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49 Articles

This is your complete handbook to enjoying the night sky throughout the whole year, where you’ll find all the information that you need to stargaze to your heart’s content. The month-by-month guide clearly explains what to look for and when. It includes detailed sky charts to lead you through the stars and galaxies. Find out how to identify constellations such as Virgo, Scutum, Pegasus and Auriga. And discover the best times to see oppositions, conjunctions, transits and stunning meteor showers. You’ll also find in-depth articles to delve into: take a stargazing journey around winter’s favourite targets, find out the best darksky sites around England, discover how to pick up a bargain on second-hand equipment, and check out our round-up of the best kit to be tested in our in 2021.…

As a child, hiding behind a curtain in the school library, devouring books about space when I should have been outside playing, I was amazed to read that when we look up at the stars we are looking back in time too. The light entering our eyes from these distant objects set off years, decades or millennia earlier. It still fascinates me today knowing that every time we look at something ‘up there’ we’re seeing it as it was in the past. Science fiction has got it wrong; you don’t need a TARDIS or a DeLorean to travel back in time – your own eyes will do just fine. To demonstrate, here we take a temporal tour of objects in the night sky, which can be seen from a back…

How far back in time can we look?

With enormous modern telescopes and sensitive detectors, professional astronomers can see far beyond what most back garden telescopes are capable of. As far as our own Solar System is concerned, one of the farthest objects observed so far is a 500km-wide asteroid, 2018VG18. Also known as Farout, it is over 120 times further from the Sun than Earth, or three times further away than dwarf planet Pluto. If you were standing on Farout’s dark, pink, icy surface, Earth would be a mag. +6.8 ‘star’ hugging close to the Sun and Jupiter would shine at barely mag. +5.0. If a space probe ever reaches Farout it will take 17 hours for its radio signals and images to reach Earth. As for the most distant object ever seen in the Universe, the…

How far back in time can we look?

Imaging Andromeda

M31 is famously the most distant thing visible to the naked eye, but that’s only true if you have good eyesight, a dark sky with no light pollution, and you know where to look for it. Luckily, even if you have none of those things, it’s quite easy to photograph this beautiful spiral galaxy – all you need is a DSLR on a sturdy tripod. You don’t even need a tracker or stacking software. To take a portrait of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, fit either your wide-angle lens or standard 50mm lens onto your DSLR, mount it on a sturdy tripod, open the lens to its widest aperture and then focus in sharply on a light on the horizon. With its ISO set to 800, aim your camera at the…

Imaging Andromeda

The drama of winter NIGHT SKIES

As the Northern Hemisphere makes a transition from autumn to winter and leaves behind the season of mists and mellow fruits, darkness continues to lengthen and the familiar sights that winter skies have to offer are welcomed with open arms, like greeting old friends. The changing of the seasons brings a changing in the constellations – slowly nudged from east to west as we continue our journey around the Sun. If you’re a complete beginner to constellations, you may be wondering what they are. Quite simply they are grouped patterns of stars in our night sky. For thousands of years our ancestors looked to the sky, and observed and named them after animals, objects and mythological characters. You will need a bit of imagination as you try to identify each…

The drama of winter NIGHT SKIES

Top targets through the eyepiece

WHAT TO SEE WITH BINOCULARS The Pleiades, M45 – located in Taurus This open cluster is the jewel in winter’s crown; binoculars will bring many more of its icy blue stars into view. Orion Nebula, M42 – located in Orion A winter favourite, even a small pair of 10x50 binoculars will bring out this stellar nursery’s grey-green nebulosity. Alcor – located in Ursa Major Grab your binoculars to see this binary star shining close to its brighter companion, Mizar. Andromeda Galaxy, M31 – located in Andromeda You can see the Milky Way’s largest galactic neighbour with the naked eye, but binoculars will bring out its bright core. The Double Cluster – located in Perseus Located between Cassiopeia and Perseus, this sparkling Double Cluster will be brought to life through binoculars.…

