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April 2024 BBC Sky at Night Magazine 3
38
CONTENTS
Features
C = on the cover
Regulars
Reviews
86 Masuyama 1.25-inch 53°
eyepieces C
90 Altair Astro Hypercam 585C
28 Into the Bear’s den 6 Eye on the sky
PHOTOGRAPHY/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, ALVARO MEDINA JURADOI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, JOSÉ CHAMBO, STOCKTREK
IMAGES/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, JOHANNES SCHEDLER/CCDGUIDE.COM, @THESHED_PHOTOSTUDIO, STUART GENNERY,
colour camera
C One night, seven delectable 10 Bulletin
COVER IMAGE: BLEWULIS/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, ALAMEEN R/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES. THIS PAGE: JOHN FINNEY
95 Gear
spring galaxies: join our observing 16 Cutting edge C
tour around Ursa Major 96 Books
18 Inside The Sky at Night
34 Light pollution solutions 20 Interactive 16-PAGE
CENTRE
The Sky Guide PULLOUT
C Positive steps we can all take 23 What’s on
44 Highlights
at home to save our dark skies 25 Field of view
46 The big three
26 Subscribe to BBC Sky
60 Comet Pons–Brooks 48 The planets
at Night Magazine
50 April’s all-sky chart
AARON FOSTER/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, GRAEME LORIMER
We follow the unpredictable

38 Explainer EXTRA C
and brightening evening comet 52 Moonwatch
74 Skills for stargazers
53 Comets and asteroids
66 Where is Earth? 98 Q&A: an exoplanet
53 Star of the month
C Where the speck we call home examiner
sits in the vastness of space 54 Binocular tour
Astrophotography
55 The Sky Guide challenge
76 Capture
68 How old is space? 56 Deep-sky tour
78 Processing
C From stars to planets, how we 58 April at a glance
date everything in the cosmos 80 Gallery
4 BBC Sky at Night Magazine April 2024

New to astronomy? FREE BONUS
To get started, check out our guides and glossary at
www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astronomy-for-beginners
28
CONTENT
Find it at www.skyatnightmagazine.
com/bonus-content
APRIL
HIGHLIGHTS
Video: Why do people believe in UFOs?
Psychologist Chris French on belief in the paranormal
and why people think they’ve seen alien spacecraft.
34 60
68 86
Download and print More amazing images
observing forms of the Universe
Keep track of your View our galleries of the
observations of the Sun latest images captured
and the planets through by astrophotographers
This month’s contributors the eyepiece with our
printable forms.
and professional
observatories alike.
Rod Mollise Dani Robertson Pete Lawrence
Amateur astronomer Dark skies expert Astrophotographer
The Virtual Planetarium
“For amateur “Light “A total
astronomers, pollution eclipse of
springtime is impacts the Sun is a
galaxy time, more than breathtaking
the season when you you think, from seeing spectacle and one of
and your telescope stars to human health the most moving
can wander countless and wildlife – but each astronomical events
lovely island universes. of us can be the that can be witnessed
But you have to know solution to light and photographed
how to see them.” pollution.” Follow Dani’s from Earth.” Don’t miss
Rod explains the ‘how’ advice to reclaim your Pete’s top eclipse tips Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through
on page 28 dark skies on page 34 on page 38 the best sights to see in the night sky this month.

EYE ON THE SKY
These two interacting galaxies are awash
with bright young stars
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, 26 JANUARY 2024
he two blue beauties seen in this picture are

NGC 5410 and UGC 8932, a pair of interacting
galaxies that can be found some 180 million
lightyears from Earth in the constellation of
Canes Venatici.
NGC 5410, the larger of the two, is a barred spiral galaxy that
ZDVƅUVWREVHUYHGE\:LOOLDP+HUVFKHOLQ,WPHDVXUHV
lightyears across and, like its smaller companion, has a distinctly
blue colour. That’s because both galaxies are rich in young, hot
stars. Blue stars are hotter than red stars such as our own Sun,
NASA/ESA/D. BOWEN/PROCESSING: GLADYS KOBER
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7KHXQXVXDOVKDSHRI8*&LVEHOLHYHGWREHGXHWR
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FREE BONUS CONTENT

Explore a gallery of these and more
stunning space images
www.skyatnightmagazine.com/bonus-content

PROCESSING: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. WOLK & J. MAJOR, XRAY: NASA/CXC/SAO/OPTICAL: NASA/ESA/STSCI/IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/MILISAVLJEVIC ET AL/NASA/JPL/CALTECH/
(INTERNATIONAL GEMINI OBSERVATORY/NSF’S NOIRLAB)/M. ZAMANI (NSF’S NOIRLAB), XRAY: NASA/CXC/MIT/M/CALZADILLA EL AL./OPTICAL: NASA/ESA/STSCI/IMAGE
INTERNATIONAL GEMINI OBSERVATORY/NOIRLAB/NSF/AURA/IMAGE PROCESSING: J. MILLER (INTERNATIONAL GEMINI OBSERVATORY/NSF’S NOIRLAB)/M. RODRIGUEZ
SPT-CLJO310-4647 SPT-CLJ0615-5746 U Life in the dust lane

IMAGE PROCESSING: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. SCHMIDT AND K. ARCAND, NASA/ESA/G. PIOTTO AND A. SARAJEDINI/ PROCESSING: GLADYS KOBER
GEMINI SOUTH TELESCOPE,

25 JANUARY 2024
This image of NGC 4753, a lenticular galaxy
60 million lightyears away in the Virgo
constellation, reveals the twisting dust
lanes that are the most distinctive feature
of its structure. These are believed to have
originated from a collision with a companion
dwarf galaxy around 1.3 billion years ago.
Y Starbirth through
SPT-CLJ0106-5943 SPT-CLJ0307-6225 the ages
CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY,
11 JANUARY 2024
These four pictures of distant galaxy
clusters are taken from a large-scale survey
conducted using the Chandra X-Ray
Observatory and no fewer than seven radio
and optical telescopes. By studying such
clusters, astronomers hoped to learn more
about how the conditions required for star
formation have changed as the Universe
evolved; instead they discovered that the
necessary conditions were much the same
10 billion years ago as they are now.

U Blast from the past
CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY,
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE,
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, SPITZER
SPACE TELESCOPE, 8 JANUARY 2024
This image of Cassiopeia A, created by
combining X-ray, optical and infrared data,
has shed new light on the explosion that
formed it. Scientists now believe the
so-called ‘Green Monster’ at its heart is a
result of the interaction between the initial
blast wave and surrounding material.
Y A jewel box in the sky

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE,
14 FEBRUARY 2024
This densely star-packed region is NGC
2298, a globular cluster 35,000 lightyears
from Earth on the outskirts of the Milky
Way, in the constellation of Puppis. Some
astronomers believe NGC 2298 may have
been captured by the Milky Way from the
Canis Major dwarf galaxy – though others
doubt that such a galaxy exists at all.

