Six low-altitude gems that barely peek above the horizon – all the more satisfying to catch! We’re going low for this month’s tour, looking at objects that are best seen when their region is above the

First up is the mag. +11.9 planetary nebula IC 351, located 2.3° west and 0.8° south of Menkib (Xi (ξ) Persei). Despite its small apparent size – just 8 x 6 arcminutes – it’s visible through a small s

1. NGC 6940 10x 50 Let’s start the tour with open cluster NGC 6940, which deserves to be far better known. To find it, use the chart to identify mag. +4.2 52 Cygni and pan 3.5° to the southwest to an

From colliding galaxies to supermassive black holes, we take a look at some of the strangest sights in the universe

A look at some of the thousands of astronomical objects visible in Hubble’s historic photograph

1. The Hyades The V-shaped Hyades open star cluster is next to mag. +1.0 Aldebaran (Alpha (α) Tauri), the reddish eye of the Bull, a foreground star that’s not actually part of the cluster. At 153 lig