Download this month's binocular and deep-sky tour charts. The charts are printed in black on white so they can be viewed under red light at your telescope.
Record your observations of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and the Sun with our handy printable forms.
If you observe the Sun, remember NEVER to look at it with your naked eye; either project it through your telescope or use a solar filter on your telescope's front lens.
Winner – Our Sun and Overall Winner. Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse, by Ryan Imperio, Odessa, Texas, USA
Runner Up – Our Sun. Coronal Choronograph by Peter Ward, Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia
Highly Commended – Our Sun. Blue Turns to Red, Our Sun Rotates, by Andras Papp Veszprémvarsány, Györ-Moson-Sopron, Hungary
Winner – Aurorae. Queenstown Aurora, by Larryn Rae,Queenstown, New Zealand
Runner Up – Aurora. The Green Kingdom, by Filip Hrebenda, Laugavegur, Iceland
Highly Commended – Aurora. Aurora Borealis over Brighton Seafront, by Michael Steven Harris, Brighton, East Sussex, UK
Winner – Galaxies. Echoes of the Past, Bence Tóth, Péter Feltóti, Isabis Farm, Namibia.
Runner Up – Galaxies. A Very Deep Look at the Markarian’s Chain, by Jakob Sahner, e-EyE (Entre Encinas y Estrellas) Astronomical Complex, Extremadura, Spain
Highly Commended – Galaxies. M63, The Tidal Streams Around the Sunflower Galaxy, by Sophie Paulin, Jens Unger, Jakob Sahner, e-EyE (Entre Encinas y Estrellas) Astronomical Complex, Extremadura, Spain
Winner – Our Moon. Shadow peaks of Sinus Iridum, by Gábor Balázs, Budapest, Hungary.
Runner Up – Our Moon. Venus and the Moon in Infrared, by Lóránd Fényes, Érd, Pest, Hungary
Highly Commended – Our Moon. Crescent, by Jinyuan Chen, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Runner Up – People and Space. Parallel Lines Over the City, by Ran Shen, Shanghai, China
Highly Commended – People and Space. Big Brother is Watching You, by Matt Jackson, Gallatin County, Montana, USA
Winner – Planets, Comets and Asteroids. On Approach, by Tom Williams, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK.
Runner Up – Planets, Comets and Asteroids. Methane Lights of Jupiter, by Sophie Paulin and Tom Williams, Edelweissspitze, Salzburg, Austria
Highly Commended – Planets, Comets and Asteroids. M100 (The Blowdryer Galaxy) and Ceres, by Damon Mitchell Scotting, El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile
Winner – Skyscapes. Tasman Gems, by Tom Rae, Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand
Runner Up – Skyscapes. Symphony of the Night Sky, by Fei Xue, Minqin, Gansu Province, China
Highly Commended – Skyscapes. Like Blue Lava, by Petr Horalek, Medhufaru, Maldives
Winner – Stars and Nebulae. SNR G107.5-5.2, Unexpected Discovery, by Marcel Drechsler, Bray Falls, Yann Sainty, Nicolas Martino, Richard Galli, various locations
Runner Up – Stars and Nebulae. Serpens: A Mosaic, by Mukund Raguram, Throckmorton, Texas, USA
Highly Commended – Stars and Nebulae. Antares Region, by Bence Tóth, Isabis Farm, Namibia
Winner – Young Competition. NGC 1499, A Dusty California, by Daniele Borsari, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy.
Runner Up – Young Competition. IC 405 and IC 410, the Flaming Star and Tadpole Nebulae, by Sonny Chart (aged 15), Crawley, West Sussex, UK
Highly Commended – Young Competition. M106, a Spiral Galaxy, by Benjamin Lawler (aged 8) and Joshua Lawler (aged 10), Tutbury, Staffordshire, UK
Highly Commended – Young Competition. M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy, by ZiYang Chang (aged 14), Yanqing District, Beijing, China
Highly Commended – Young Competition. Double Comet, by Runwei Xu (aged 15), Kangbao County, Hebei Province, China
Winner – Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer. SH2-308: Dolphin Head Nebula, by Xin Feng, Miao Gong, : Ruo'ergai County, Aba County, Sichuan Province, China
Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation. Anatomy of a Habitable Planet, by Sergio Díaz Ruiz. Original data from GOES-18 ABI from 18 February 2024 and Suomi-NPP VIIRS from 2012–2020
Readers' Gallery
Corona Australis molecular complex
Vikas Chander, captured remotely via Deep Sky Chile, 7–11 July 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro camera, Takashi Epsilon E-160D reflector, Software Bisque Paramount MX mount
The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae
Richard Guest, Kingswinford, West Midlands, 26 July 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC camera, Celestron 8-inch Edge HD Schmidt–Cassegrain, Celeston Evolution mount
The Lobster Claw, Bubble and Northern Lagoon Nebulae
Steven Hill, Swansea, Wales, 13 and 14 July 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC Duo camera, William Optics RedCat 61 refractor, ZWO AM5 mount
Buck Moon
Lee Mansfield, Darwen, Lancashire, 20 July 2024
Equipment: Nikon D850 DSLR camera, 150–600mm Sigma lens
at 600mm, Manfrotto 055 tripod
Sunspot 3738
Sona Shahani Shukla, New Delhi, India, 11 July 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI290MM camera, Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Flex Tube Dobsonian
The Flying Bat and Giant Squid Nebulae, Sh2-129 and OU4
Anirudh Shastry, captured remotely via Sierra Remote Observatories, California, USA, 7 June-18 July 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro camera, PlaneWave CDK14 astrograph, PlaneWave L-350 mount
IC 1396
Amit Sharma, Aylesbury, Bucks, 8 June 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM camera, Askar FMA135 astrograph, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 mount
The Pleiades
