October 2017
Find out what's in the October 2017 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Published:
This month’s issue comes with a Dark Skies map, revealing the best locations for avoiding light pollution across the UK and Ireland.
This month’s features:
– Sputnik: Spark of the Space Age – The story behind the silver orb that lifted off 60 years ago and launched the Space Age
– The Wonder Satellites – the moving targets that make great astrophotos
– Aurora Hunting: A Traveller’s Guide – all you need to plan an aurora trip
– Chasing The Moon’s Shadow – our 3,000km road trip to view the US eclipse
– Imaging for Science: Part 1 – how to take scientifically useful images
Equipment reviews
Celestron CGX-L EQ 1100 EdgeHD
ALtair Astro GPCAM2 290C colour camera
Deep Sky Planner 7
Online Bonus Content
Maggie and Chris explore the cosmic debris that lands on our planet
We speak to ESA scientist Johannes Benkhoff about the new mission to study Mercury
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through October’s night skies in the Virtual Planetarium.
View the winning, runner-up and highly commended images from this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award
Also this month
Getting to grips with Dobsonians in The Guide
How to make an outdoor autofocuser for your camera lens
Image processing – Perfect your planetary pics with PIPP
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 October Sky Guide featuring The Orionids, October comets and Venus and Mars in conjunction
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