Download this month's binocular and deep-sky tour charts. The charts are printed in black on white so they can be viewed under red light at your telescope.
Record your observations of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and the Sun with our handy printable forms.
If you observe the Sun, remember NEVER to look at it with your naked eye; either project it through your telescope or use a solar filter on your telescope's front lens.
The Statue of Liberty Nebula, NGC 3576 Nicolas Rolland, via El Sauce Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile, January/February 2020. Equipment: SBIG STXL-11002 camera, PlaneWave 17” CDK astrograph, Paramount ME mount
Spiral galaxy NGC 5033 in Canes Venatici Tony Funnell, Worthing, Sussex, 12 and 14 April 2020. Equipment: QSI 683 mono camera, 12” Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, Mesu 200 mount
Moon, noctilucent clouds and rising Venus Andrew Allan, Perth, Scotland, 19 July 2020. Equipment: Canon 1300D DSLR, 75–300mm lens
Fireball and NEOWISE Steve Sheehan, King’s Meaburn, Cumbria, 21 July 2020. Equipment: Sony A580 DSLR, 18–70mm lens
Daytime Moon Dan Fleetwood, Rugby, Warwickshire, 27 July 2020. Equipment: Canon 250D DSLR, Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED refractor, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer
M33, The Triangulum Galaxy Andrea Maggi, Vicenza, Italy, 20 November 2019. Equipment: ZWO ASI 294MC Pro colour camera, ARTEC 200 Lite Artesky astrograph, Sky-Watcher EQ8 mount
Saturn Cole Williams, Calcutta, Ohio, USA, 25 July 2020. Equipment: Revolution R2 imager, NexStar 8se SCT
Milky Way panorama Sérgio Conceição, Barrancos, Portugal, 23 May 2020. Equipment: Canon EOS R mirrorless camera
M81, Bode's Galaxy and M82, The Cigar Galaxy Andy Rattler Brown, Preston, 15 April 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 294MC Pro colour camera, Explore Scientific ED80 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount
IC 4604 region Davide Mancini, Perth, Australia, 25 July 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro camera, SharpStar 150mm f/2.8 Newtonian, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount
Mineral Moon Rafael Aviles, Kulpsville, PA, USA, 13 July 2019. Equipment: Nikon D850 DSLR, Sigma 150–600mm f/5–6.3 lens
The Tulip Nebula, Sh2-101 Chris Platkiw, Derbyshire, July 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 183MM Pro mono camera, Altair 72ED refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
WR134 variable Wolf–Rayet star Daniel Hightower, California, 15 July 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 quadruplet refractor, Orion HDX110 mount
Dark nebulae LDN778, LDN768 & vdB126 Wayne Stallard, Basildon, Essex, 30 July 2020. Equipment: QHY268C camera, William Optics WhiteCat 51 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQM Pro Mount
The Dumbbell Nebula, M27 Tom Wildoner, The Dark Side Observatory, PA, USA, 25 May 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 071MC-Pro camera, Meade LX90 SCT, Celestron CGEM DX mount
The Eastern Veil Nebula Haim Huli, Israel, July 2020. Equipment: QSI 583wsg mono camera, Sky-Watcher P250 Newtonian, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount
Eye On The Sky
Jason Durrant, Beccles, Suffolk, UK, 11 July 2020. Equipment: Sony A7III, Tamron 28-70mm lens, ISO 3200, 5".
Parker Solar Probe, 5 July 2020 Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab/Parker Solar Probe/Guillermo Stenborg
Lee Harris, Severn estuary near Bristol, 10–11 July 2020
Salem Shammakh, Bath, 11 July 2020
Damian Peach, Selsey, 17 July 2020
Amr Abdulwahab, Giza, Egypt, 9 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE photographed by Matthew Hyman, UK, 12 July 2020
Comet NEOWISE captured by James Coard, County Down, UK, 12 July 2020.
Alex Dean, UK., 11 July 2020.