Top targets through the eyepiece

Where to go stargazing in ENGLAND

While it’s often considered a densely populated and light-polluted urban country that’s not ideal for amateur astronomy, England has plenty of hills, open moorland, reservoirs and remote countryside that are perfect for stargazing away from the glow of towns and cities. Dark-sky locations in Scotland and Wales are high on amateur astronomers’ bucket lists, yet there are many International Dark Sky Reserves in England where darkness is protected, including Exmoor National Park, Moore’s Reserve in the South Downs National Park, Cranborne Chase and the newly-certified Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks. There are also two International Dark Sky Parks celebrated for having the very darkest skies: Bodmin Moor Dark Sky Landscape in Cornwall and Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water & Forest Park. As well as a mushrooming…

Where to go stargazing in ENGLAND

England’s dark-sky locations

1 Yorkshire Dales & North York Moors National Parks, Yorkshire Area 2,179km2 • 1,436km2 Event Dark Skies Festival (Feb) 2 Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Norfolk Area 450km2 • Event Dark Skies Festival (Sep) 3 Peak District National Park, northern England Area 1,4374km2 • Event Guided Stargazing tours 4 Cotswolds AONB, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire Area 2,038km2 • Event Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group activities 5 Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, Gloucestershire Area 328km2 • Event Night-trek observing 6 Exmoor National Park, Somerset and North Devon Area 181km2 • Event Dark Skies Festival (Oct) 7 Cranborne Chase AONB, Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset Area 980km2 • Event Dark Skies Festival (Feb) 8 Moore’s Reserve, South Downs National Park, Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex Area 1,627km2 •…

England’s dark-sky locations

PICKING UP A BARGAIN A guide to buying second-hand kit

There is a thriving market in second-hand astronomy equipment, helped by the fact that astronomers generally tend to take good care of their kit, so that when they choose to sell it on to someone else it’s usually in pretty good shape. As well as helping you to save money in what can be an expensive hobby, buying from someone who has actually used an instrument before you has another benefit – they can pass on their wisdom. It can be daunting for a newcomer to come into the second-hand marketplace for the first time, however, so here we take a look at some of the most practical questions to ask before making a purchase – for example, the types of photos you should ask to see of an item…

PICKING UP A BARGAIN A guide to buying second-hand kit

Telescopes are technically the ‘optical tube assembly’ (OTA) only, meaning that it doesn’t come with a mount or tripod. When deciding whether to buy a second-hand telescope, there are many questions you can, and should, ask. Has there been any damage to the mirror or lens? Feel free to ask for close-up images to check for scratches or coating blemishes. Is the tube damaged? Look at pictures of the tube to see if the item has been handled properly. The odd scratch and scuff to the side is fine, but anything significant should be mentioned in the seller’s advert – it could be a sign of misuse or damage. Get written confirmation that any ‘wear and tear’ you see has no effect on the optics. Are all caps and covers…

Mounts are designed to be robust and a well cared for second-hand mount is a great purchase. Research is still important, as purchasing a first Go-To mount can be daunting: the mount is often more important than the scope itself – particularly for astrophotography. Assembling and working these for the first time can also be a challenge. Mounts are another second-hand item we’d most strongly suggest collecting if possible. Beforehand, find out where the mount has been stored. If left outside, internal mechanisms could be rusted, affecting performance. Also check whether it has been serviced, something more common for highend mounts. This isn’t essential, but servicing is recommended every couple of years to optimise performance. Ask the seller how the mount has been powered, ie via mains or a power…

Binoculars can be couriered or posted if packed securely, because of their small size. While you would benefit from holding and looking through them in person, make sure you do this safely, according to any Covid guidelines. If you’re having them delivered, make sure you get lots of pictures of the product before payment. Check that all covers are provided, and whether it comes in a hard or soft case. Much like a telescope, ask the seller for images of the lenses in good daytime lighting – are these clear? Don’t worry about seeing dust as this is unlikely to impact your viewing experience. What you’re looking for are coating blemishes or scratches on the glass. Ask the seller if there are any focus or usability issues. If the answer…

