December 2015

The December 2015 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine is in the shops now!

This month's issue features a free Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 calcendar, featuring the winners of this year's competition and a month-by month guide to the night sky.

Also inside this month's issue:

- Britain in Space - Tim Peake's launch to the ISS is just the latest in a long history of UK spaceflight and research

- Exoplanet Hunters: the Next Generation - Will Gater looks at a new British mission to search for planets outside our Solar System

- Bodges, Blunders and Bullets - strange tales from the world of astronomy

- The Worlds of Star Wars - Dr Elizabeth Pearson looks back on the sci-fi saga to find out if any of its planets could exist close to home

- A Record Year for Space - why 2015 has been a memorable year for space exploration

- Capturing Planets the Dobsonian Way - Using a Dob to image the planets

- Reviews: SkyVision 24-inch T600 Compact Go-To Dobsonian, Tele Vue DeLite eyepiece range, Atik 4120EX colour CCD camera

- Access the bonus content for our Geminids special, revealing how to observe and photograph the meteors.

We talk to Alison Rose and Professor Neville J Woolf about their new astronomy documentary film Star Men

Plus, October's BBC Sky at Night episode looking at volcanic eruptions, December's Virtual Planetarium, deep sky tour chart, get started guides, observing forms and Hotshots and Eye On The Sky picture galleries, including a Hotshots Lunar Eclipse Special.

- This year's Astronomers' Gift Guide

- Understanding optical aberrations in The Guide

- How to clean your DSLR sensor

- Image processing - understanding and using dark frames

- Monthly Bulletin pages bring you up to date with all the latest astronomical news, as well as Cutting Edge revealing the highlights from brand new research

- Our December Sky Guide featuring the Geminid meteor shower, an all-sky chart, a deep-sky tour and more...

- Our Scope Doctor answers your technical kit questions

- Interactive: your letters, tweets, forum posts and readers’ scopes

- Gear – a round up of the latest astronomical accessories

- What’s On listings – find out what astronomy events are on near you

- Hotshots - this month's pick of your very best astrophotos

- Beautiful new images from space in Eye on the Sky

- The latest astronomy books reviewed

The December 2015 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine is in the shops now!

Try 6 issues for just £9.99 when you subscribe today!

6 issues for £9.99 when you subscribe today!