Steve O’Flynn, Knocknagohill, County Cork, Ireland, 11 July 2020.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020
Andromeda Galaxy at Arm's Length? Nicolas Lefaudeux (France). Winner, Galaxies (and overall winner). Equipment: Sky-Watcher Black Diamond 100mm refractor, iOptron iEQ30 mount, Sony ILCE-7S camera (modified).
NGC 3628 with 300,000 Light Year Long Tail Mark Hanson (USA). Runner up, Galaxies. Equipment: Planewave 17, Planewave 24, RCOS 14.5 telescopes, Planewave H200, Paramount ME mounts, SBIG 16803 camera.
Attack on the Large Magellanic Cloud Juan-Carlos Munoz-Mateos (Spain). Highly commended, Galaxies. Equipment: Canon 6D camera, 100mm lens.
The Green Lady Nicholas Roemmelt (Germany). Winner, Aurorae. Equipment: Canon EOS R camera, 14 mm.
Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora Tom Archer (UK). Runner up, Aurorae. Equipment: Nikon D850 camera, 15 mm lans.
Iceland Kristina Makeeva (Russia). Highly commended, Aurorae. Equipment: Sony a7R III camera, 14 mm lens.
Tycho Crater Region with Colours Alain Paillou (France). Winner, Our Moon. Equipment: Celestron C9.25, Orion Sirius EQ-G mount, ZWO ASI178MM and ASI178MC cameras.
HDR Partial Lunar Eclipse with Clouds Ethan Roberts (UK). Runner up, Our Moon. Equipment: Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED, Sky-Watcher EQ5 SynScan mount, Canon EOS 100D camera.
Moon Base Daniel Koszela (Poland) – Highly commended, Our Moon. Credit: Nikon D610 camera, 600mm lens.
Liquid Sunshine Alexandra Hart (UK). Winner, Our Sun. Equipment: Celestron C11 XLT, Baader Solar Continuum Filter, ND3.8 AstroSolar Film, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, ZWO-ASI174MM camera.
145 Seconds of Darkness Filip Ogorzeski (Poland). Runner up, Our Sun. Equipment: Fujifilm X-T2 camera, Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 32mm lens.
The Prison of Technology Rafael Schmall (Hungary). Winner, People & Space. Equipment: Sky-Watcher Quattro 200/800 astrograph, Sky-Watcher EQ6-Pro GOTO mount, Canon EOS 6D camera.
Observe the Heart of the Galaxy Tian Li (China). Runner up, People & Space. Equipment: Sigma 135mm telescope, Sky-Watcher Adventurer mount, Canon EOS 6D camera (modified), 135mm lens.
AZURE Vapor Tracers Yang Sutie (China). Highly commended, People & Space. Equipment: Nikon D850 camera, 14mm lens.
Space Between US… Łukasz Sujka (Poland). Winner, Planets, Comets and Asteroids. Equipment: Sky-Watcher 10-inch Newtonian, Baader MPCC Coma Corrector filter, Sky Watcher NEQ-6 mount, ZWO ASI178 MM-C camera.
The Outer Reaches Martin Lewis (UK). Runner up, Planets Comets & Asteroids. Equipment: home-built 444mm Dobsonian, Astronomik 610 nm filter, home-built equatorial mount, ZWO ASI290MM camera.
The Ghost of Alnilam and a Near Earth Asteroid Robert Stephens (USA). Highly commended, Planets, Comets & Asteroids. Credit: Meade 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain, Mathis Instruments MI-5000 mount, FLI 1001E CCD camera.
Painting the Sky Thomas Kast (Germany). Winner, Skyscapes. Equipment: Nikon D850 camera, 12omm lens.
Desert Magic Stefan Leibermann (Germany). Runner-up, Skyscapes. Equipment: Sony ILCE 7M3 camera.
Voice of the Universe Weijian Chen (China). Highly commended, Skyscapes. Equipment: Canon EOS 6D (modified), Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount, 100mm lens.
