Access this month's Bonus Content. If you are having trouble with any of the download links, right-click on the link, select 'Copy Link Address' and paste the link in a new window in your web browser.
Virtual Planetarium
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal December's night-sky highlights.
Interview: Apollo 17, behind the scenes
Dermot Gethings attended the launch of the last mission to the Moon. He reveals his first-hand view of the event.
Binocular and deep-sky tours
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.
The Pelican Nebula
Vikas Chander, remotely via Insight Observatory, New Mexico, USA, 4 – 8 May 2022
Equipment: FLI Proline 16803 CCD camera, Dreamscope 16-inch f/3.7 Astrograph Reflector, Software Bisque Paramount ME
Milky Way over Atacama, by Tomáš Slovinský, Atacama, Chile, April 30 2022
Equipment: Canon EOS 6D astro-modified camera, Sigma Art 50mm lens, Leofoto LM-405C tripod, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer tracker
Triangulum Galaxy
Aidan Guerra, Vacaville, California, 31 August 2022, 2 September 2022
Equipment: Stellarvue SV70T Triplet Refractor, ZWO ASI533MC-P camera, Celestron AVX mount
Uranus occultation
Agapios Elia and Siegfried Trattnig, Cyprus 14 September 2022
Equipment: ZWO ASI224MC camera, Celestron C9.25 SCT, Celestron CGEM mount
Saturn
John Beer, Swansea, 17 September 2022
Equipment: ZWO 224MC camera, Celestron Nexstar 8SE telescope, HEQ5 Pro mount
Copernicus
Frank Dutton, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, 17 September 2022
Equipment: Altair 6” classical Cassegrain, Altair 290M GP-Hypercam, Celestron Evolution AZ mount
The Sun
Joey Desmond, Dublin, Ireland, 10 August 2022
Equipment: Zwo ASI 174MM camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 telescope, Daystar Quark Chromosphere eyepiece, SkyWatcher EQ5 mount
The Ghost of Cassiopeia
Jim Owen, Swadlincote South Derbyshire, 24 September 2022
Equipment: Altair 26c camera, Altair 800mm F4 Newtonian telescope, SkyWatcher EQ6R pro mount
Harvest Moon composite, by Chirag Upreti, Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York, USA, 10 September 2022
Equipment: Sony A7RIII, Sony 200-600mm at 600mm, Gitzo Mountaineer Series 2 tripod
Sadr Region, Cygnus
Chris Gale, Pembrokeshire, West Wales, 1 June – 20 September 2022
Equipment:ZWO ASI 1600mm-pro camera, Skywatcher Esprit 80, Skywatcher EQ6 mount
Machi Castle and Milky Way
Abolfazl Arab, Hamun County, Iran, 25 August 2022
Equipment: Nikon 16mm f/2.8 AI-s with adapter, Canon EOS 6D, tripod
Pickering’s Triangle
Patrick Cosgrove, Honeoye Falls, New York, USA, 24, 28 August, 1, 2 September
Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro camera, William Opticsa2mm FLT f/7 APO, IOptron CEM60 mount.
The Wizard Nebula
Douglas J Struble, Taylor, Michigan, USA 17 September 2022
Equipment: ZWO ASI183MM-PRO camera, Stellarvue SVX102T-R, Orion Atlas Pro mount
Comet C 2017 K2 PANSTARRS
Jose Chambo, Río Hurtado, Coquimbo, Chile, 18 September 2022
September 18 2022
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, Takahasi Epsilon 180ED f/2.8 telescope, Paramount MyT mount
Waning crescent Moon
John Chumack, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 18 September 2022
Equipment: ZWO 294MC Cooled Cmos Camera, Celestron C6 F5 Newtonian Reflector telescope, Paramount MyT mount
Jupiter and Io
Harvey Scoot, Finchingfield, North Essex, 10 September 2022
Equipment: ZWO ASI 290MM camera, Celestron C14 telescope, Mesu Mount
NGC7331 in Pegasus
Matthew Terrell, Calne, Wiltshire, 16-17 September 2022
Equipment: Altair Hypercam, Stellyra 200mm RC telescope, HEQ5 Pro mount (belt modified)
Mars
Padraig Conner, Belfast, 23 September 2022
Equipment: ZWO ASI224MC camera, Sky-Watcher 200p telescope, Dobsonian mount
Heart Nebula composite
Jason Hopkins, Wantage, 17 September 17 2022
Equipment: Altair Astro 23C and ZWO ASI 294MC cameras, two Celestron EdgeHD8 telescopes, EQ6R-PRO and EQ6 PRO mounts
Eye On The Sky
The Pillars of Creation
James Webb Space Telescope, 19 October 2022
Credit:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; J. DePasquale, A. Koekemoer, A. Pagan (STScI).
The surface of Europa
NASA Juno spacecraft, 5 October 2022
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
SMACS J0723 52405131881_c7ac3a7d89_o.jpeg
Galaxy cluster SMACS J0723 in infrared and X-ray
James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, 4 October 2022
Image credits:
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Durham Univ./G. Mahler;
IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
GRB afterglow XRT_image_crop.jpeg
The afterglow of Gamma Ray Burst 221009A
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, 13 October 2022
Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)
Progress 80 cargo craft departs the ISS
International Space Station, 23 October 2022
Credit: NASA
Two galaxies from two telescopes
James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope, 5 October 2022
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Rogier Windhorst (ASU), William Keel (University of Alabama), Stuart Wyithe (University of Melbourne), JWST PEARLS Team, Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Curiosity's 36 Drill Holes PIA25416.tiff
Curiosity's 36 Drill Holes on Mars
Curiosity Rover Mars Hand Lens Imager, 19 October 2022
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
IXPE Measures Exploded Star Remains casa_streams_lg.jpeg
Cassiopeia A supernova remnant
Chandra X-ray Observatory, 18 October 2022
Credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, IXPE: NASA/MSFC/J. Vink et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI
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).
Deep-Sky Planner 8 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.
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.
