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 • There's always something new to learn about our Moon

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

This month's contributors

SPIRAL UNBOUND • Spiral galaxy NGC 3981 is slowly being pulled apart

The rebirth of Jupiter's Great Red Spot • Is the giant storm we see today different to the one first seen in 1665?

Comment

Nearby planet could be an ice world • Signs seen of single giant ocean and Earth-like atmosphere

Starliner's return delayed over a month • The spacecraft experienced multiple problems during its test flight

Sharpest map ever made of a galaxy's dark matter • Astronomers find new clues to the mysterious substance's distribution across a galaxy

Pillars of Creation in 3D • A new visualisation allows astronomers to explore the region like never before

Nearby planet reeks of rotten eggs • The smell is from hydrogen sulphide, a vital ingredient for building the molecules of life

Voyager 1 gets back to science operations • All four instruments are now functioning after months offline in interstellar space

A moonwalk in the desert • Trial run begins for NASA's Artemis lunar landings as the programme is plagued by delays

Double craters are clue to vanished double asteroids • Impact craters tell us a lot about asteroids that are otherwise impossible to observe

Does lensing make fast radio bursts repeat? • The bending of light by gravity delays its arrival at Earth, causing telescopes to ‘see' some events twice

INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT • Originally from Herefordshire, UK, Nicky Fox is now NASA's head of science. In this month's episode of The Sky at Night, she spoke with the team about the agency's plans

Looking back: The Sky at Night • 28 September 1976

INTERACTIVE

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

BBC Sky at Night

Making radio waves • Jonathan Powell tunes in for the story of how radio astronomy was discovered

The planets return • The worlds of our Solar System make a spectacular return to the night sky in the second half of this year. Pete Lawrence is your guide to all the planetary action in the months ahead, so you don't miss a thing

Conjunctions • Magical moments are created when two or more objects appear close in the night sky

Season of the supermoon • With four supermoons in a row on their way, it's the perfect time to find out all about our nearest neighbour. Katrin Raynor reveals nine essential things you need to know about the Moon

Supersymmetry • Govert Schilling investigates a theory which could explain many of our Universe's mysteries… but only if it's true

GUT feeling • A grand theory of everything is the holy grail of particle physics

SATURN AT OPPOSITION • Get ready for our most spectacular view in years of the ringed planet and its bright moons

SEPTEMBER 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

Titan's close passes of Saturn • BEST TIME TO SEE: 2, 10, 18 and 25 September at the times specified

C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS update • BEST TIME TO SEE: Late September, but most likely from mid-October onwards

THE PLANETS • Our celestial neighbourhood in September

THE NIGHT SKY –...