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 • We’re standing on the edge of a new era of Moon missions
Become an Insider
Sky at Night – lots of ways to enjoy the night sky…
This month’s contributors
Extra content ONLINE
EYE ON THE SKY
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 • 18 October 1979
The Sky at Night OCTOBER
INTERACTIVE • Emails – Letters – Tweets – Facebook – Instagram – Kit questions
Catching Saturn in a moonbeam
SCOPE DOCTOR • Our equipment specialist cures your optical ailments and technical maladies With Steve Richards
Sky at Night
WHAT’S ON • We pick the best live and virtual astronomy events and resources this month
Dark Skies Fringe Festival • North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, various venues, 21-30 October
Cashing in on the cosmos • Jonathan Powell reflects on the 1910 Hatley’s Comet panic buying spree
Astronomy Photographer of the Year • BBC Sky at Night Magazine is proud to reveal the 2022 winners of the world’s biggest astrophotography contest
THE JUDGES
ARTEMIS BEGINS • As Artemis takes the first step in NASA’s plan to return humans to the Moon, Shaoni Bhattacharya talks to the people behind the wider series of missions
The Sky Guide
OCTOBER 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 October
JUPITER’S MOONS: OCTOBER
THE NIGHT SKY – OCTOBER • Explore the celestial sphere with our Northern Hemisphere all-sky chart
MOONWATCH • October’s top lunar feature to observe
COMETS AND ASTEROIDS • Brightening comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) loops the loop in the Northern Crown
STAR OF THE MONTH • Kaffaljidhma, a triple in Cetus the Whale
BINOCULAR TOUR • Stars, star, stars: this month it’s all about spotting clusters and pairs
THE SKY GUIDE CHALLENGE • How low can you go? Our challenge: find the most southerly object you can see
DEEP-SKY TOUR • We take a deep dive to hunt low-altitude targets around the west of Cetus the Whale
AT A GLANCE • How the Sky Guide events will appear in October
MARS SEASON HAS ARRIVED • With Mars at opposition this December – and a rare lunar occultation expected too – now’s the time to start observing and tracking its changing features, writes Paul G Abel
Light on Mars? • See if you can observe the famed flashes in Edom Promontorium
Sketch what you see • It’s simple and a great way to fine-tune your Martian geography know-how
From city lights to DEEP SPACE • As the nights lengthen, Rod Mollise reveals rewarding objects to seek out in suburban and city skies this autumn
Félicette, the cat that flew to space • Stuart Atkinson tells the story of the only feline to have survived spaceflight
Feline constellations • Félicette may be the only cat to have flown to space, but there are other felines that feature in the night sky
Create a 24-hour polar star trail photo • Merge a series of photos to make a spectacular image showing...