Earthshine

BEST TIME TO SEE: Nights of 9/10, 10/11 and 11/12 July A full Moon occurs when the Moon is opposite the Sun in the sky or, in other words, when its ecliptic longitude is 180° from the Sun. The eclipti

BEST TIME TO SEE: From 03:30 BST (02:30 UT) all month. Closest approach on 12 August Venus is the brightest planet that can be seen from Earth. At its peak brightness, when 22% illuminated, Venus appr

Your dusty, distant destination awaits, with unique geology that reveals billions of years of cosmic collisions

The best discoveries, inventions and surprises

1 Our Moonwatch target (see page 52), the walled plain Flammarion, is well placed this evening and tomorrow evening. You can also catch it on the waning Moon on the morning of 16 August. 2 This evenin

Whichever way you look at it, this year’s Perseid meteor shower peak on 12 August is going to be challenging for naked-eye observers. As with all meteor showers, some years are better than others, but