BBC Sky at Night

Sky at Night magazine is your practical guide to astronomy. Each issue features the world’s biggest and best night sky guide complete with star charts, observing tutorials and in-depth equipment reviews to ensure that amateur astronomers never miss those must-see events.

Welcome • Join our search for these summer showstoppers

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Sky at Night – lots of ways to enjoy the night sky...

This month’s contributors

Extra content ONLINE

MANY SCOPES MAKE LIGHT WORK • Our neighbour in space, the Andromeda Galaxy, as we’ve seldom seen it before

BULLETIN • The latest astronomy and space news, written by Ezzy Pearson

Comment

NEWS IN BRIEF

CUTTING EDGE • Our experts examine the hottest new research

INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT • The Sky at Night TV show, past, present and future

Looking back: The Sky at Night • 21 August 1961

The Sky at Night AUGUST

INTERACTIVE • Emails – Letters – Tweets – Facebook – Instagram – Kit questions

New love for lunar photography

SCOPE DOCTOR • Our equipment specialist cures your optical ailments and technical maladies

Sky at Night

WHAT’S ON • We pick the best live and virtual astronomy events and resources this month

PICK OF THE MONTH

FIELD OF VIEW • The amateur astronomer’s forum

A parade of PLANETARY NEBULAE • Stuart Atkinson seeks out six of the loveliest examples of these deep-sky objects for you to track down in the late-summer skies

From possible planets to STRANGE NEW WORLDS • With 5,000 exoplanets now confirmed and another 5,000 waiting to follow suit, Ezzy Pearson takes a look at how a deluge of tantalising data is revealing intriguing new worlds every day

The planets of the archive • The new worlds of the Exoplanet Archive are located all over the Milky Way. Here’s where they have been found and what types of planet they are

What’s next? • A flood of exoplanet detections is expected over the next decade

The Chinese Space Station • China is taking its place among the heavens as it puts the finishing touches to its first long-term space station

The Sky Guide • AUGUST 2022

AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS • Your guide to the night sky this month

NEED TO KNOW • The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide

THE BIG THREE • The top sights to observe or image this month

THE PLANETS • Our celestial neighbourhood in August

JUPITER’S MOONS: AUGUST • Using a small scope you can spot Jupiter’s biggest moons. Their positions change dramatically over the month, as shown on the diagram. The line by each date represents 01:00 BST (00:00 UT.)

THE NIGHT SKY – AUGUST • Explore the celestial sphere with our Northern Hemisphere all-sky chart

MOONWATCH • August’s top lunar feature to observe

COMETS AND ASTEROIDS • One of the Largest objects in the asteroid belt, 4 Vesta reaches opposition

STAR OF THE MONTH • Sadr, on the edge of the Cygnus Rift

BINOCULAR TOUR • The sky is full of kites and aeroplanes, but don’t forget the massive stars too

THE SKY GUIDE CHALLENGE • Observe and record the movement of shadows cast on the lunar surface

DEEP-SKY TOUR • This month we take in the sights around the constellation of Sagitta, the Arrow

AT A GLANCE • How the Sky Guide events will appear in August

12 ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY PITFALLS (and how to avoid them) • Expert astrophotographer Will Gater runs through the common mistakes even experienced photographers make and how to ensure your next imaging session is free of them

An astronomer at the BOTTOM OF THE WORLD • Georgina Dransfield has just returned from months at the South...