Charting the heavens

A look at some of the thousands of astronomical objects visible in Hubble’s historic photograph

In the 17th century, the great maritime nations were vying to solve a puzzle that had confounded philosophers for many centuries: how to determine exact positions on the Earth’s surface. And in Britai

1. NGC 6940 10x 50 Let’s start the tour with open cluster NGC 6940, which deserves to be far better known. To find it, use the chart to identify mag. +4.2 52 Cygni and pan 3.5° to the southwest to an

Six low-altitude gems that barely peek above the horizon – all the more satisfying to catch! We’re going low for this month’s tour, looking at objects that are best seen when their region is above the

From colliding galaxies to supermassive black holes, we take a look at some of the strangest sights in the universe

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