The latest astronomy and space news, written by Ezzy Pearson
BULLETIN
Comment
by Chris Lintott
When it was
revealed in 1997, the
Hubble Deep Field
instantly became
an iconic image,
transforming an
apparently empty
patch of sky to one
alive with galaxies.
Youthful JWST 7329 is Yet it nearly didn’t
far more massive and happen. Having
mature than current assumed that early
models say is possible galaxies would look
and behave like
‘Impossible’ galaxy found in early Universe

It has more stars than such a young galaxy should be able to grow
those in the present
day, astronomers
predicted it would
be a waste of time.
Now, discoveries
A galaxy that shouldn’t exist is challenging most extreme example uncovered so far. Their like this one are
astronomers’ understanding of how these enormous existence is causing issues for cosmologists, as teaching us the
stellar structures grow in the early Universe. galaxies are thought to grow from structures same lesson again.
Despite its relative youth, recent observations of known as dark matter haloes. According to current The very early
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE, REINHOLD WITTICH/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, ESO/M. KORNMESSER,
galaxy JWST 7329 have shown it has far more stars theories, these structures shouldn’t have had Universe is different
WKDQLWVKRXOGKDYHKDGWLPHWRJURZ,WZDVƅUVW enough time to grow to the size needed to create from what we
spotted in 2010 in an infrared sky survey and such massive galaxies so early in the Universe. expected. Maybe
immediately struck astronomers as being something “Having these extremely massive galaxies so there’s something
special. Ground-based follow-up observations proved HDUO\LQWKH8QLYHUVHLVSRVLQJVLJQLƅFDQW fundamentally
inadequate, however, and astronomers had to wait challenges to our standard model of cosmology,” wrong with our
until the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) came says Claudia Lagos from the University of Western cosmology. Maybe
online to take a spectrum of it. Australia, who helped with the study. “More these galaxies are
The galaxy is so far away that we are seeing it as observations are needed to understand how living their lives in
it was 11.5 billion years ago, just two billion years after common these galaxies may be and to help us an unexpected way.
the Big Bang. Even at this tender age, the galaxy understand how truly massive these galaxies are.” Perhaps they’re
NASA’S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
already has a stellar population that’s around 1.5 ş-:67KDVEHHQƅQGLQJLQFUHDVLQJHYLGHQFHIRU forming different
billion years old and has four times as many stars by massive galaxies forming early in time,” says Karl kinds of stars. We’ll
mass as the Milky Way does today. On top of this, Glazebrook from Swinburne University, who led the ƅQGRXWPRUHVRRQ
the galaxy appears to have been quenched study. “This result sets a new record for this Doesn’t everyone
– meaning it has lost its cold gas, supressing star phenomenon. Although it is very striking, it is only love to be surprised?
formation – for at least a billion years. RQHREMHFW%XWZHKRSHWRƅQGPRUHDQGLIZHGR Chris Lintott
6HYHUDOVLPLODUVWDUƅOOHG\RXQJVWHUVKDYHEHHQ this will really upset our ideas of galaxy formation.” co-presents
discovered in recent years, though JWST 7329 is the www.swinburne.edu.au The Sky at Night

NEWS IN
BRIEF
ILLUSTRATION
Thereby hangs a tail:
researchers want to study
the solar wind from pictures
of S3 PanSTARRS’s tail
Comet investigation calls for your help

Astronomers need your comet images to study the solar wind
This spring, comet C/2021 S3 PanSTARRS the solar wind. As such, comet tails act as
has been passing by Earth, and now space cosmic windsocks, showing the direction and TESS finds cool worlds
scientists need your images of it. strength of the solar wind in the region around A batch of 85 possible
“We need lots of timed photos of the comet the comet. exoplanets have been found
to build up a picture of its journey through our “This is a fantastic opportunity for amateur that are all within their stars’
Solar System,” says Sarah Watson, a PhD astronomers to get out their telescopes, habitable zone, where liquid
researcher from the University of Reading capture a truly spectacular cosmic moment water could potentially
who is leading the project. and make a big contribution to some important persist. A new analysis
Watson’s team will use the images to study science,” says Watson. technique on data taken by
the behaviour of the comet’s tail throughout its You can submit your images to the study by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet
journey. The tail is created by the Sun’s heat emailing them to s.r.watson@pgr.reading. Survey Satellite (TESS) helped
melting the ice that the comet is made of, ac.uk, along with the time and location they DVWURQRPHUVƅQGSODQHWVLQ
which is then swept away from the Sun by were taken. www.reading.ac.uk more distant, cooler orbits,
with orbital periods as long
as 20 to 700 days.
Black hole is brightest object ever seen Lake Jezero confirmed

Radar measurements
A hugely bright object gathered by NASA’s Mars
The record-breaker
known as a quasar has now Perseverance rover during its
glows 500 trillion
EHHQFRQƅUPHGDVQRWMXVW times brighter journey across Jezero crater
the brightest known example than the Sun KDYHFRQƅUPHGWKHUHJLRQ
of its kind, but also the most really was once the site of a
luminous object ever observed.
lake. The RIMFAX instrument
A quasar forms when the
probed 20 metres below the
accretion disc of gas and dust
surface to reveal layers of
around a supermassive black
sediment deposits laid down
hole at the heart of a galaxy
ZKHQWKHFUDWHUZDVƅOOHG
becomes so hot it begins to
ZLWKZDWHUƅQDOO\SURYLQJ
glow brightly. To us here on
the region’s wet past.
Earth, the result closely
resembles a star. This
Slow stars live on edge
ILLUSTRATION
particular quasar, J0529-4351,

was actually spotted in Stars on the outer edge of
images as far back as 1980, the Milky Way may be
EXWLWZDVPLVLGHQWLƅHGIRU travelling slowly compared
decades. It was only when worth of material every day, “All this light comes from to those closer to the
astronomers re-examined it making it the fastest-growing a hot accretion disc that galactic centre, according to
with observatories such as the black hole found to date. It is measures seven lightyears in a study using data taken by
Very Large Telescope that so far away that its light has diameter – this must be the (6$ŝV*DLDVDWHOOLWH7KHƅQG
they realised how luminous it taken 12 billion years to reach largest accretion disc in the could mean our Galaxy’s
truly was. us. This cosmic feast causes Universe,” says Samuel Lai, gravitational core contains
The record-breaking galaxy its accretion disc to glow 500 from the Australia National less dark matter than
weighs in at 17 billion solar trillion times brighter than University, who took part in previously thought.
masses. It devours a Sun’s the Sun. the study. www.eso.org

BULLETIN
Odysseus, seen
here in orbit, tipped
over shortly after as
its leg broke upon
landing (inset)
Odysseus makes historic landing on the Moon

