Just north of mag. +3.9 Asellus Australis (Delta (δ) Cancri), you’ll spot a ‘little cloud’, which is what ‘Nephelion’, M44’s ancient Greek name, means. At only 577 lightyears away, M44 (also known as

When to use this chart 1 Feb 00:00 AEDT (31 Jan, 13:00 UT) 15 Feb 23:00 AEDT (12:00 UT) 28 Feb 22:00 AEDT (11:00 UT) The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times shown for Sydney, Austr

Our first target is the Little Pinwheel Galaxy, NGC 3184, positioned 48 arcminutes west of mag. +3.0 Tania Australis (Mu (μ) Ursae Majoris). This spiral galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +10.1 but i

The spring sky is heavy with galaxies. As the stars of winter rotate westward, they drag the winter Milky Way with them, leaving us to gaze out into deep space at right angles to the plane of our home

Our astronomical adventure in the hills of mid-Wales starts on an unlucky note. The autumnal sunshine of earlier has been swept away by a persistent drizzle rolling across the valleys and hilltops of

It’s the question I’m asked more than any other whenever I give a talk on the history of the constellations: who invented the Southern Cross? The short answer is: no one did – or at least no individua