Filters and eyepieces

The high quality glass needed for filters and eyepieces means they can be expensive. However, they are easy to post, so if the seller can confirm (via photos) that they come with dust-free covers and a hard case, these should be fine for delivery. Filters are delicate and need to be handled with care, so they can be susceptible to damage which you’ll need to check for. Obvious blemishes due to misuse can be highlighted in photos; it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for close-up images of a filter held up to a light, to check for obvious signs of damage. If you’re buying filters for astrophotography, it’s always good to see images the seller has taken using them, and know what type of camera has been used. If it’s a…

Filters and eyepieces

Where to buy second-hand astro kit

Thanks to the internet and social media, shopping for second-hand items isn’t limited to one or two providers. It’s worth checking in with your local astronomy groups as members regularly sell kit to each other, but other places to look for pre-owned astronomy equipment include: VENDORS AND WEBSITES Rother Valley Optics: ENS Optics: Harrison Telescopes: Astro Classifieds: FACEBOOK GROUPS Astro Buy Sell and Swap UK Only Astro Buying & Selling Secondhand Astronomy Equipment UK…

Where to buy second-hand astro kit

There are many different types of cameras that can be used in astrophotography but these fall broadly into three categories; DSLR, CMOS and CCD cameras. You can do some homework on the suitability of the camera for your setup – the sensor/pixel size against your telescope’s focal length will affect the size of the image you’ll get. There’s a calculator at www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astronomy-fieldview-calculator where you can enter your telescope and camera details to get a good idea of how your setup will perform. The wrong combination can negatively impact the quality of an astro image, so ensure the setup fits your goals. Calibration frames are also important when assessing second-hand cameras. Feel free to ask the seller to send you a dark frame – these allow you to assess the amount…

Sky-Watcher Star Discovery P150i Wi-Fi telescope

A quiet revolution is taking place as more and more telescopes have built-in Wi-Fi, so users can control their scopes with smartphones and tablets. The Star Discovery P150i Wi-Fi comes in two boxes and is straightforward to assemble, allowing you to be up and running in 10 to 15 minutes. The tube assembly is in one box while the tripod, single-arm mount, spreader tray and a box with the eyepieces, finder and bubble level is in the second. It’s best to assemble the mount onto the tripod first and then to attach the telescope, before completing it with the red dot finder. The mount is powered either by eight AA batteries installed in the side of the mount, or via a 12V power tank plugged into the power port. We…

Sky-Watcher Star Discovery P150i Wi-Fi telescope

Opticron Oregon WA 10x50 binoculars

Smooth operating focus A binocular’s centre-focus wheel and right eyepiece dioptre adjuster need to be smooth enough for precise focusing, but resistant enough to stop accidental refocusing. The backlash-free feel of both met these criteria and focus was easy with gloved hands. Tethered lens caps Caps are essential to protect your lenses from dust, and these ones are unlikely to get lost as they’re tethered to the binoculars. They can also be removed if you prefer to not have them tethered. Fold-down rubber eye cups The rubber eye cups are pliable enough for comfort and they fold down to present the full field of view if you observe with spectacles. There’s a rubber flange around the eye lens so your spectacle lenses won’t rub against it. Good right eyepiece dioptre…

Opticron Oregon WA 10x50 binoculars

Unistellar eVscope eQuinox

Unistellar’s eVscope eQuinox appears to challenge conventional wisdom by not including an eyepiece, so we were keen to put it to the test. The Unistellar eVscope eQuinox is the latest version of the ‘smart’ digital telescope and is just as innovative. Like the original eVscope from 2020, the eVscope eQuinox is a 4.5-inch, f/4 reflector that comes with a camera sensor that tracks and stacks images in realtime to produce rich-colour views of deep-sky objects. In that respect, it’s just like the ground-based optical telescopes used by professional astronomers. Everything the eQuinox does is accessed through Unistellar’s app, so to view the sky with it you need a tablet or smartphone; up to 10 of these can be linked to the telescope via its Wi-Fi network. Your device receives the…