The spacecraft came down on its side, but is still operating well
,QWKHƅUVWUS venture to the lunar /LGDUH[SHULPHQWWKDWZDVLQLWLDOO\MXVW are continuing the surface operations
surface since the Apollo 17 landing in LQWHQGHGDVDWHFKQRORJ\GHPRQVWUDWLRQ PLVVLRQDVDUHVXOWRILWŠVDLG$OWHPXV
1972, the Odysseus lunar lander touched Then, after the craft touched down, 7KHPLVVLRQLVSDUWRI1$6$ŝV
down on the Moon at 23:23 UTC on 22 PLVVLRQFRQWUROFRQGXFWHGVHYHUDOKRXUV &RPPHUFLDO/XQDU3D\ORDG6HUYLFH
February. The lander appears to have of troubleshooting before successfully &/36 SURJUDPPHZKLFKFRPPLVVLRQV
tipped over during the landing, but is HVWDEOLVKLQJFRPPXQLFDWLRQVXVLQJWKH SULYDWHFRPSDQLHVWRWUDQVSRUWKDUGZDUH
operating well regardless. EDFNXSPXFKVORZHUORZJDLQDQWHQQD to the surface of the Moon to support its
Odysseus was built and is operated by ş,NQRZWKLVZDVDQDLOELWHUEXWZHDUH XSFRPLQJ$UWHPLVKXPDQOXQDUPLVVLRQV
© 2024 INTUITIVE MACHINES/LLC X 2, NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/JANICE
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0DFKLQHVDVSDUWRIWKH,0OXQDU 6WHSKHQ$OWHPXVSUHVLGHQWRI,QWXLWLYH the Moon’s south pole, where signs of
PLVVLRQPDNLQJWKLVWKHƅUVWHYHUVRIW 0DFKLQHVş:HOFRPHWRWKH0RRQŠ water have been detected. February’s
LEE (STSCI) THOMAS WILLIAMS (OXFORD) PHANGS TEAM
landing on the Moon by a private $IHZGD\VODWHU,QWXLWLYH0DFKLQHV Odysseus landing carried six NASA
VSDFHFUDIW7KHPLVVLRQODXQFKHGIURP announced the spacecraft had tipped on H[SHULPHQWVLQFOXGLQJDUDGLR
the Kennedy Space Center at 06:05 UTC LWVVLGHGXHWRDEURNHQOHJVWUXW REVHUYDWRU\WRPHDVXUHKRZVSDFH
on 15 February, on board a SpaceX Falcon Fortunately, the solar panels were still weather interacts with Moon dust.
URFNHWZLWKDWDUJHWODQGLQJVLWHRI able to charge the lander for several days 7KHVXFFHVVFRPHVDVDUHOLHIIRUOXQDU
FUDWHU0DODSHUW$ORFDWHGDURXQGNP DQGWKHRQO\SD\ORDGRQWKHJURXQG explorers, after two previous spacecraft
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Unfortunately, the landing was far FRXOGVWLOOFRQGXFWLWVVFLHQWLƅFREMHFWLYHV 3HUHJULQHIURP$VWURERWLFŚERWKIDLOHG
IURPVWUDLJKWIRUZDUG3UREOHPVZLWKWKH ş:HKDYHTXLWHDELWRIRSHUDWLRQDO WKHLURZQODQGLQJDWWHPSWVMXVWDPRQWK
SULPDU\QDYLJDWLRQHTXLSPHQWIRUFHG capability even though we’re tipped over. earlier in January.
Odysseus to switch to using a NASA And so that’s really exciting for us, and we www.intuitivemachines.com

The photos offer the
Stunning spirals
sharpest-ever view of
galaxies at near- and mid-
infrared wavelengths
JWST releases incredibly high-resolution images of galaxies in infrared

A stunning batch of images featuring millions of sparkling stars, while the red of data, and JWST is an extremely
19 spiral galaxies, taken by the James regions show warmly glowing gas. complex observatory,” says Thomas
Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has just They were processed as part of the Williams from the University of Oxford
been released to the public. The images Physics at High Angular Resolution in and part of the PHANGS team. “It means
are at unprecedentedly high resolution, Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) programme, ZHPD\EHDEOHWRƅOOLQPRUHRIWKHJDSV
allowing astronomers to investigate how which uses the world’s best observatories in our knowledge about the structure and
the small-scale structure of galaxies to image nearby galaxies across a range evolution of galaxies, star formation, the
LQƆXHQFHVWKHLUODUJHVFDOHGHYHORSPHQW of wavelengths. life cycle of stars and so much more.”
The blue regions show the location of “This programme has a huge volume www.ox.ac.uk

NEWS IN
BRIEF ILLUSTRATION
BULLETIN
Mars helicopter makes final flight

Ingenuity mission lasted more than 30 times longer than planned
Communication Perseverance’s
was lost at the end SuperCam revealed
RIƆLJKWRQ the craft’s missing
18 January and damaged
rotor blades
Green light for LISA

ESA’s Laser Interferometer
Space Antenna (LISA)
mission has passed a After almost 1,0000DUWLDQGD\VDQGƆLJKWV 7KHFUDIWZDVGHVLJQHGIRUMXVWƅYHƆLJKWV
thorough review to ensure 1$6$ŝV,QJHQXLW\KHOLFRSWHUKDVRIƅFLDOO\ WRWHVWWKHIHDVLELOLW\RIXVLQJURWRFUDIWLQWKH
the project is viable, allowing reached the end of its mission. thin Martian atmosphere. These were so
it to move forward into full ,QJHQXLW\ŝVƅQDOH[SHGLWLRQRQ-DQXDU\ZDV successful that the mission was extended for
development. The mission PHDQWWREHDVKRUWƆLJKWWRUHHVWDEOLVKLWV DQRWKHUWKUHH\HDUVGXULQJZKLFKWLPHLW
will hunt gravitational waves SRVLWLRQDIWHUDSUHYLRXVHPHUJHQF\ODQGLQJ survived dust storms and the Martian winter.
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in formation, and will be communications failed. Ground control then EHKLQGDQLQGHOLEOHPDUNRQWKHIXWXUHRIVSDFH
ESAs most expensive and discovered the rotor blades were damaged, H[SORUDWLRQDQGZLOOLQVSLUHƆHHWVRIDLUFUDIWRQ
complex mission to date. SHUPDQHQWO\JURXQGLQJWKHFUDIW Mars – and other worlds – for decades to come,”
,QJHQXLW\WUDYHOOHGWR0DUVZLWKWKH VD\V7HGG\7]DQHWRV,QJHQXLW\ŝVSURMHFW
Young Sun seen flaring 3HUVHYHUDQFHURYHUDQGƅUVWƆHZRQ$SULO PDQDJHUIURP-3/mars.nasa.gov
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times within just a few
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ILLUSTRATION
times the mass of the Sun

Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is spinning so fast that it’s
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pulling spacetime around it into the shape of a
old, offering a window into
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fundamental properties: mass and spin. Using
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Moonquakes shake around Sgr A*, astronomers have found that
south pole WKHEODFNKROHDSSHDUVWREHVSLQQLQJDW
0RRQTXDNHVFRXOGVKDNH per cent the maximum possible value. The
the potential landing sites rapid spin pulls on the surrounding spacetime,
for NASA’s Artemis III human
IRAP/SIMEON SCHMAUSS, NASA/CXC/M. WEISS
PHDQLQJLWZRXOGUHVHPEOHDUXJE\EDOOYLHZHG
landing mission. New from the side. Our black hole’s spin
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UDSLGVSLQFDQƅUHWKLVPDWHULDORXWLQDSRZHUIXO a rugby ball shape
Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter (LRO) found faults MHW7KHODFNRIJDVVXUURXQGLQJ6JU$ PHDQV
throughout the lunar south WKDWLWLVFXUUHQWO\TXLHWWKRXJKDQLQƆX[RI ş$OWKRXJKLWŝVTXLHWULJKWQRZRXUZRUNVKRZV
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VKULQNLQJ7KHIDXOWVFRXOG ş:HKDYHDVSHFLDOYLHZRI6JU$ EHFDXVH SRZHUIXONLFNWRVXUURXQGLQJPDWWHU7KDWPLJKW
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built in the region. XVŠVD\V$QDQ/XIURP0F*LOO8QLYHUVLW\LQ could happen in our lifetimes.”
0RQWUHDOZKRWRRNSDUWLQWKHVWXG\ chandra.si.edu

Our experts examine the hottest new research
CUTTING EDGE spotting them in satellite imagery relatively easy.

