January 2019

– 2019: Space Missions – our roundup of the missions, launches and encounters planned for the coming 12 months

– Observing green stars – take our emerald observing challenge

– AI at the controls – the NASA missions that rely on artificial intelligence

– Imaging for Science: the inner and far outer planets – make your images of Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune more valuable to science

– Expert CMOS imaging tips – how to get the most out of using a CMOS camera to capture deep-sky objects

Equipment reviews

Vixen SD103S apo refractor

Sky-Watcher Startravel-102 AZ-GTe

DayStar Quark Magnesium solar filter

Online Bonus Content

We speak to astronomer Geert Barentsen, a NASA scientist who works on the Kepler mission. Now that Kepler has retired, Geert reveals some of the amazing discoveries the mission has made.

Watch an episode of The Sky at Night in which the team look at a new European mission to study Mercury.

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through January’s night skies in the Virtual Planetarium.

Also this month:

An introductory guide to stacking

How to clean your binoculars

Image processing – luminosity layers

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 January Sky Guide featuring a total lunar eclipse, observing Venus and Jupiter’s moons.

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