Astrophotography
Whether you’re an astrophotography expert or beginner, our guides and galleries will inspire and help you get the most out of imaging the night sky.
Fix light pollution in astrophotos by controlling gradients
Altair 678c colour USB3 astronomy camera
A fast-frame-rate, high-sensitivity option for imaging the Moon and planets,
Vera C Rubin Observatory is online | First images from the world’s largest digital camera
First images from the world’s largest digital camera, housed in the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, give a taste of what to expect from its upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky.
Masterclass: The planets in their prime
Join our Masterclass with Pete Lawrence, expert astro imager and presenter on BBC Four’s The Sky at Night at 7pm on 25 April 2024.
Save 20% when you buy all three as a series booking
28 Years Later features UK astrophotographer's dazzling shot of the Milky Way
What's new?
Photographer captures Strawberry Moon rising over lighthouse on the tip of Australia's east coast
The low-hanging Strawberry Moon dazzles in orange and red. Here are some of the best images from across the globe
Photograph the Moon with your smartphone camera
Tips and tricks to help you succeed in lunar astrophotography using a smartphone.
6 ways to enjoy to enjoy a full Moon or supermoon
How to make the most of and enjoy a full Moon or supermoon.
Photograph the Strawberry Moon rising and you'll be able to debunk an illusion as old as the Moon itself
Astrophotography guides
Follow our astrophotography guides for in-depth tutorials on photographing the night sky, plus image processing advice to help fine-tune your astro images.
Want to fine-tune your astrophoto colour palette? Split your RGB image to edit colour channels individually
How to photograph the 29 March solar eclipse
How to photograph the International Space Station
We reveal the tricks you need to image the International Space Station and capture its intricate features.
Comets
Facts about and images of comets, the rocky, icy celestial bodies that orbit the Sun and can sometimes briefly be seen with the naked eye in the night sky above Earth
Eclipses
Beautiful images of lunar and solar eclipses.
Gallery | Solar eclipses
What is a solar eclipse and how do you view one safely? Find out about the celestial mechanics behind these spectacular astronomical events.
Lunar eclipses explained
What is a lunar eclipse and why do they happen? Discover the science of lunar eclipses and view amazing pictures of the rusty-red 'blood Moon'.
Galaxies
There are many types of galaxy, from spiral galaxies to ellipticals, dwarfs and strange-looking irregular galaxies. These are images of some of the most beautiful galaxies in the Universe, captured by astrophotographers on planet Earth.
Gallery | Leo Triplet
The three galaxies that make up the Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, are engaged in a gravitational tug of war, making this a fascinating deep-sky spectacle.
Gallery | Bode's Galaxy and Cigar Galaxy
Images of M81 and M82, the pair of interacting galaxies known as Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy, including facts and the history of their discovery.
Gallery | Sunflower Galaxy
Facts about and images of M63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy.
Meteors
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The Moon
Beautiful images of the Moon, including images of lunar craters, clair obscur effects, lunar maria and astrophotos showing the terminator creeping across the Moon's jagged surface.
Gallery | Plato Crater
Facts about Plato Crater and images of this fascinating lunar feature.
Gallery | Harvest Moon
What is a Harvest Moon, and and are they really worth the hype?
Gallery | Full Moon
Some will tell you a full Moon is the worst time to observe our lunar neighbour, but there's still plenty to see when the Moon is fully illuminated.
The Moon
Images of the Moon, including the crescent Moon, gibbous Moon and the full Moon. Photos of its famous craters and lunar maria or seas, and its tallest mountains.
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Nebulae
Beautiful images of glowing cosmic clouds known as nebulae. These regions of space are filled with gas and dust, out of which new stars will be born. These are some of the most well-known, captured by astrophotographers from around the globe.
Gallery | Eagle Nebula
Images of the Eagle Nebula and its famous feature the Pillars of Creation.
Gallery | Ring Nebula
Facts and images about the Ring Nebula, M57, a planetary nebula found 2,000 lightyears away in Lyra.
Gallery | Tadpole Nebula
Images of the Tadpole Nebula, IC 410, and facts about this star-forming region.
Planets
Beautiful images of the planets of our Solar System and their moons, captured by amateur and professional astrophotographers from around the world.
Facts about Mars
Mars is one of the most explored bodies of our Solar System. Our spacecraft and rovers are revealing its secrets bit by bit, including whether it could have hosted life…
Gallery | Jupiter
Facts about Jupiter and images of the gas giant captured by amateur astrophotographers.
Gallery | Saturn
Beautiful pictures of the ringed planet Saturn and facts about the gas giant, the second biggest planet in our Solar System.
Skyscapes
Astro images showing the beautiful astronomical phenomena that can be seen in Earth's night sky, including stars, conjunctions, star trails and the aurora.
Stars
Pictures of stars, including starscapes, star trails, bright stars in the sky, photos of constellations and images of the starry band of the Millky Way stretching across the night sky.
Beehive Cluster
Facts about and images of M44, also known as the Beehive Cluster.
Observing guide | Globular clusters
Globular clusters are some of the most beautiful objects to observe through a telescope. Discover the science of globulars and the best to see in the night sky.
Gallery | Hercules Globular Cluster
M13, the Hercules Globular Cluster, is perhaps the most famous of all globulars.
The Sun
Images of the Sun, Earth's host star at the centre of the Solar System, including sunspots, solar flares, solar prominences and solar eclipses.
Gallery | Sunspots
Facts about sunspots and images of the Sun's surface.
Two more strong flares erupted from the Sun this week, as seen by NASA's orbiting solar observatory
More solar flares have been recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Gallery | Planes in front of the Sun and Moon
A gallery of images of planes passing in front of the solar or lunar disc.