Become an astronomer

Planetary physicist Dr Sheila Kanani on why now is the time to spot shooting stars and a sunlit Saturn

Thursday 2 Dwarf planet Ceres reaches opposition in the constellation of Cetus, shining at mag. +7.6. Find further details on page 47. Friday ▶ 3 Tonight and the night of 17/18 October are good times

Astronomers love a challenge. They place their observatories on the highest mountains, in the driest deserts, on the coldest ice shelves, beneath the deepest oceans, in orbit around Earth and the Sun,

Star and deep-sky catalogues are crucial resources for making sense of the night sky. There are a lot of them, though – so many, in fact, that you almost need a catalogue of catalogues to keep track o

How our knowledge of these worlds beyond the Solar System has exploded in the last three decades

The worst time to look at the Moon is when it’s full, right? Not necessarily. It’s true that at full Moon, sunlight hits the surface head-on, flattening the appearance of its rugged landscape of deep