The science of eclipses

BEST TIME TO SEE: Nights of 9/10, 10/11 and 11/12 July A full Moon occurs when the Moon is opposite the Sun in the sky or, in other words, when its ecliptic longitude is 180° from the Sun. The eclipti

The best discoveries, inventions and surprises

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

The Sun’s surface often looks speckled with darker regions. These are sunspots – cooler patches that form as a result of the Sun’s complex magnetic field preventing heat from reaching localised areas

The Moon has a diameter of around a quarter that of Earth and travels around our planet in a circular orbit roughly every 27 days. But Earth also possesses a number of tiny co-orbital bodies – objects

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