The sky guide challenge

You may have bought this December issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine because you’ve been given – or you’ve treated yourself to – a new telescope for Christmas. And you may be wondering what to do with

Astronomers are now regularly detecting planets thousands of light years from Earth – but have we missed one in our own Solar System?

Cecil Navick and Francis Bozon, captured remotely via Obstech, El Sauce Observatory, Chile, 4 May–28 June 2025 Cecil and Francis say: “We chose NGC 6164 because it’s rarely photographed, plus it’s a t

Dark and reflection nebulae are among the trickiest targets for imagers. Teasing out details so that they stand out from the background sky, especially through bad light pollution, can be tough, and e

An artist’s impression of Cha 1107-7626 accreting material ...

As an astronomer, I collect stars. There are several hundred billion of them in our Galaxy, the Milky Way, so it’s important to find a way to categorise them. While others might rank their stars by co