CaveFinder was trained
7UDGLWLRQDOO\WKRXJKLGHQWLI\LQJ3&(VRQ0DUV
to spot cave entrances in
Mars orbiter images – and indeed any other surface feature – has been
very slow and laborious, with researchers having to
eyeball thousands of images. Thomas Watson and
James Baldini, both in the Department of Earth
Sciences at Durham University, have been working
on automating this process using machine learning.
Tunnel vision
They developed a computer system known as an
DUWLƅFLDOQHXWUDOQHWZRUNVLPXODWLQJDVWUXFWXUH
loosely based on mammalian brains. They then
trained this system to recognise lava tube openings
E\VKRZLQJLWORWVRIH[DPSOHVRIDOUHDG\LGHQWLƅHG
PCEs, and then used it to process other images of
the martian surface. They focused on regions that
have had lots of volcanic activity in the past,
including along the line of three giant volcanoes in
the Tharsis bulge that straddles the equator.
Tracking down potential CaveFinder, as they dubbed the system, detected

61 previously unknown PCEs – adding to the existing
catalogue of over 1,000. The largest of these new
havens for Martian life “CaveFinder

3&(VŚLQIRUPDOO\QDPHG0DUYLQE\WKH
researchers – is over 700 metres in
diameter, making it a nice big
Machine learning is uncovering the target to aim for with a
entrances to underground caves on Mars detected 61 robotic lander mission.

previously unknown Another, Emily, is located
P
lanetary scientists get particularly within the Elysium volcanic
H[FLWHGDERXWƅQGLQJFDYHVRQ0DUV
potential cave province in the northern
Such subterranean structures offer very entrances… hemisphere at a low
promising locations for establishing the largest is over altitude. This is particularly
human habitats – their rock ceilings 700 metres in VLJQLƅFDQWEHFDXVHWKH
would provide protection from dust storms and thicker atmosphere makes for
diameter”
micrometeoroid impacts, as well as shielding from much easier mission landings by
cosmic radiation. They also represent enticing targets parachute, or exploring the lava
for searching for signs of simple martian life, as caves tubes by robotic drones.
on Earth often sustain abundant microbial growth. The authors do stress that their automated search
/DYDWXEHVDUHRQHSURPLVLQJVRXUFHRI0DUWLDQ method is still far from perfect. After human
caves. These tubes form when a stream of volcanic inspection of the images, many of the locations
lava develops a hardened crust on top, but continues WKDW&DYH)LQGHULGHQWLƅHGZHUHLQIDFWIRXQGQRW
NASA/JPLCALTECH/ASU/USGS, CALTECH/IPAC/R. HURT
WRƆRZZLWKLQWKHQHPSWLHVWROHDYHEHKLQGDKROORZ to contain a potential cave entrance, and the system

tunnel beneath the surface. On Earth, they range Prof Lewis Dartnell also missed known cave openings. Nonetheless, this
from just a few metres long to the enormous is an astrobiologist represents a promising approach in the use of
65km-long Kazumura Cave in Hawaii, and they can at the University machine learning for sifting through vast datasets
be up to 30 metres in diameter. of Westminster of imagery to spot new sites of interest.
7KHPDLQZD\WKDWODYDWXEHVDUHLGHQWLƅHGDQG
which also provides access down into them, is when a
Lewis Dartnell was reading… Martian Cave Detection via Machine
portion of the ceiling collapses to create a skylight. Learning Coupled with Visible Light Imagery by Thomas H Watson and
'XHWRWKHZHDNHUJUDYLW\RQ0DUVWKHVHSRWHQWLDO James U L Baldini Read it online at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/
FDYHHQWUDQFHV 3&(V FDQEHVLJQLƅFDQWO\ODUJHUWKDQ article/pii/S0019103524000101
on Earth, and the lack of covering vegetation makes

CUTTING EDGE
This means these two stars have an exciting future
Peculiar dwarf duo ahead. As they orbit each other, the fact that they’re
moving fast means they make space ripple, emitting
offers expansion clue

gravitational waves. The resulting loss of energy will
make them spiral together, colliding in something like
three million years’ time, producing what seems likely
to be an explosion known as a Type Ia supernova.
An unusual binary could be the Prof Chris Lintott Type Ias are critical in modern cosmology, as those
‘before’ shot of a supernova is an astrophysicist seen in distant galaxies allow us to measure the rate
and co-presenter of expansion of the Universe. The chance to study
on The Sky at Night
R
egular readers of this column will the progenitor of such a key tool in our journey to
be in no doubt that I love a weird understanding our Universe will be invaluable.
object. Unusual versions of common We might soon see systems like J0526+5934 more
astronomical objects are even “This double directly. ESA recently approved the construction
better, presenting both a is actually a pair of the LISA gravitational wave observatory.
puzzle and a chance to learn more about of the dense stellar :KLOHH[LVWLQJH[SHULPHQWVOLNH/,*2ƅQG
astrophysics. In the strange binary star ripples from massive objects like colliding
discussed in this month’s paper, that’s
remnants in orbit EODFNKROHV/,6$ŝVWKUHHVSDFHFUDIWƆ\LQJLQ
exactly what we’re dealing with. around each other… formation, will detect gravitational waves
J0526+5934 is a binary star, with two only the fifth pair from systems just like this. We’ll be hearing
objects that orbit each other in just over 20 known in such much more about double white dwarfs in the
minutes, a period that means they must be very next few decades.
a tight orbit”
FORVHWRHDFKRWKHULQGHHG,WZDVƅUVWVSRWWHGLQ
data from ESA’s Gaia satellite, whose mapping of the
Galaxy is now producing oodles of interesting objects.
The rare ultra-fast-orbiting pair
But what is it? Based on its colour and brightness, could have an explosive future
its discoverers thought the system must have a as a Type Ia supernova
primary which is a sub-dwarf star, a little hotter and
more massive than the Sun, orbited by a white dwarf.
The authors of this paper, though, beg to differ,
drawing on new observations with the massive
Grand Telescopio Canarias (GTC) in the Canaries,
along with robotic telescopes elsewhere in Spain and
Thailand which they used to monitor the brightness
of the system over time.
Surprisingly small star

The new data allowed the team to measure how fast
the objects are moving as they swing round each
other. Considering these measurements, plus a new
spectrum of the object and the results of long-term
monitoring, they can make the crucial determination
of the mass of the brighter of the two stars – and it is
not as massive as the discoverers thought.
In fact, at less than a third of the mass of the Sun,
it’s not nearly massive enough to be a sub-dwarf.
Such stars don’t come in lightweight versions.
Instead, the authors suggest it must be an extremely
low-mass white dwarf. The second star is clearly a
white dwarf, so this double is actually a pair of the Chris Lintott was reading… J0526+5934: A Peculiar Ultra-short Period
dense stellar remnants in orbit around each other. Double White Dwarf by Alberto Rebassa-Mansergas et al.
Such systems are not entirely unknown, but this is Read it online at: arxiv.org/abs/2402.04443
RQO\WKHƅIWKSDLUNQRZQLQVXFKDWLJKWRUELW

