Star of the month

Just north of mag. +3.9 Asellus Australis (Delta (δ) Cancri), you’ll spot a ‘little cloud’, which is what ‘Nephelion’, M44’s ancient Greek name, means. At only 577 lightyears away, M44 (also known as

When to use this chart 1 Feb 00:00 AEDT (31 Jan, 13:00 UT) 15 Feb 23:00 AEDT (12:00 UT) 28 Feb 22:00 AEDT (11:00 UT) The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times shown for Sydney, Austr

Our first target is the Little Pinwheel Galaxy, NGC 3184, positioned 48 arcminutes west of mag. +3.0 Tania Australis (Mu (μ) Ursae Majoris). This spiral galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +10.1 but i

It’s the question I’m asked more than any other whenever I give a talk on the history of the constellations: who invented the Southern Cross? The short answer is: no one did – or at least no individua

If any vehicle is emblematic of the declining value of pre-war machinery, it is this 1927 Star Vela. The last-known six-cylinder Star to survive in the UK, it’s for sale at just under £30,000 – or rou

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, 22 DECEMBER 2025 Spiral galaxies MCG-02-05-050 (right) and -050a (left) are together known as Arp 4. That means they feature in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, compile