the naked eye in the night sky above Earth
Eclipses
Beautiful images of lunar and solar eclipses.
Gallery | Solar eclipses
What is a solar eclipse and how do you view one safely? Find out about the celestial mechanics behind these spectacular astronomical events.
Gallery | Lunar eclipses
What is a lunar eclipse and why do they happen? Discover the science of lunar eclipses and view amazing pictures of the rusty-red 'blood Moon'.
Galaxies
There are many types of galaxy, from spiral galaxies to ellipticals, dwarfs and strange-looking irregular galaxies. These are images of some of the most beautiful galaxies in the Universe, captured by astrophotographers on planet Earth.
Gallery | Leo Triplet
The three galaxies that make up the Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, are engaged in a gravitational tug of war, making this a fascinating deep-sky spectacle.
Gallery | Bode's Galaxy and Cigar Galaxy
Images of M81 and M82, the pair of interacting galaxies known as Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy, including facts and the history of their discovery.
Gallery | Sunflower Galaxy
Facts about and images of M63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy.
The Moon
Beautiful images of the Moon, including images of lunar craters, clair obscur effects, lunar maria and astrophotos showing the terminator creeping across the Moon's jagged surface.
Gallery | Full Moon
Some will tell you a full Moon is the worst time to observe our lunar neighbour, but there's still plenty to see when the Moon is fully illuminated.
Gallery | Planes in front of the Sun and Moon
A gallery of images of planes passing in front of the solar or lunar disc.
Gallery | Harvest Moon
What is a Harvest Moon, and and are they really worth the hype?
Nebulae
Beautiful images of glowing cosmic clouds known as nebulae. These regions of space are filled with gas and dust, out of which new stars will be born. These are some of the most well-known, captured by astrophotographers from around the globe.
Gallery | Heart and Soul Nebulae
Images of the Heart and Soul Nebulae and facts about these two star-forming regions in Cassiopeia.
Cat's Eye Nebula complete guide
Facts about the Cat's Eye Nebula and how to observe and photograph it from Earth.
Gallery | North America Nebula
Images of the North America Nebula and facts about this continent-shaped cosmic cloud.
Planets
Beautiful images of the planets of our Solar System and their moons, captured by amateur and professional astrophotographers from around the world.
Gallery | Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Facts about Jupiter's Great Red Spot and images of the centuries-old cyclone.
Gallery | Jupiter's Galilean moons
Facts about and images of Jupiter's four largest satellites, the Galilean moons.
Gallery | Uranus
A guide to the icy ringed giant, and images captured by astrophotographers.
Skyscapes
Astro images showing the beautiful astronomical phenomena that can be seen in Earth's night sky, including stars, conjunctions, star trails and the aurora.
Stars
Pictures of stars, including starscapes, star trails, bright stars in the sky, photos of constellations and images of the starry band of the Millky Way stretching across the night sky.
Gallery | Cassiopeia
A guide to the constellation Cassiopeia, and how to see some of its best stars.
Gallery | The Pleiades
A guide to M45, also known as the Pleiades, and images of the famous open star cluster.
Gallery | Kemble's Cascade
Advice on how to observe Kemble's Cascade, and images of the asterism.
The Sun
Images of the Sun, Earth's host star at the centre of the Solar System, including sunspots, solar flares, solar prominences and solar eclipses.