The Sky at Night TV show, past, present and future
INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT

Textile engineer Kate volume at launch. So how have
Winning works on one of
things progressed in the last
Oxford Space Systems’
new folding antennas
three years?
First of all, we’ve seen success
with our antennas, which we’ve
now shipped and deployed.
These are now helping connect
everything from trucks to cows!
In 2021, we were also
developing our wrapped rib
antenna, which unfurls from a
750mm diameter out to three
metres or more across. This
work has continued with a
battery of tests to ensure it will
survive launch and work in the
harsh environment of space.
The work has included vibration
testing – up to 16G – to
simulate launch conditions,
as well as deployment testing
in a vacuum across a wide
temperature range. We test at
both a specialist indoor test
range in Germany and using a
novel drone setup, measuring
performance from 500 metres
XS:HŝUHQRZEXLOGLQJWKHƆLJKW
version, with a launch booked
towards the end of the year.
In 2021, Sean Sutcliffe from Oxford Space Off-Earth power stations

Systems spoke to The Sky at Night about Alongside our main deployable antenna activities,
we have also undertaken preliminary work to look at
the UK spaceflight industry. Three years later, the feasibility of space-based solar power stations to
provide energy here on Earth. The structures required
he looks at how far the technology, and the would be huge, around two kilometres across and
space sector, has come since then weighing around 2,000 tonnes, while delivering two
gigawatts of power back to Earth via a non-harmful
OXFORD SPACE CENTRE, ESA/DAVE HARDY, KEEGAN BARBER/NASA
B
ack in June 2021, our space equipment microwave link. While this may seem in the realms of
company Oxford Space Systems was VFLHQFHƅFWLRQWKHUHGXFWLRQLQODXQFKFRVWVDQG
honoured to feature in the ‘Space Boom advancements in technologies now make solar power
Britain’ episode of The Sky at Night and stations in space a potentially cost-effective, reliable,
then in BBC Sky at Night Magazine. low-carbon solution for the medium term. There are a
We had a tremendous reaction from viewers and lot of questions and uncertainties, but now is the time
readers who were fascinated to learn about our to begin answering them.
business of designing and manufacturing deployable Some of the things we saw driving rapid growth in
DQWHQQDVIRUVSDFH7KHVHFDQƅWLQWRDVVPDOOD the space sector three years ago remain the same. In
space as a 10cm cube for launch, then unfurl into particular, the reduction in launch costs and the
full-sized antennas. They allow satellite mission technology advances are allowing more to be done
designers to obtain better performance across radio from space cost-effectively. A couple of things have
frequencies, while keeping down the mass and happened which are going to have quite an impact

INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT
on the future direction of the space sector too. First, making our exploits in space happen. In the 2021 Sky
the war in Ukraine has shown both the strength at Night episode, I spoke about a knitting specialist
and vulnerability of space-based systems. In a who was knitting satellite mesh. One of our latest
world of increased geopolitical turbulence, there is recruits is Kate Winning. Her degree was in textile
going to be increased scrutiny on what capabilities design at Central St Martins, where she developed an
nations have. Second, the astonishingly fast growth interest in technical textiles that then evolved into a
of AI tools is ensuring the vast quantities of data passion for engineering materials. She now works on
Sean Sutcliffe is
provided can be usefully interpreted, whether from creating our gold knitted-metal mesh, which creates
the chief executive
LQWKHƅHOGFRPPXQLFDWLRQVRU(DUWKREVHUYDWLRQ of Oxford Space a foldable surface for our antennas. In the picture to
How it’s used to further humanity is another matter, Systems and chair the left she’s working on a hinged rib design that will
which relies on increasing global cooperation. of the charity provide high-speed, real-time connectivity from low
However, one of the things that always captures Launchpad (DUWKRUELWVDWHOOLWHV:HŝUHORRNLQJWRPDNHRXUƅUVW
people’s imagination are the stories of the people ƆLJKWZLWKWKLVDQWHQQDLQVRZDWFKWKLVVSDFH
Looking back:
The Sky at Night APRIL
7 April 2008 The Sky at Night returns
The Sky at Night is back this month for
On the 7 April 2008 Jupiter in 1992, DQRWKHUVHDVRQDQGWKHƅUVWHSLVRGHRI
ILLUSTRATION
episode of The Sky which propelled 2024 is all about asteroids. Presenters
at Night, Patrick Ulysses into an orbit Chris and Maggie explore the OSIRIS-REx
Moore took a look LQFOLQHGDWŌ mission, which last year returned a sample
at the European The probe made of asteroid Bennu to Earth. They meet the
Space Agency’s LWVƅUVWƆ\E\RIWKH UK scientists getting their hands on a
Ulysses mission, southern solar pole SRUWLRQRIWKHVDPSOHDQGƅQGRXWZKDW
which had spent in 1994, before they’re hoping to discover.
almost two decades swinging around to Four, 8 April, SP ƅUVWUHSHDWZLOO
studying the Sun. the northern side a
be on Four, 11 April at 7pm)
Unlike solar S Ulysses needed a boost from year later. Between
Jupiter to reach the Sun’s poles
observation missions these, it made its Check www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight
that had come before it, Ulysses didn’t closest approach to the Sun: 1.35 times for more up-to-date information
Ɔ\DURXQGWKHHTXDWRURIWKH6XQ the Earth–Sun distance away. It
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beyond Earth orbit. If it was to get up minimum, while the middle occurred
over the poles, the spacecraft had to near the highly active solar maximum.
leave the plane of the ecliptic, requiring Ulysses was able to provide direct S Scientists recovered OSIRIS-REx’s
a huge amount of energy. It was only HYLGHQFHWKDWWKHPDJQHWLFƅHOGRIWKH returned asteroid sample from the Utah
possible with a gravitational assist from Sun reversed between each minimum. desert in September 2023

