Binocular tour

1. The Horn of Plenty Look 2° northwest of mag. +4.2 Kang (Kappa (κ) Virginis) to see a little trio of stars, the brightest of which is mag. +5.5 95 Virginis. This marks the convergence of two irregul

Stephenson 1 is a cluster that deserves to be better known. Delta (δ) Lyrae is a very wide (10-arcminute) and bright (mag. +4.3 and + 5.6) double star with a stunning colour contrast. It’s not a true

Type: Lunar sea Size: 330km Longitude/latitude: 94.7° W, 19.9° S Age: 3.8–3.9 billion years Best time to see: Determined by libration and phase (15–23 June and 11–20 July) Minimum equipment: 10x binoc

During June evenings, the beautiful red supergiant Antares (Alpha (α) Scorpii) can be seen passing above the southern horizon. This ‘rival of Mars’ represents the heart of Scorpius, the scorpion, a co

We start with open cluster IC 4756, right at the top of the tail, located 4.2° west and 0.9° north of mag. +5.6 Alya (Theta1 (θ1) Serpentis). It’s a large, bright object perfectly suited for a small t

Type: Sinuous rille Size: 80km x 2.5km Longitude/latitude: 3.1° E, 25.7° N Age: 3.2–3.9 billion years Best time to see: First quarter (2–3 July) and six days after full Moon (16–17 July) Minimum equip