Unistellar eVscope eQuinox

Founder Optics FOT106 triplet refractor

Inspection Report card The underside of the focuser is stamped with a serial number that matches the Inspection Report, which verifies the scope’s optical and mechanical quality. Carry case The foam-padded, lockable carry case protects the telescope in transit or storage, holding the complete package conveniently together, including the field-flattener and rings. At just 70cm x 24cm x 23cm the case is a good manageable size. Tube rings Stylish green tube rings and a Vixen-style mounting bar provide a solid link between the FOT106 and the mount. A custom carry handle bolts securely onto the top of the rings and incorporates a mounting rail for a red dot finder. All the necessary bolts are included. Field-flattener Including a matching field-flattener makes this telescope an almost out-of-the-box solution for astrophotography. It…

$Founder Optics FOT106 triplet refractor$

Canon EOS R6 mirrorless camera body

The Canon EOS R6 is a full-frame mirrorless camera that features the latest incarnation of Canon’s classic 20 megapixel sensor. This offers an ISO range of between 100 and 102400, expandable to 204800, while maintaining low noise (levels of unwanted artefacts) into the mid- to high-range of ISO settings. Canon hasn’t followed the recent trend of ‘the more megapixels the better’, instead opting to keep the bigger pixels provided at 20MP, which works well very for astrophotography. The camera’s magnesium alloy body is reassuringly sturdy and solid, weighing in at 680g, which is lighter than its mirrored, full-frame equivalent. The Canon R series cameras use the new RF lens mount and a new range of RF lenses are available. However, with the use of an optional adaptor, purchased separately, the…

Canon EOS R6 mirrorless camera body

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3 ISSUES FOR £5

ALL MONTH Comet C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) is well-placed at mag. +9.5 3/4 JANUARY A favourable Quadrantid meteor shower peak 7 JANUARY Mercury is at greatest eastern (evening) elongation 14 JANUARY Mercury and Saturn lie 3.6º apart in the evening twilight 26 JANUARY A 42%-lit waning Moon occults Zubenelgenubi (Alpha (a) Librae)…

January at a glance

January’s night sky is resplendent with bright stars, vibrant constellations and numerous interesting deep sky objects. Centre-stage is Orion, the Hunter, its seven bright stars forming an easily recognisable pattern. Three stars of similar brightness at Orion’s centre form Orion’s Belt – a navigational hub for the winter sky. Follow Orion’s Belt northwest to the orange giant Aldebaran (Alpha (a) Tauri), the red eye of Taurus, the Bull. Extend the belt line beyond Aldebaran to arrive at the Pleiades, aka the Seven Sisters. Compare and contrast the Pleiades with the V-shaped Hyades next to Aldebaran. The Hyades is our closest open cluster and ancient – around 625 million years old. To us it looks sparse and composed of cool, dim reddish stars. In contrast, the Pleiades were formed just 100…

January at a glance

This month’s treats include a chance to see the Lunar X and V, and the Comet 19P/Borrelly EARLY FEBRUARY Comet 19P/Borrelly shines at mag. +8.0 2 FEBRUARY A 3%-lit waxing Moon lies near Jupiter in the evening twilight 8 FEBRUARY See the Lunar X and V clairobscur effects in the early evening 20 FEBRUARY Minor planet 20 Massalia reaches opposition at mag. +8.5 27 FEBRUARY Venus, Mars and a 15%-lit waning crescent Moon lie close together in the morning twilight…

February at a glance

As Orion slowly but surely drifts to the west, he’s followed by the fainter constellations of spring. Extend a line from Rigel at Orion’s southwest corner, through Betelgeuse in the northeast, for twice the distance to arrive at Castor (Alpha (a) Geminorum) and Pollux (Beta (b) Geminorum) in Gemini, the Twins. These bright stars represent the heads of the Twins and, although they appear similar at first, have subtle differences. Pollux to the south is marginally brighter than Castor and has a slightly redder hue. There are other differences too. Through a telescope, Castor appears as a tight double but, in reality, there are six stars in this system – a classic sextuplet. Pollux is a single star known to have a planet in orbit around it. With a mass…