Emails – Letters – Tweets – Instagram – Kit questions
MESSAGE
Email us at inbox@skyatnightmagazine.com OF THE
MONTH
This month’s top prize: Scope and glory
two Philip’s titles I’m a total newbie to astrophotography
and got a Dwarf II smart telescope in October
last year. After reading your review of it (First
Light, January 2024), I thought I’d show you
what I’ve been able to capture. The Dwarf II
is limited to deep space and not so good for
SODQHWVEXWWKHUHFHQWDSSDQGƅUPZDUH
updates have improved the targets available
and image quality, and I’ve really enjoyed
using it. It’s a great scope and a fantastic
intro to astrophotography.
The ‘Message Here (right, bottom) is my best image so far,
of the Month’
of NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, put
writer will
together from 3,000 sub-frames taken over
receive a bundle
of two top titles courtesy
several weeks. These were captured in my back
Adrian (top)
of astronomy publisher garden, in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, with
was delighted
Philip’s: Nigel Henbest’s a Bortle 6–7 sky. Naturally, capturing the target with his North
Stargazing 2024 and Robin is just the start of the job and the processing is America Nebula
Scagell’s Guide to the where the time and effort is spent. For this
Northern Constellations I used Siril, GIMP and Photoshop Express on Thanks for sharing your image, Adrian. It’s
Winner’s details will be passed on to my phone. Thanks for a great magazine! fantastic to hear that your journey into deep-sky
Octopus Publishing to fulfil the prize
Adrian Bealing, via email imaging has been so rewarding! – Ed.
Final chorus
Tweet I don’t think any article about music
Sam Binding sent into space (Field of View, February
@sambinding • 26 January 2024) would be complete without a
The full Moon this morning reference to Runrig. The last track on their
over Clifton Suspension Bridge. It was ƅQDODOEXPŜ6RPHZKHUHŝIHDWXUHV,66
almost too light by the time the Moon
astronaut Laurel Clark chatting to Mission
dipped down far enough, and despite a
sneaky bank of cloud on the horizon it Control about her choice of wake-up call,
was just about visible. @skyatnightmag Top gun 5XQULJŝVŜ5XQQLQJWRWKH/LJKWŝVKRUWO\
Tracie got before she and the crew died in the
this shot on Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. Her
KHUƅUVWWU\ Runrig CD was discovered amongst the
wreckage of the crash and later presented
Blazing a trail to the band by her family.
Being an absolute beginner to astronomy, Andrew Chappell, via email
,ZDVVRSOHDVHGZLWKP\ƅUVWXVHRIWKH
VRODUƅOWHURQP\6HHVWDU6WKDW, Sun worshipper
wanted to share the image with you. It Let’s hope that estimates are correct and
was taken on 15 January at 12:30pm in the best of this 25th solar cycle is still to
Ravenshead, Nottingham. I must have come. Here (right, top) is the great solar
been in the right place at the right time! landscape as it looks from Texas, taken
Tracie Noad, via email with a Lunt 60mm H-alpha solar

SCOPE DOCTOR
Our equipment specialist cures your
optical ailments and technical maladies
With Steve Richards
Email your queries to

scopedoctor@skyatnightmagazine.com
I use binoculars, but I only have good vision in

one eye. Can you make any suggestions for an
alternative to binoculars?
PAUL SHUFFLEBOTHAM
Binoculars are a great

way to observe the night
sky, but they don’t suit
everyone, as you’ve
discovered. You need to
concentrate on making the
most of your good eye and
S Go halves:
there are several ways that try a monocular like
you can go about it. Celestron’s Outland 10x50s
Wearing an eye patch over
your poor eye is a relaxing method of excluding any vision
through that eye, without having to use your muscles to keep
it closed. This would allow you to continue to use your existing
ELQRFXODUVLQUHODWLYHFRPIRUW+RZHYHU\RXPD\ƅQGD
S Dedicated solar imager Arturo sent us these shots and is looking
forward to things hotting up even more as we near solar maximum monocular, which is a compact telescope that can be held in
one hand like a pair of binoculars, a good option. Models like
telescope. No photograph of discuss orbiting dust clouds as the Celestron 10x50mm Outland or the Opticron Explorer WA
the Sun will ever be the same the cause. Nevertheless, from ('5[PRQRFXODUVZRXOGEHEHQHƅFLDODQGWKHVHKDYHWKH
as another! That is the magic what I gather, others have added advantage of being lighter than many binoculars.
of directing our cameras noticed that Megrez is fading. Finally, perhaps now is the time to consider getting a small
towards the Sun. It seems to me an interesting ŜJUDEDQGJRŝWHOHVFRSHZKLFKZRXOGQRWRQO\VROYHWKHLVVXH
Arturo Buenrostro, via email and informative topic for your with your eyes but, with greater light grasp and a choice of
talented and professional PDJQLƅFDWLRQVZRXOGRSHQXSWKHQLJKWVN\WRHYHQPRUH
Dim sun? team to address. observing opportunities.
I am 70 years old and have Kevin Lafferty, via email
been observing the night sky
since I was a boy, my interest
being fostered by one of
There certainly are a lot of
astronomers reporting that
Steve’s top tip
Patrick Moore’s children’s Megrez appears dimmer, Kevin, Do I need planetary filters to observe visually?
books. Hence I am modestly likely because, as the faintest
SURƅFLHQWDWXVLQJWKH3ORXJK star in the Plough, it’s most <RXGRQŝWQHHGWRXVHƅOWHUVIRUSODQHWDU\REVHUYLQJEXWWKH\
to navigate and identify the affected by bad seeing and light will certainly improve the view. Filters work by passing only a
stars and constellations. To my pollution. While brightness small part of the light spectrum through to your eye, thus
mind and memory (though it measurements say it’s pretty increasing the contrast between the regions you want to see
may be my failing eyesight!), steady, records from 1,000 and the background. Dimming is a side effect, but as most
in recent years the star Megrez years ago say it was as bright as planets are bright this isn’t normally an issue, Uranus and
has all but disappeared from all the other stars, which might Neptune being exceptions. Filters work especially well for Mars,
the Plough. Indeed, this indicate a long-term dimming. ZKHUHDQRUDQJHƅOWHUZLOOUHDOO\LQFUHDVHWKHFRQWUDVWEHWZHHQ
evening it was invisible to my For more on Megrez, turn to the albedo features and bright desert regions. Green and blue
eye on a cold, clear night. An page 53. – Ed. ƅOWHUVZRUNSDUWLFXODUO\ZHOORQ6DWXUQDQG-XSLWHUŝVEDQGLQJ
internet search shows I’m not
alone in this observation. Code red Steve Richards is a keen astro imager and an
Various opinions cite nonsense, Has anybody else witnessed
referencing unchanging DUHGƆDVKLQJOLJKWWKDWORRNV astronomy equipment expert
illumination charts; others like it’s one of Jupiter’s moons? X

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Instagram
Features Editor Ezzy Pearson overthemountains
Art Editor Steve Marsh
Jupiter for years, but I’ve never seen
underthestars • 12 February
Production Editor Jess Wilder anything like it and I’m bemused. Could
Reviews Editor Charlotte Daniels
Happy Wales Dark Skies Week!
it be one of Jupiter’s many moons? But Penmon lighthouse, Anglesey – single
CONTRIBUTORS why red and why with such regularity? shot – ISO 4000 f/2.2, 13 secs, 20mm
Stuart Atkinson, Ethan Chappel, Lewis Dartnell,
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the recommended retail price (subject to VAT in the Republic of Ireland) or in mutilated
We have a regular monthly meeting on time anyway, with excellent food and
condition. Our Media Company is working to ensure that all of its paper comes from well-
PDQDJHG)6&nFHUWLƅHGIRUHVWVDQGRWKHUFRQWUROOHGVRXUFHV7KLVPDJD]LQHLVSULQWHGRQ
the second Thursday of each month, talks on the night sky and telescopes.
)RUHVW6WHZDUGVKLS&RXQFLOn )6&n FHUWLƅHGSDSHU7KLVPDJD]LQHFDQEHUHF\FOHGIRUXVH
in newspapers and packaging. Please remove any gifts, samples or wrapping and dispose of
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The publisher, editor and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, some telescopes for one or more National Mike Evershed, Reeth Informal
goods or services that may be advertised or referred to in this issue for any errors,
omissions, mis-statements or mistakes in any such advertisements or references. Park Dark Skies events in February each Astronomy Group
year. Last February, the group put on a X www.reethastro.org.uk