Harshwardhan Pathak, captured remotely via Telescope Live, Heaven’s Mirror Observatory, Australia and IC Astronomy Observatory, Spain, 10 September–18 November 2023
Equipment: QHY600M Pro camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 refractor, Software Bisque Paramount MX mount
The Andromeda Galaxy
Soumyadeep Mukherjee, Barskoon, Kyrgyzstan, 6 June 2024
Equipment: Nikon Z 6II camera, Samyang 135mm lens, iOptron SkyGuider Pro mount, Leofoto Ranger LS-324C tripod
The Cat’s Eye Nebula
Ron Brecher, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 17 July 2024
Equipment: QHY600M camera, Celestron 14” Edge HD Schmidt–Cassegrain, Software Bisque Paramount MX mount
Mineral Moon
Emanuele Chiapparelli, Rome, Italy, 18 July 2024
Equipment: QHY183C camera, Sky-Watcher Skyliner 350P Dobsonian
Noctilucent clouds
Treasa Giblin Frazer, Lifford, Co Donegal, Ireland, 26 June 2024
Equipment: Google Pixel 8 smartphone
The Pleiades
Fernando Oliveira de Menezes, Munoz, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 7 November–19 December 2023
Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MC camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 150ED refractor, iOptron CEM20 mount
Milky Way over the Mediterranean
Tomáš Slovinský, Kedrodasos, Crete, Greece, 6 July 2024
Equipment: Canon EOS R6 camera, Sigma Art 50mm lens, Leofoto tripod
The Tadpole Galaxy, Arp 188
Douglas J Struble, Taylor, Michigan, USA, 6 May–3 July 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI183MM Pro camera, Explore Scientific ED 165mm f/7 FPL-53 refractor, Astro-Physics Mach1GTO mount
Eye On The Sky
Sulphur crystals on Mars
Curiosity Mars Rover, 18 July 2024
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Star-forming region RCW 106
VLT Survey Telescope (VST)/Atacama Pathfinder Experiment, 19 August 2024
Credit: ESO/M. Mattern et al.
The Eagle Nebula, M16
Chandra X-Ray Observatory/James Webb Space Telescope, 23 July 2024
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXO/SAO; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScl; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare
Globular cluster Omega Centauri
Hubble Space Telescope, 10 July 2024
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Maximilian Häberle (MPIA)
This month's deep-sky tour plan file can be imported into the Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer using Argonaut software, a free utility available from Wildcard Innovations. Using Argo Navis with this month's deep-sky tour plan file, you can:
• display essential information from the Argo Navis database for each object
• slew your telescope to each object in the plan - requires a compatible mount.
• push your telescope to each object in the plan using the coordinates provided on the Argo Navis display.
To import this month's deep-sky tour plan file into Argo Navis using Argonaut software:
Download and save the file to your hard drive.
Run the Argonaut utility program and transfer the plan into your Argo Navis DTC.
This month's Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 8 (see knightware.biz/dsp).
This month's Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 9 (see knightware.biz/dsp).
Copyright Wildcard Innovations Pty Ltd.
License type Full software Platform Windows Versions 10, 11
Deep-Sky Planner 9astronomy software for Windows provides the tools you need to make your time at the telescope more efficient and enjoyable.
Sort the objects in the plan according to the best time and order to view each object.
Slew your ASCOM-compatible Go-To mount to each object in the plan - requires ASCOM software (free).
Show a sky chart centred on each object in the plan using one of the top planetarium software titles – requires TheSky, Starry Night, Redshift, Cartes du Ciel (free) or Stellarium (free).
Record your observation in the open, non-proprietary observing log.
Details about Deep-Sky Planner and how to purchase can be found here.
Download the Deep-Sky Planner compatible file of this month's deep-sky tour observing plan file so that you can visit each object directly with Deep-Sky Planner.
Save the file to your hard drive and double click it to open it in Deep-Sky Planner.
If you are one of the many astronomers who use the ASCOM driver EQMOD to control your ASCOM-compatible Go-To mount, you can use an add-on application called EQTOUR to call up various sets of sky tours like Messier, Caldwell, Globular Clusters and simply click on an object name to slew to it.
Details about the application and how to download it free of charge can be found here.
Download the EQTOUR compatible file of our monthly Deep-sky tour, so that you can visit each object directly from your EQMod control panel. We've also included a PDF document that explains the system and how to get it installed with your telescope setup.
Copy the .lst file from the folder that appears into the same directory as the EQTOUR application file, EQTOUR.exe, and follow the instructions in the link above.
This month's deep-sky tour plan file can be imported into SkySafari software, available from Simulation Curriculum.
Using this month's deep-sky tour plan file on SkySafari, you can:
• view each object in SkySafari's night sky simulation view
• display essential information from the SkySafari database for each object
• slew your telescope to each object in the plan - requires a compatible mount.
To import this month's deep-sky tour plan file into SkySafari, please see the SkySafari user manual for your device platform and version of SkySafari.
This month's Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 8.
Watch the Sky at Night
You can watch the latest episode of The Sky Night, plus previous episodes and historic programmes from the archive, via the BBC Four Sky at Night webpage.
