Virtual Planetarium
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through this month's night-sky highlights.
Interview
Messier Catalogue poster
Download our poster showing every object in the Messier Catalogue. How many can you tick off the list?
Messier Catalogue poster (PDF)
Binocular and Deep-Sky Tour Charts
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.
Southern Hemisphere Sky Chart
SAN 257 Southern Hemisphere Chart (PDF)
Observing forms
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.
- Jupiter observing form (PDF)
- Mars observing form (PDF)
- Saturn observing form (PDF)
- Venus observing form (PDF)
- Solar observing form (PDF)
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026
Ali Alobaidly, Kuwait
Winner, Stars and Nebulae (overall winner)
Kfir Simon, Israel
Runner-up, Stars and Nebulae
Humbert Cédric, France
Highly commended, Stars and Nebulae
Radoslav Sviretsov, Bulgaria
Winner, Aurorae
Phil Halper, UK
Runner-up, Aurorae
MaryBeth Kiczenski, USA
Highly commended, Aurorae
Petr Horalek, Czechia
Winner, Our Moon
Raul Cantemir, Germany
Runner-up, Our Moon
Tom Williams, UK
Highly commended, Our Moon
Miguel Claro, Portugal
Winner, Our Sun
Peter Ward, Australia
Runner-up, Our Sun
James McBeath, UK
Highly commended, Our Sun
Max Inwood, Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Winner, People and Space
Dan Zafra, Spain
Runner-up, People and Space
AJ Smadi, USA
Highly commended, People and Space
Stefano Pellegrini, Italy
Winner, Skyscapes
Tom Rae, Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Runner-up, Skyscapes
João Yordanov Serralheiro , Portugal
Highly commended, Skyscapes
智鹏 严and Xinran Li, China
Winner, Galaxies
Patrick Winkler, Austria
Runner-up, Galaxies
Shaoyu Zhang, China
Highly commended, Galaxies
Haocheng Zhu, China
Winner, The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
Nikolaos Strimpoulis, aged 15, Greece
Winner, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Kaiyan Ma, aged 15, China
Runner-up, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
与晨 林, aged 14, China
Highly commended, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Shamiqh Gajdhar, aged 14, India
Highly commended, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Benjamin and Joshua Lawler, aged 10 and 12, UK
Highly commended, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Paweł Paweł, Poland
Winner, The Annie Maunder Open Category
Readers' Gallery – August 2026 solar eclipse special
Equipment: Player One Saturn-M SQR camera, Sky-Watcher Heliostar 76Ha solar telescope, Sky-Watcher Solar Quest mount
Equipment: ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope
Equipment: Nikon Z8 camera, Nikkor 180-600mm lens, Benro tripod
Joseph Caruana, Canalejas de Peñafiel, Spain, 12 August 2026
Equipment: Nikon Z8 camera, Nikkor 180-600mm lens, Fornax LighTrack II mount
Equipment: Leica SL3 camera, Leica 90-280mm lens, Rollei C6i tripod
Equipment: Sony A6000 camera, Sony 55-210mm lens, Geekoto AT24Pro Dreamer tripod
Equipment: Canon EOS 77D camera, Canon 55mm lens, Zomei Q666 tripod
Equipment: ZWO Seestar S30 Pro smart telescope
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D camera, Tamron 150-600mm lens, Benro tripod
Equipment: Player One Apollo 428M MAX camera, Sky-Watcher Heliostar 76Ha solar telescope, Celestron Advanced VX mount
Equipment: Sony A7 II camera, Sony 500mm lens, Velbon DV-7000N tripod
Equipment: Fujifilm GFX100S II camera, Fujifilm 45-100mm lens, Really Right Stuff TVC-33 Versa tripod
Equipment: Dwarf Lab Dwarf Mini smart telescope
Equipment: Canon EOS R5 Mk II camera, Canon 24-105mm lens, Altair Astro Omegon Carbon tripod
Equipment: iPhone XR
Equipment: Canon EOS R6 II camera, Centon 500mm lens, Manfrotto tripod
Equipment: Nikon Coolpix P900 camera, fixed lens, Cobra Eclipse 53 tripod
Equipment: Canon EOS 6D camera, Sigma 35mm lens, Innorel RT80C tripod
Equipment: iPhone 16 Pro
Equipment: ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope
Eye On The Sky
Psyche, 16 July 2026
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Hubble Space Telescope, 24 July 2026
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, D. Thilker, J. Lee, and the PHANGS-HST Team
Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, 6 August 2026
Credit: NSF, NSO, AURA, MPS, Inouye Tel
Very Large Telescope, 15 July 2026
Credit: ESO/B. Sutlieff, M. Bonse et al.
Mars rover Curiosity, 28 July 2026
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Digitized Sky Survey 2, 22 July 2026
Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2
Very Large Telescope/Large Binocular Telescope, 3 August 2026
Credit: ESO/K. Minker et al.
Psyche, 16 July 2026
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Software
Download all of this month's software in a zip folder.
Argo Navis Deep-Sky Tour
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).
Copyright Wildcard Innovations Pty Ltd.
Deep-Sky Planner
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 9 astronomy 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.
EQTOUR
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.
SkySafari
License type Full software
Platform iOS, Android
Versions 4 or later (Plus or Pro editions)
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.
And for more, check out our guide to the best astronomy on the BBC