February at a glance

CONSTELLATION OF THE SEASON SPRING: Virgo

The constellation of Virgo, the Virgin is the second largest by area in the entire night sky. It contains a large number of distant galaxies in the northwest part of the constellation, known as the Realm of Galaxies. This is characterised by the southern bounding pattern to this region, which forms a curved asterism known as the Bowl of Virgo – made up of Zavijava (Beta (b)), Zaniah (Eta (η)), Porrima (Gamma (g)), Auva (Delta (d)) and Vindemiatrix (Epsilon (e)). Porrima at the base of the Bowl comprises two similar stars of magnitudes +3.5 and +3.6, and spectral class F0V. They orbit over a 167-year period and, having passed periastron (closest separation) in 2005 when even large scopes had trouble separating them, they now appear further apart. In 2022 their…

CONSTELLATION OF THE SEASON SPRING: Virgo

ALL MONTH Comet 19P/Borrelly is well-placed, brighter than mag. +10 2 MARCH Mercury and Saturn are hard to split, 50 arcminutes apart in morning sky 8 MARCH A 35%-lit waxing crescent Moon lies 4.1º south of the Pleiades 12 MARCH The Jewelled Handle clair-obscur effect is visible late evening 29 MARCH Venus, Mars and Saturn lie close together in the morning sky…

March at a glance

Rapidly expanding evening twilight rushes up to engulf Orion this month and the mighty Hunter’s time is becoming limited, especially by the end of March. Spring constellations are in charge now, the lead being taken by Leo, the Lion. This strong pattern is quite recognisable with a bit of artistic license. The Lion faces west towards Cancer and Gemini. Its head is formed by a distinctive backward question mark asterism known as the Sickle. The bright star Regulus (Alpha (a) Leonis) provides the ‘punctuation dot’ at the bottom of the backward question mark. The Lion’s body is roughly rectangular, heading east from the Sickle. The star Denebola (Beta (b) Leonis) marks the end of the Lion’s tail, forming a sharp, pointed triangle with the eastern edge of the rectangle. Spindly…

March at a glance

CONSTELLATION OF THE SEASON SPRING: Virgo

The constellation of Virgo, the Virgin is the second largest by area in the entire night sky. It contains a large number of distant galaxies in the northwest part of the constellation, known as the Realm of Galaxies. This is characterised by the southern bounding pattern to this region, which forms a curved asterism known as the Bowl of Virgo – made up of Zavijava (Beta (b)), Zaniah (Eta (η)), Porrima (Gamma (g)), Auva (Delta (d)) and Vindemiatrix (Epsilon (e)). Porrima at the base of the Bowl comprises two similar stars of magnitudes +3.5 and +3.6, and spectral class F0V. They orbit over a 167-year period and, having passed periastron (closest separation) in 2005 when even large scopes had trouble separating them, they now appear further apart. In 2022 their…

CONSTELLATION OF THE SEASON SPRING: Virgo

April at a glance

At the start of April, the period of true darkness from the centre of the UK is about seven hours long. At the end, it’s just four hours. Bookending the darkness are the periods of morning and evening twilight. In the morning twilight towards the end of April, be sure to check out Jupiter and Venus really close together, and a spectacular appearance of Mercury in the evening. The most dominant star of spring is Arcturus (Alpha (a) Boötis), a bright orange supergiant at the southern end of a tall, kite-shaped asterism in the heart of Boötes, the Herdsman. The Plough sits near the zenith, just look up to find the familiar shape. Extend the Plough’s curving handle away from the blade and keep the arc going until you arrive…

April at a glance

May at a glance

Where to spot the planets this month May at a glance The annual Eta (η) Aquariid meteor shower reaches a peak on the morning of 6 May. Though better suited to the Southern Hemisphere, the Moon is out of the way this year. In the run up to the peak, don’t miss Jupiter and Venus appearing really close. On the morning of 1 May, they appear separated by just 22 arcminutes. Look low towards the southern horizon approaching midnight to find the red supergiant Antares (Alpha (a) Scorpii). Its name means ‘rival of Mars’, an apt description based on the star’s distinct orange colour. Antares lies at the heart of Scorpius, the Scorpion. To its west you’ll find the creature’s claws represented by four medium bright stars in a roughly…