We pick the best live and virtual astronomy events and resources this month
PICK OF THE MONTH
Deciphering a Darkening
Universe
Royal College Building, University of
Strathclyde, Glasgow, 18 April, 7:30pm
The Astronomical Society of Glasgow
presents a talk by Dr Benjamin Bose,
a cosmologist from the University of
Edinburgh whose research interests
LQFOXGHGDUNPDWWHUDQGPRGLƅHGWKHRULHV
of gravity. Free for everyone.
www.theasg.org.uk
S Emily Winterburn (bottom left) and Richard Ellis (top right) are among the speakers
Spring Astronomers Week
Haw Wood Farm, Hinton, Suffolk, SHA Spring Conference
5–10 April
Birmingham & Midland Institute, Birmingham, 20 April
(QMR\ƅYHQLJKWVRIVWDUJD]LQJLQWKH
company of fellow enthusiasts at an Learn about the life, work and legacy Copeland, Arnold Wolfendale and
accredited Dark Sky Discovery Site. There of great astronomers of the past at the James Bradley. Speakers include Dr
are separate areas for visual astronomers Society for the History of Astronomy’s Emily Winterburn, Dr Lee MacDonald, Dr
and astro imagers, and grass camping annual spring conference. It takes place Peredur Williams, Prof Richard Ellis and
pitches start at £31.50 per night, with in the 890-capacity Lyttelton Lecture Dr John Fisher. Doors open at 9:30am
fully-serviced hard standings from £42. Theatre of the Birmingham & Midland and tickets cost £15 for SHA members
www.hawwoodfarm.co.uk/events/ Institute in Birmingham’s city centre and £20 for non-members. For more
spring-astronomers-week and will include talks on Sir William details, visit the society’s website at
Christie, Sir Harold Spencer Jones, Ralph societyforthehistoryofastronomy.com
AstroCamp Spring 2024
Cwmdu Campsite, Cwmdu, Crickhowell,
Powys, 6–9 April a former president of the Society for for Plymouth Astronomical Society
SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY X 4, BENJAMIN BOSE
A three-night camping event aimed at Popular Astronomy, for his talk subtitled members, visitors £2.
observers and imagers of all levels of ‘The Milky Way Galaxy and its Place plymouthastro.co.uk
expertise. Event tickets cost £25; camping in Time and Space’. Free for members,
is extra and starts at £29.25 per adult (£21 YLVLWRUVZHOFRPH ƅUVWWZRYLVLWVIUHH Shooting for the Stars
for children), with ‘glamping’ options (pods wp2019.wdas2.com/wp2019 Bredhurst Village Hall, Bredhurst,
and huts) from £220. Kent, 12 April, 8pm
astrocamp.awesomeastronomy.com Shakespeare’s Astronomy Astrophotographer Jeremy Phillips, FRAS,
Rolle Building, University of Plymouth, presents a selection of his best astro
Our Island Universe 12 April, 7:30pm images and shares tips on how to combat
Nazarene Theological College, Sheila Evans presents a talk on the many light pollution, with a particular focus on
West Didsbury, Manchester, 8 April, 7pm astronomical references in Shakespeare’s photographing the Milky Way. Free for
West Didsbury Astronomical Society plays and poetry, and discusses the Mid-Kent Astronomical Society members,
welcomes Prof Ian Morison, FRAS, (OL]DEHWKDQYLHZRIWKHFRVPRV)UHH visitors £3. www.midkentastro.org.uk

The amateur astronomer’s forum
Taking out the bins

Cheap binoculars rekindled Shaun Keaveny’s love of space. So did a wheelie bin…
I
’m a broadcaster, so I like But then one day last November,
to make sense of the world I was sitting out front with a tinkling
through words. I’m terrible gin, enjoying a rare moment of
with maths. Maths has solitude, and I looked up. I saw it
the equivalent effect on was a very bright night, shining in
my brain of trying to drive around GHƅDQFHRI/RQGRQŝVOLJKWSROOXWLRQ
Tokyo in an articulated lorry The Moon was big and bulbous, and
whilst high on peyote. Despite this what was that? Jupiter? I nipped
arithmetic antipathy, I’ve always inside to get my little binoculars,
been fascinated with physics but I couldn’t get my hands to stay
and astronomy. still (might’ve been the gin). So I did
In such situations, it is good to what Copernicus or Messier might
have friends in high places. Or have done centuries before. I moved
rather, friends who know about the wheelie bin into position, rested
high places. So it was that, around my instrument atop the blue lid,
,ƅUVWPDGHWHQWDWLYHIRRWIDOO found my target, and… Wow.
on the planet Brian Cox. We There was Jupiter! In a neat
started having weekly science little line beyond were three tiny
chats on my BBC Radio 6 Music pinpricks, moving in Newtonian
show. I’d ask him utterly thick clockwork perfection around their
questions like “why can’t I see gravitational captor. It was so
torchlight during the day?”. But beautiful, I couldn’t stop looking.
somewhere among the playful The wonder had returned. To be
idiocy, there would be shards of able to participate in and witness
genuine insight and understanding the dance of the heavens with a
WKDWLQƆDWHGP\VHQVHRIZRQGHU 40 quid pair of binoculars, that is
All this wonder led to me to a transcendent experience. One
reading Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, we can all enjoy. As a words guy,
which further elevated my of course I had to write a poem
curiosity and ability to imagine about it:
the far reaches of the ever-
expanding Universe of which we Gibbous, full, waxing, waning
are a vanishingly minuscule part. The callow student starts
I acquired a big telescope, and his training
another great physics mind, the With binoculars and gin
dapper Dr Paul Abel [longtime BBC He deploys the wheelie bin.
Sky at Night Magazine contributor
and co-presenter of our monthly
VINETTE ROBINSON, JOE MAGOWAN
Virtual Planetarium], offered to pop round unfolding secrets of the velvety night sky! Catch Shaun
and set it up for me. Within an hour, I But then what? Life, kids, work, hard Keaveny’s BBC
was surveying the majestic tapestry of times, fun times… they all got in the way, podcast, Your Place
the skies, and watching the pinpricks of like they do. The telescope was packed or Mine, including
an episode with
her moons glitter across Jupiter’s face away. Still it collects dust, some of it
Major Tim Peake,
(don’t mention her big red spot or she’ll inevitably star-derived. My curiosity was
on BBC Sounds
get embarrassed). I was drunk on the packed away with it for a while.

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SkyMAGAZINE
at Night
)ROORZRXUWLSVWRƅQGRXW
how to really see glorious
JDOD[LHVOLNH0%RGHŝV
*DOD[\LQWKLVVSULQJŝVVNLHV

