See the planetary alignment 2025
Comet C/2024 G3 | Astronomer captures comet from the Space Station
Best telescopes for observing the planets
Looking for a telescope that will give you amazing views of the planets? We've put together a list of some of the best on the market.
Full Wolf Moon rising over the Statue of Liberty
Astronomy Photographer of the Year | How to enter
Lunar occultation of Mars, 13 January 2025
Snow on Mars
When will humans get back to the Moon, and why has it taken so long to get there?
Observing guide | How to see the planets in 2025
Our month-by-month guide to locating the planets throughout 2025.
Webb Telescope spots 138 tiny new asteroids
BBC Sky at Night Magazine virtual events
DSLR Astro Imaging Series
Our autumn 2024 series looks at photographing the night sky with a DSLR camera, with three of the best astro imagers in the game.
Save 24% when you buy all three as a series booking
Masterclass: Nightscapes
Award-winning astro imager Miguel Claro is your guide to creating great nightscape photos, Thursday 26 September 2024 at 7pm BST.
Save 24% when you buy all three as a series booking
Masterclass: The Milky Way
Mary McIntyre looks at capturing our Galaxy arcing across the sky and detail in the Milky Way, Thursday 24 October at 7pm BST
Save 24% when you buy all three as a series booking
Masterclass: the deep sky
Dave Eagle gives his top tips on how you can capture views of deep space with your DSLR camera, Thursday 5 December at 7pm GMT.
Save 24% when you buy all three as a series booking.
New to astronomy?
Our simple guides will help you make the most of your time under the stars
14 things new stargazers should know
New to astronomy? Here are some things you'll notice in the night sky as you spend your first year stargazing.
How to become a better astronomer
You've spent many hours observing the night sky. So how can you improve and be more productive at the telescope eyepiece?
How to stargaze from a city
Light pollution from towns and cities makes viewing the night sky a tricky business. But there are things you can do to help.
How to star-hop the night sky
Stuck trying to find stars? Star-hopping is a tried and tested technique that will help you to navigate the sky.
Astronomy advice
Answers to some of the most commonly-asked cosmic questions
Why did it take so long for astronomers to discover Uranus?
Why was Uranus not known to ancient astronomers?
How many stars can a person see in the night sky?
When we look up at the night sky, how many stars can we see, and what magnitude can the human eye see unaided?
What came before the Big Bang? These are the best theories we have about the origin of the cosmos
We explore the theories about one of the most mind-boggling questions about the Universe.
Why the Moon sometimes looks orange
What causes the Moon to appear a red, rusty colour?
Buyers' guides
Our pick of the best astronomy equipment
Best telescope mounts
On the hunt for a new telescope mount, or picking one to go with your first telescope? Read our guide to the best mounts, both budget models and high-end.
Best binoculars for astronomy
Binoculars are a great way of getting into astronomy and stargazing.
Buyer's guide | Best astro imaging cameras
Which cameras are best for astrophotography and what type should you buy? We'll guide you through the different types and the best cameras on the market.
Best beginners' telescopes
Looking to buy your first telescope but don't know where to start? We've picked out some of the best beginner telescopes on the market.
10 of the best wi-fi and smartphone telescopes in 2025
Our pick of the best telescopes operated via a smartphone or tablet.
Best telescopes for kids
Buying a telescope for children can be a tricky task. We've tested some of the best telescopes for kids and young people getting started in astronomy.
Astronomy equipment reviews
The latest telescopes, cameras, binoculars, mounts and accessories tried and tested.
ZWO ASI2600MC Air
A dedicated astrophotography telescope. We put the William Optics Pleiades 68 astrograph to the test
A hefty telescope indeed! We reviewed the RVO Horizon 8-inch f/6 Dobsonian
QSI 760 CMOS
Budget, easy-to-use and smartphone adaptor included. But is this Bresser kids' scope worth your money?
Can a budget solar telescope be any good? We tested the Acuter Solarus 80 and its smartphone holder
Podcasts
Radio Astronomy Podcast | Detecting spacetime ripples of black holes
Astronomers have detected evidence of gravitational waves from supermassive black holes at the centres of merging galaxies.
Podcast: The search for Earth 2.0
Astronomer Chris Impey discusses the search for habitable worlds beyond our Solar System.
Podcast | Lance Bass
We speak with Lance Bass - former member of boyband N'Sync - about his experience training as a cosmonaut and his new podcast The Last Soviet.
Astrophotography
Astronomy Photographer of the Year People's Choice winner 2024
How to find, observe and photograph potential 'planet killer' asteroids
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) above Atacama Desert
How to make and use a pinhole camera
Try our DIY pinhole camera project for a low-effort way to trace the path of the Sun across the sky.
Why planetary alignments happen
Photographer snaps January 2025 planet parade
Astrophotography galleries
Gallery | Hercules Globular Cluster
M13, the Hercules Globular Cluster, is perhaps the most famous of all globulars.
Gallery | Plato Crater
Facts about Plato Crater and images of this fascinating lunar feature.
Eye On The Sky | NASA captures a Halloween Sun
A scorching, fiery Halloween pumpkin is revealed in an image highlighting the active regions of our Sun.
Gallery | Eagle Nebula
Images of the Eagle Nebula and its famous feature the Pillars of Creation.
Gallery | Jupiter's Galilean moons
Facts about and images of Jupiter's four largest satellites, the Galilean moons.
Gallery | Pictures of Earth from space
Restored images of Earth captured during the Apollo missions cast new light on the fragility of our planet.
Spaceflight
Elon Musk plans to put humans on Mars But could humans really survive the journey?
The journey to put human feet on Mars is going to be a long one, so what might be the effects on the human body and mind as astronauts travel to the Red Planet?
Habitable Worlds Observatory
NASA’s Perseverance rover reaches top of Jezero Crater’s rim
Happy New Year space fans! Here are the biggest spaceflight and stargazing events in 2025
Eggnog is out! Here's how astronauts really spend Christmas in space
Apollo 8 | The Christmas mission to the Moon
On Christmas Eve 1968, the first mission to the Moon changed how we view our home planet forever.
Buzz Aldrin on spacewalking, landing on the Moon and the future of spaceflight. Interview with the Apollo 11 astronaut
We speak to Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin about his life, the legacy of the moonlandings and humanity's future in space.
NASA performs Mars Ingenuity helicopter accident investigation
DIY Astronomy
Achieve fine focus with your DSLR camera by building this DIY microfocuser for your lens
How to thermally optimise your telescope
Tube currents in your telescope can affect the ability of the optics to bring light to a sharp focus. We show you how to combat these irritating effects.
Build a Dobsonian equatorial platform
Convert your altaz Dobsonian telescope into a sky-tracking lightbucket.