May at a glance

Scutum, the Shield is a small constellation visible during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months. It lies north of Sagittarius, the Archer and is bordered by Aquila, the Eagle and Serpens Cauda, the Serpent’s Head to the west, north and east. When viewed from a dark sky site, a naked eye view of Scutum can sometimes be a little unnerving. As the Milky Way passes through it, you can be fooled into thinking clouds are moving in. The brightness is due to a region known as the Scutum Star Cloud, a strawberry shaped region of the Milky Way with an elevated brightness, located in the northern part of constellation. A small arc of stars at the southern end of Aquila and into Scutum appears to hook into the cloud. Wild Duck…

June at a glance

June is the month when the Sun reaches its most northerly position in the sky. Known as the June Solstice, for 2022, this instant in time occurs at 10:13 BST (09:13 UT) on 21 June. Around this date, the length of night is minimised and nowhere in the UK experiences true darkness. After sunset and prior to sunrise, the entire night is given over to a form of twilight. After the Sun has dipped more than 6o below the horizon, the sky is dark enough to reveal the presence of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), which may be present. These are high altitude ice clouds in the mesosphere, basically thin sheets of tiny ice particles at altitudes of 80km up and up. At this height NLCs reflect sunlight after the Sun has…

June at a glance

July at a glance

As far as astronomy under UK skies is concerned, the year is split into two halves; the part leading up to the June solstice on 21 June, and the part which follows it. In the period surrounding the solstice, there was no true darkness, but during July the nights are increasing in length – albeit slowly. The brilliant stars of summer, brought into view during June then removed due to the solstice period, find a new lease of life this month. As the skies slowly get darker, so the summer constellations appear bolder and there are some terrific sights to see. A highlight of the summer sky is the Milky Way. But, in order to see it, you’ll have to get somewhere dark. It is worth the effort, though, to…

July at a glance

August at a glance

The month brings good news and bad. The bad news refers to the position of the Moon around the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Located in southern Aquarius, the waning gibbous Moon will severely affect the visibility of meteors at the Perseid peak this year. The good news relates to the planets, both Jupiter and Saturn moving to centre stage this month. Under darkening skies, telescopic views of these amazing worlds are now starting to improve dramatically from the UK as their altitudes are now increasing after many years languishing in the low southern constellations. In particular, Saturn reaches opposition on 14 August. In the days leading up to opposition, a lighting effect on the ring particles makes Saturn’s rings brighten. This peaks at opposition, after which the rings…

August at a glance

CONSTELLATION OF THE SEASON AUTUMN: Pegasus

Pegasus, the Flying Horse is visible in the Northern Hemisphere’s autumn night sky. At 1,121 square degrees, it is the seventh largest of the 88 constellations. It is also fair to say that the outline of a flying horse isn’t immediately obvious. The pattern is supposed to represent a horse’s head, torso and forelegs. The trick to seeing these is to realise that, from the UK at least, Pegasus appears upside down. Pegasus is characterised by an asterism known as the Great Square of Pegasus. Despite its name, the shape has no sides of equal length and only three of its stars technically belong to Pegasus. Star charts also tend to give the Great Square more prominence than it perhaps deserves. Alpheratz represents the brightest corner at mag. +2.1. The…

CONSTELLATION OF THE SEASON AUTUMN: Pegasus

September at a glance

September’s nights grow in duration at the fastest rate for the year thanks to the Northern Hemisphere’s Autumn Equinox. This year’s equinox occurs at 02:03 BST (01:03 UT) on 23 September, marking the instant when the centre of the Sun’s disc crosses the celestial equator, heading south. At the equinox, day and night are approximately equal in length and the Sun appears to rise due east, and sets due west. The nearest full Moon to this equinox is known as the Harvest Moon, a name which has meaning. At this time of year, the fuller phases of the Moon exhibit minimum difference between rise times one evening to the next. The bright Moon seems to be on hand at similar times over several evenings to help light the fields for…

