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 Heart Nebula
Graham Prescott, St Albans, Herts, December 2023-January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC colour CMOS camera, Sky-Watcher Explorer 150P-DS reflector, Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro mount
The Moon over Bath
Alex Bell, Bath, Somerset, 18 January 2024
Equipment: Canon EOS 6D DSLR camera, Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens
Jupiter, Io and Europa
John Chumack, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 3 October 2023
Equipment: QHY 5III462C colour CMOS camera, Celestron C11 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Software Bisque Paramount MyT mount
C-11 SCt telescope, F22, Via 2x barlow, QHY462 uncooled cmos camera, FireCapture SER file, stacked 6,750 frames in AS4,.
The Moon and Jupiter
Nick Poulter, Aylsham, Norfolk, 18 January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC colour CMOS camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED doublet apo refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
The North Celestial Pole
Marcella Pace, Modica, Sicily, Italy, 13-14 December 2023
Equipment: Nikon D750 DSLR camera, 600mm telephoto lens
The Horsehead Nebula
Graeme Lorimer, Dundee, 11, 14 and 17 January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro colour CMOS camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 III apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQM-35 Pro mount
Galaxy group Holmberg 124
Lorenzo Busilacchi, Quartu, Sardinia, Italy, 9 January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro colour CMOS camera, Celestron C11 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 Pro mount
Spiral galaxy NGC 2841
Massimo Di Fusco, Ferrara, Italy, 21 January 2024
Equipment: Player One Poseidon-C Pro colour CMOS camera, Konusky-200 reflector, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
Supernova remnant Pickering’s Triangle
Gaurav Singh, Nova Scotia, Canada, August-October 2023
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM mono CMOS camera, Stellarvue SVX102T triplet apo refractor, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 Pro mount
The Sculptor Galaxy
Vikas Chander, captured remotely via Deep Sky Chile, 11-19 November 2023
Equipment: FLI ProLine PL16803 mono CCD camera, PlaneWave CDK17 astrograph, PlaneWave L-500 mount
Comet 144P/Kushida
Jim Taylor, Urbandale, lowa, USA, 29 January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC colour CMOS camera, Sky-Watcher Quattro 250P reflector, iOptron CEM70 mount
The Leo Triplet
Prabhakaran (Prabhu), Emirates Astronomical Observatory, Razeen Desert, Abu Dhabi, 15-21 February 2023
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MM Pro mono CMOS camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED triplet apo refractor, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT mount
The Soul Nebula
Chris Gale, Pembrokeshire, Wales, September 2023-January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED triplet apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount
The Hidden Galaxy, IC 342
Anirudh Shastry, captured remotely via Sierra Remote Observatory, Auberry, California, USA, 3-17 January 2024
Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro mono CMOS camera, PlaneWave CDK14 astrograph, PlaneWave L-350 mount
Eye On The Sky
Interacting galaxies NGC 5410 and UGC 8932
Hubble Space Telescope, 26 January 2024
Credit: NASA/ESA/D. Bowen (Princeton University)/Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Lenticular galaxy NGC 4753
Gemini South Telescope, 21 December 2023
Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Image processing: J. Miller (International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)
Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A
Chandra X-Ray Observatory/James Webb Space Telescope/Hubble Space Telescope/Spitzer Space Telescope, 8 January 2024
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Milisavljevic et al., NASA/JPL/CalTech. Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt and K. Arcand
Globular cluster NGC 2298
Hubble Space Telescope, 14 February 2024
Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Piotto (Universita degli Studi di Padova), and A. Sarajedini (Florida Atlantic University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Star-forming region Sagittarius C
Very Large Telescope (VLT), 12 February 2024
Credit: ESO/F. Nogueras-Lara et al.
This image shows the spiral galaxy IC 438, which lies about 130 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Lepus (the Hare). Lepus lies just south of the celestial equator (the ring around the middle of Earth that falls at right angles to its rotation axis). Appropriately, Lepus is flanked by the constellations Canis Major (the Greater Dog) and Orion (the Hunter), whilst Canis Minor (the Lesser Dog) lies very nearby, meaning that in artistic representations of the constellations, Lepus is often shown as being pursued by Orion and his two hunting dogs. Lepus is one of the 88 constellations that are officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is worth clarifying that, whilst the actual constellations themselves only comprise a handful of stars, the area of sky covered by those stars is often referred to using the name of the constellation. For example, when we say that IC 438 is in Lepus, we do not mean that the galaxy is part of the constellation — perhaps obviously, as it is not a single star, but an entire galaxy! Rather, we mean that it falls in the region of sky covered by the Lepus constellation stars. The IAU’s 88 official constellations are by no means the only constellations ever described by humanity. Humans have been studying and naming the stars for a very long time, and different cultures of course have their own constellations. The IAU constellations are Eurocentric, with many taken from Ptolemy’s list of constellations. Collectively, the 88 constellations divide the night sky into 88 regions which completely cover it, so that the approximate location of any celestial object can be described using one of the 88. The impetus behind Hubble examining this galaxy was a type Iax supernova that took place in 2017, a kind of supernova that arises from a binary system of two stars. While this data was obtained over three years after the supernova occurred, and so it’s not visible in this image, there’s still a l
Vela Supernova Remnant
VLT Survey Telescope (VST), 15 January 2024
Credit: ESO/PHAS team. Acknowledgement: CASU
Ancient Martian riverbeds
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 1 February 2024
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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 8 (see knightware.biz/dsp).
License type Full software Platform Windows Versions 8.1, 10
Deep-Sky Planner 8 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 centred on each object in the plan using one of the top planetarium software titles – requires TheSky, Starry Night, Redshift, Cartes du Ciel (free) or Stellarium (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.
This month's deep-sky tour plan file can be imported into SkySafari software, available from Simulation Curriculum.
Using this month's deep-sky tour plan file on SkySafari, you can:
• view each object in SkySafari's night sky simulation view
• display essential information from the SkySafari database for each object
• slew your telescope to each object in the plan - requires a compatible mount.
To import this month's deep-sky tour plan file into SkySafari, please see the SkySafari user manual for your device platform and version of SkySafari.
This month's Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 8.
Watch the Sky at Night
You can watch the latest episode of The Sky Night, plus previous episodes and historic programmes from the archive, via the BBC Four Sky at Night webpage.
