The sky guide challenge

Planetary physicist Dr Sheila Kanani on why now is the time to spot shooting stars and a sunlit Saturn

BEST TIME TO SEE: 6, 13, 21 and 29 October at the times shown With long, dark nights settling in and Saturn favourably positioned in the sky, now’s a great time to catch an unusual view of the ringed

Best time to see: 31 October, 05:15 UT Altitude: 58° Location: Gemini Direction: South Features: Complex atmosphere, moons Recommended equipment: 100mm or larger Jupiter skips opposition in 2025. Its

Thursday 2 Dwarf planet Ceres reaches opposition in the constellation of Cetus, shining at mag. +7.6. Find further details on page 47. Friday ▶ 3 Tonight and the night of 17/18 October are good times

In recent months, we’ve highlighted how Titan and its shadow have been passing across Saturn’s disc, rare events that happen around Saturn’s equinox. That’s when the planet’s apparent tilt angle makes

Supermoons, micromoons and all the in-between Moons occur because the Moon’s orbit around Earth (or, more accurately, around the Earth–Moon barycentre) isn’t circular but elliptical. This means the Mo