September at a glance

October at a glance

During long, dark October nights, the Milky Way arches overhead in the early evening. The view south and up to the zenith is something of a family mural. Overhead is W-shape of Cassiopeia, the Seated Queen. Imagining the W correctly orientated, above and slightly right of it you’ll find her husband, Cepheus, the King. Cepheus resembles the outline of a house – a square base with a triangle roof. The roof apex is marked by Er Rai (Gamma (ܓ) Cephei), itself a little less than 12° from Polaris (Alpha (ɑ) Ursae Minoris). A beautiful orange star lies under the floor of the house, Erakis (Mu (μ) Cephei) or Herschel’s Garnet Star. A line from Cepheus, through Cassiopeia, and on for the same distance brings you to Perseus, the Hero. In…

October at a glance

November at a glance

November is an ideal time for exploring the Great Square of Pegasus region. Despite its name, this large asterism doesn’t have equal sides, nor do all of its stars belong to Pegasus. The star in the northeast corner is Alpheratz (Alpha (ɑ) Andromedae). Pegasus, the Flying Horse, extends west and southwest from the Great Square. A downwardspointing, squat isosceles triangle forms the upside-down flying horse’s head, the creature’s nose marked by Enif (Epsilon (Ɛ) Pegasi), the brightest star in Pegasus. If you follow a line from the star at the south of the head’s triangle, Baham (Theta (θ) Pegasi), through Enif for about half that distance again, you’ll arrive at the bright globular cluster M15. Immediately west of Enif lies Equuleus, the Foal, a tiny, faint and indistinct constellation. North-west…

November at a glance

Auriga, the Charioteer is a principal constellation of autumn and winter, positioned north of Taurus, the Bull and Gemini, the Twins. It appears roughly pentagonal in shape, bright Capella (Alpha (α) Aurigae) just pipping Menkalinan (Beta (β) Aurigae) as the most northerly point of the pentagon. Delta (δ) Aurigae sits near the constellation’s northern border, north of the main pentagon by some distance. Capella’s declination of 46o makes it circumpolar from the UK; it never sets, even when due north. Capella lies roughly on the opposite side of the North Celestial Pole to the bright summer star Vega (Alpha (α) Lyrae) in Lyra, the Lyre. As a result, Capella and Vega form a seasonal clock, Vega high in the late evening summer sky, Capella occupying the same position during winter.…

December at a glance

There’s a distinct contrast between the subtle stars of autumn and the bold constellations of winter. The transition zone is marked by Aries and Taurus, Aries appearing bland in comparison with feature-rich Taurus. Further south, the distinction is less obvious. Southwest of Taurus lies the large sprawling form of Cetus, the Whale or Sea Monster. Southeast of Taurus lies the unmistakable pattern of Orion, the Hunter, with the region between Orion and Cetus occupied by mostly faint and meandering Eridanus, the River. Taurus, the Bull sits north of Eridanus and is unmistakeable for several reasons this month. Two beautiful and contrasting open clusters known as the Pleiades and Hyades normally steal the show. The older and closer V-shaped pattern of the Hyades depicts the Bull’s face, with the orange giant…

December at a glance

GALLERY WINNERS

*CM = Central meridian longitude…

GALLERY WINNERS

Project 1: Moons of the Solar System

* Difficult ** Hard *** Very hard **** Extremely hard The table above shows just how many moons are attributed to the main planets. Most are too faint for amateur equipment and the ones that are visible range from easy through to extremely difficult. Here we’re asking you to observe and record as many as possible, either visually or by imaging. There are plenty of apps and planetarium programs which show the position of many of the moons mentioned here. A free example is Cartes du Ciel (www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start). For moons which orbit close to their planet, choose a date and time when they appear close to elongation – furthest from the planet. An easy start Working our way out from the Sun, Mercury and Venus are moonless and can be…

