The glittering lights of midwinter

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

In a remote mountain range in Chile, a newly unveiled observatory will soon begin mapping the sky. When its survey starts, the Vera C Rubin Observatory will spend every night for the next decade chart

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

Isn’t it amazing that astronomy – humanity’s oldest science – continues to generate such a delightful amount of new knowledge? Seeing as we’ve been studying the motion of the stars for a good long whi

Best time to see: 31 August, 04:00 BST (03:00 UT) Altitude: 48° Location: Taurus Direction: Southeast Features: Colour, subtle atmospheric banding, moons Recommended equipment: 200mm or larger It’s su

1. The Perseus Double Cluster 15x 70 A third of the way from mag. +3.8 Miram (Eta (h) Persei) to mag. +2.6 Ruchbah (Delta (d) Cassiopeiae), you will find a close pair of open clusters. The pair may be