Pete Lawrence

Astronomer and presenter

Pete Lawrence is an experienced astronomer and astrophotographer, and a presenter on BBC's The Sky at Night.

Recent articles by Pete Lawrence

Mars close to the Moon's limb

Astrophotography guides

How to photograph next week’s lunar occultation of Mars

An inverted image of Mars through a 250mm telescope, shows the north polar hood (bottom). Credit: Pete Lawrence

Observing guide See Mars at its best throughout December

The Trapezium Cluster as seen in an infrared image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: K.L. Luhman (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.); and G. Schneider, E. Young, G. Rieke, A. Cotera, H. Chen, M. Rieke, R. Thompson (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.) and NASA/ESA

Can you resolve the stars of the Trapezium Cluster?

Albedo features on Mars. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Astrophotography guides

How to photograph Mars at opposition

The Leonid meteor shower as seen from Lampang Thailand. Credit: NirutiStock / Getty Images

Leonids 2022 How to see this year's meteor shower

Leave your telescope and binoculars at home. Meteor showers are best spotted with the naked eye. Credit: Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ursids 2022 See this year's Christmas meteor shower

The Pleiades Callum Wingrove, Stanmore, London, 2 and 3 November 2021 Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera, SharpStar 94EDPH triplet apo refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount

You’ve seen the Pleiades, but can you pick out bright star Electra?

A Uranian Family by Harvey Scoot, Braintree, UK. Equipment: C14 Edge HD, ZWO120MMS with 610nm longpass filter.

Uranus See the ice giant at opposition this month

Jupiter moons double shadow transit

Observing guide See Jupiter's moons transit the gas giant

Leo Triplet - LRGB by Simon Todd, Haywards Heath, UK.

See dwarf planet Ceres pass through a galactic triplet in November

how to photograph a lunar eclipse

Astrophotography guides

How to photograph a lunar eclipse and capture that rusty red Moon

Star chart showing the constellation Cetus the whale

A guide to triple star Kaffaljidhma

Partial solar eclipse Tomás Slovinsky, Atacama, Chile, 30 April 2022 Equipment: Canon 6D DSLR, Tamron 100–400mm lens, Leofoto LM-405C tripod

Partial solar eclipse How to see the event on 25 October

How to photograph the 25 October solar eclipse

Astrophotography guides

How to photograph the 25 October partial solar eclipse

An Orionid meteor appears over Nantucket, US. Credit: J. Greg Hinson, MD, www.ackdoc.com / Getty Images

Orionids 2022 How to see this year's meteor shower