Project 1: Moons of the Solar System

Project 2: A galaxy class observation

A galaxy is an immense gravitationally bound collection of stars, interstellar gas, dust and dark matter. Typically, they range in size from 3,000 to 300,000 lightyears and are separated by millions of lightyears. A galaxy contains millions to billions of stars and to date it is estimated there are 200 billion galaxies in the observable Universe. They come in all shapes and sizes. The Hubble sequence, introduced by Edwin Hubble in 1926, provides order to the variations. In 1959, Gérard de Vaucouleurs made a refinement to Hubble’s base sequence giving rise to the Hubble-De Vaucouleurs galaxy classification scheme. For this observing project, we want you to recreate the Hubble-De Vaucouleurs scheme using your own observations. These can be sketches or images of galaxies, positioned at the correct point in the…

Project 2: A galaxy class observation

Project 3: Mountains on the Moon

Rising above the lunar surface to great heights, mountains are visible all over the Moon. Crater mountain complexes Lunar mountains are found in three general locations. Violent impacts which formed lunar craters often resulted in the formation of central mountain complexes. These are easy to locate, sitting centrally within their host crater. Young, crisp craters such as Tycho, Copernicus and Theophilus have well-defined central mountain complexes but some large craters – Plato, Archimedes and Ptolemaeus – show no peaks. Some complexes appear sharp, some rounded. Some have singular peaks, some have many. Most appear central but there are examples where this is not the case. The crater trio of Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzarchel provides a convenient mix of styles; Ptolemaeus has nothing, Alphonsus a small central peak and Arzachel a…

Project 3: Mountains on the Moon

Make a planetarium projector

Filling your room with stars To use the projector, find a clear space on the floor for the torch in its base. Next, place the box over the torch, lay a night-sky slide on the top and switch on. You could orientate the projector so that the compass points (north, east, south and west) correspond with the edges of the ceiling. It is important to use a torch with a single, small light source (an LED or tiny bulb) and it should also produce a fairly wide beam. Our torch had a ‘Zoom’ feature and we used it on the widest setting. Before starting the project, you need to hold your torch above the chart so that its circular beam of light just spills beyond the chart’s edge, and measure…

Make a planetarium projector

Create a customised landscape in Stellarium

Stellarium is a fantastic piece of planetarium software and it’s invaluable for helping to plan observing sessions. The program is freely available to download from https://stellarium.org and shows you what you can see in the sky on any particular date and time from any location. The view it gives of the night sky is flexible, with the ability to control displays of stars, planets, labelling and more. As well as the view above you can also alter the view it shows of the horizon, which we’ll look at here. With careful tweaking of all the settings it can almost look like the real sky, so much so that some planetarium operators use it to project a view of the night sky across their dome. It’s useful for seeing what’s around…

Create a customised landscape in Stellarium

Set up your own meteor detection system

We all know about the big meteor showers such as the Geminids and Perseids, but Earth is also bombarded by much smaller meteors every night. Knowing more about these tiny pieces of space dust helps us to analyse meteor showers, sporadic meteors and fireballs, as well as increasing our knowledge of the risk to Earth from larger debris. For example, consider ‘orbital resonance’, which occurs when orbiting bodies exert periodic gravitational influence on each other: research has shown that fireballs from one branch of the Southern Taurid meteor shower debris stream are in 7:2 resonance with Jupiter. This supports a theory that asteroid impacts on Earth are not totally random and appear to have resonances too. Meteor analysis is vital to help our understanding of such potential risks. One way…

Set up your own meteor detection system

APERTURE The diameter of a telescope’s light-gathering main lens or mirror. The bigger the aperture, the brighter and more detailed the image. ASTERISM A pattern of stars within a constellation. AVERTED VISION A technique for observing faint objects through a telescope. It involves viewing slightly to the side of the object, allowing its light to fall on an area of the eye more sensitive to light. BINARY STAR A system of two stars that orbit a common centre of gravity. The brighter star is classified as the primary; the dimmer is the secondary. CELESTIAL EQUATOR A projection of Earth’s equator into space. CELESTIAL SPHERE The projection of the night sky on to an imaginary sphere around Earth. The astronomical coordinates of right ascension and declination are also mapped onto this…

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