Cosmic Inferno Peter Ward (Australia). Winner, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: Alluna Optics RC-16, 5 nm Ha filter, Paramount ME II mount, SBIG STX-16803 camera.
The Dolphin Jumping out of an Ocean of Gas Connor Matherne (USA). Runner up, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: Takahashi TOA-150B telescope, Astro-Physics 1600 mount, FLI ML16200 camera.
The Misty Elephant's Trunk Min Xie (USA). Highly commended, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-85 EDP, Astrodon 3 nm filters, Astro-Physics Mach1GTO CP3 mount, ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro camera.
The Four Planets and the Moon Alice Fock Hang (Reunion), aged 11. Winner, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Nikon D610 camera, 35mm lens.
Detached Prominences Thea Hutchinson (UK), aged 13. Runner up, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Lunt LS60THa telescope, Ha filtered solar scope, Celestron CGE Pro mount, ZWO ASI174MM camera.
The Carina Region Logan Nicholson (Australia), aged 15. Highly commended, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool camera, Samyang/Rokinon 135mm lens, ZWO filters, Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi mount.
Light Bridge in the Sky Xiuquan Zhang (China), aged 12. Highly commended, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Canon 5D Mark IV camera, 14mm lens.
Collision Course! Winslow Barnford (USA), aged 15. Highly commended, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Meade Series 6000 70 mm refractor, Orion Atlas Pro mount, Nikon D5300 camera.
Waves Bence Toth (Hungary). Winner, Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer. Equipment: Sky-Watcher Quattro 200P telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount, ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera.
Infrared Saturn Julie F Hill (UK). Winner, Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation. VISTA Survey Telescope, Infrared J 1.25 μm, Infrared H 1.65 μm, Infrared 2.15 μm channels, ESO/VVV Survey/D. Minniti Acknowledgement: Ignacio Toledo, Martin Kornmesser
This month's deep-sky tour plan file can be imported into the Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer using Argonaut software, a free utility available from Wildcard Innovations.Using Argo Navis with this month's deep-sky tour plan file, you can:
• display essential information from the Argo Navis database for each object
• slew your telescope to each object in the plan - requires a compatible mount.
• push your telescope to each object in the plan using the coordinates provided on the Argo Navis display.
To import this month's deep-sky tour plan file into Argo Navis using Argonaut software:
Download and save the file to your hard drive.
Run the Argonaut utility program and transfer the plan into your Argo Navis DTC.
This month's Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 7 (see knightware.biz/dsp).
Deep-Sky Planner 7 astronomy software for Windows provides the tools you need to make your time at the telescope more efficient and enjoyable.
• sort the objects in the plan according to the best time and order to view each object.
• slew your ASCOM-compatible Go-To mount to each object in the plan - requires ASCOM software (free).
• show a sky chart centered on each object in the plan using one of the top planetarium software titles - requires TheSky, Starry Night, Redshift or Cartes du Ciel (free).
• record your observation in the open, non-proprietary observing log.
Details about Deep-Sky Planner and how to purchase can be found here.
Download the Deep-Sky Planner compatible file of this month's deep-sky tour observing plan file so that you can visit each object directly with Deep-Sky Planner. Save the file to your hard drive and double click it to open it in Deep-Sky Planner.
If you are one of the many astronomers who use the ASCOM driver EQMOD to control your ASCOM-compatible Go-To mount, you can use an add-on application called EQTOUR to call up various sets of sky tours like Messier, Caldwell, Globular Clusters and simply click on an object name to slew to it.
Details about the application and how to download it free of charge can be found here.
Download the EQTOUR compatible file of our monthly Deep-sky tour, so that you can visit each object directly from your EQMod control panel. We've also included a PDF document that explains the system and how to get it installed with your telescope setup.
Copy the .lst file from the folder that appears into the same directory as the EQTOUR application file, EQTOUR.exe, and follow the instructions in the link above.
