Iain Todd

Science journalist

Iain Todd is BBC Sky at Night Magazine's Content Editor. He fell in love with the night sky when he caught his first glimpse of Orion, aged 10.

Recent articles by Iain Todd

Light pollution is hiding the dimmest stars from our night sky. Credit: Dneutral Han / Getty

‘Sky-rocketing’ light pollution is reducing the number of stars visible in the night sky

Credit: abriendomundo / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Buyer's guide Best telescopes for astrophotography

Virgin Orbit spaceport cornwall launch

Virgin Orbit to launch first orbital spaceflight from UK soil tonight

Meade Series 6000 115mm apo refractor

11 of the best telescopes to see the planets with 2023

The Great Wall of China at night. Credit: bjdlzx / Getty Images

Can you really see the Great Wall of China from space?

The Plough / Ursa Major. Credit: Christophe Lehenaff / Getty Images

A complete guide to observing the Plough in the night sky

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ scale

Best beginners' telescopes

It will take around eight seconds for Uranus to disappear behind the Moon’s leading, bright limb as occultation begins. Credit: Pete Lawrence

See planet Uranus hide behind the Moon this New Year’s Day

Night Sky by Matt Eaton, Miserton, Somerset, UK. Equipment: Nikon DSLR

See the Ursid meteor shower peak tonight

Artist's impression of the ASKAP radio telescope detecting a fast radio burst. Credit: OzGrav/Swinburne University of Technology

Radio Astronomy Podcast Making contact with extra-terrestrial intellience

A medium-deep wide-field image showing thousands of galaxies, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Rolf A. Jansen (ASU), Jake Summers (ASU), Rosalia O'Brien (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Aaron Robotham (UWA), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Christopher Willmer (University of Arizona), JWST PEARLS Team Image Processing: Rolf A. Jansen (ASU), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Webb Telescope captures thousands of faint galaxies in brand new image

The Christmas Tree Cluster. This image was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera attached to the 2.2-metre Max-Planck Society/ESO telescope at La Silla Observatory, 2,400m high in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Credit: ESO

Christmas Tree Cluster: NGC 2264 glows a festive red

Geminids meteor shower Parisa Bajelan, Alamut Valley, Alborz, Iran, 14 December 2020. Equipment: Canon 6D DSLR (modified), Canon 16–35mm lens, Manfrotto MT190CXPRO4 tripod

Geminids 2022 See the winter meteor shower peak this week

Aurora borealis, the Northern Lights. Credit: Valtteri Hirvonen

Astrophotography

Astrophotography in the dark winter of Finland

Mars close to the Moon's limb

See Mars hide behind the Moon tomorrow morning, in-person and online