DRACO M82
Giausar
M81 Muscida
M101
Dubhe
Plough
Mizar
Merak
Alkaid
URSA
M106 MAJOR
M51
BOÖTES
M63
LYNX
Chara
Cor Caroli
CANES
VENATICI
COMA
BERENICES
LEO
MINOR
Sickle
M64
LEO
Diadem Zosma
S :DLWLQJIRU\RXRQDFOHDUVSULQJHYHQLQJRXUVHYHQQRWWREHPLVVHGJDOD[LHVRIWKHVHDVRQ
Into the
Bear’s den
Rod Mollise invites you on a tour of seven spectacular
spring galaxies around Ursa Major and shares his tips
RUSTERHOLZ MARTINCCDGUIDE.COM, CHART BY PETE LAWRENCE
and tricks on how to see them
S
pring has come to the Northern area is home to countless island universes, some
Hemisphere. The great globe of the of which will be our destinations tonight.
heavens has rolled on and the brilliant star No object in the sky is more harmed by light
clusters and nebulae of winter are sinking in SROOXWLRQWKDQJDOD[LHV7KHƅUVWWKLQJ\RXOHDUQ
the west. It’s now that deep-sky observers about galaxy observing is: the darker the sky, the
turn their attention to the subtler marvels on the better. Many can be seen in suburban skies, but to
rise – the galaxies. In the north, the Great Bear, Ursa see details, to observe anything in most galaxies
Major, and its neighbouring constellations, Canes other than their bright central regions, you’ll need to
Venatici and Coma Berenices, are riding high. The get to the darkest location you can access. X

d URSA
MAJOR 21
Alkaid
24
UGC 8632
NGC 5195
M51
NGC 5301 NGC 5198

NGC 5173
Cut out all ambient

UGC 8320
light to get the best
CANES
view of M51 and its
VENATICI
hanger-on, NGC 5195
X Whether your skies are bright or dark, however, S Start at the end
there are tips that can help you. Being able to not of the Plough’s
just see galaxies, but see them well, requires learning handle to find
a few tricks of the trade to deal with the challenges M51, the Whirlpool
Galaxy, just over
they present. We’ll use these tips and tricks tonight as
the border into
we wander from galaxy to galaxy. Canes Venatici
Dive into the Whirlpool

2XUƅUVWJDOD[\M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, is not
technically in Ursa Major, but is close to it, in the small
constellation Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs. The
galaxy lies only 3.6° southwest of Alkaid, the star at
WKHHQGRIWKH3ORXJKŝVKDQGOH7KLVLVQRWDGLIƅFXOW
REMHFWWRƅQGHYHQZLWKRXWWKHDLGRIFRPSXWHULVHG
W Even small scopes
Go-To telescope pointing.
detect flower-like
The Whirlpool Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy, features in M63, the
and that causes problems for the visual observer – its Sunflower Galaxy
OLJKWLVVSUHDGRXWDFURVVWKHH\HSLHFHƅHOGPDNLQJLW
GLIƅFXOWWRVHHQRPDWWHULWVPDJQLWXGH/XFNLO\WKH NGC 5448
Whirlpool is small enough at 9.8 x 7.8 arcminutes that Alkaid
URSA d
its mag. +8.7 light is still fairly concentrated. CANES
MAJOR NGC 4220
:KDWZLOO\RXVHH":LWKDLQFKUHƆHFWRUIURP VENATICI
light-polluted suburban skies, I see two blobs, a NGC 5195 M106
h NGC 5377
M51 NGC 4346
big one and a small one, the small one being the
irregular galaxy NGC 5195 that is interacting with BOÖTES NGC 4242
the Whirlpool. As aperture goes up and the skies get La Superba Y
darker, however, this galaxy begins to look like its

NGC 4449
SKRWRV:LWKDLQFKUHƆHFWRUIURPDVRXWKZHVWHUQ NGC 5383
US desert, I can see abundant spiral structure, dark
M63 NGC 4490
patches and a lane of pulled-off material, the ‘bridge’ NGC 5371 NGC 4618 `
NGC 5350
Chara
JOHANNES SCHEDLER/CCDGUIDE.COM X 2, CHRISTOPH KALTSEIS/CCDGUIDE.COM,
connecting the Whirlpool and NGC 5195. NGC 5353

A tip to enhance the M51 experience to is protect
your scope and eyes from ambient light. The light M94
of nearby sources, like porch lights, does as much to NGC 5395 _
harm your eyes’ dark adaptation and spoil the view Cor Caroli
NGC 5005
as the sky’s overall light pollution.
CHARTS BY PETE LAWRENCE, @THESHED/PHOTOSTUDIO
NGC 5033
Pick a Sunflower
Next, we’re going to move 5.7° south-southwest instruments, M63’s dusty, patchy spiral arms make S You can pick
to 0WKH6XQƆRZHU*DOD[\. Once the scope is LWORRNDOLWWOHOLNHDJKRVWO\ƆRZHU out the Sunflower
WUDLQHGRQWKHSURSHUƅHOG\RXVKRXOGQŝWKDYHWR :KDWFDQPDNHLWGLIƅFXOWWRVHH0ŝVDUPV" two-thirds of the
VWUDLQWRVHHWKH6XQƆRZHU,WŝVVPDOOHQRXJKDW Something I’ve often observed is that most amateur way between Alkaid
and Cor Caroli
12.0 x 7.2 arcminutes that the light of this mag. DVWURQRPHUVXVHWRROLWWOHPDJQLƅFDWLRQUDWKHUWKDQ
+9.3 intermediate-inclination (half-way between too much. Don’t be afraid to pump up the power to
edge-on and face-on to us) galaxy’s light is 150–200x. Doing so spreads out the background light
concentrated. The question is, can you see the SROOXWLRQLQWKHƅHOGLQFUHDVHVFRQWUDVWDQGPD\EH
VXQƆRZHU")URPGDUNVLWHVHYHQZLWKVPDOOHU brings hints of the arms, even in compromised skies.

5 NGC 4026
NGC 4088
NGC 4100
NGC 3893
r NGC 3726
NGC 3949
CANES
VENATICI M106 NGC 4096
URSA
MAJOR
NGC 3877
NGC 4242
La Superba
Y NGC 4051
NGC 3938
NGC 4449
NGC 4111
NGC 4143
NGC 4618
Chara NGC 4490 It may sound odd, but try
` jiggling your scope to bring
M94 M106’s star lanes into view
S Find big, bright ,KDYHEHHQDEOHWRVHHWKHDUPVRIWKH6XQƆRZHU Dogs, behind and move a full 26.8° southeast to
M106 near the red without much trouble in the suburbs, using a 10-inch the neighbouring constellation Coma Berenices
carbon star La instrument at higher powers. and M64, the Black Eye Galaxy. You’ll know you
Superba (Y Canum are in the proper spot when you see a dimly
Venaticorum) A starry spiral and a Black Eye glowing (mag. +9.3), intermediate-inclination,
)URPWKH6XQƆRZHUVWLOOUHPDLQLQJLQ&DQHV9HQDWLFL 10.0 x 5.0-arcminute oval of light. If that were all
we make another leap in the dark, 11.4° northwest there were to see, it would be quickly checked off
to M106. It’s a galaxy that looks great in almost any the observing list and we’d be on our way. But it’s
scope in any skies. At mag. +9.1, the light of this 16.6 not; there’s something remarkable here.
x 6.3-arcminute galaxy is more spread out than M63, This object is called the Black Eye because of
thanks to its closer-to-face-on orientation, but it is an enormous spot of dark dust lying just outside
still bright as galaxies go. Seeing it is not the problem. its nucleus, a patch about 3 arcminutes across.
The challenge is seeing dark detail in its nebulous While not easy in heavy light pollution, the spot
disc and the star lanes near its nucleus. is detectable with an 8- to 10-inch telescope in
How do you get a better view of this one? Human suburban skies – if you know how to see it.
eyesight evolved to make moving objects easier to The ‘how’ is averted vision. The human eye has
see than stationary ones: tap the tube of the scope two types of sensors, the colour-sensitive cones
XQWLOLWMLJJOHVDOLWWOHDQG\RXPD\ƅQGPRUHGHWDLOV near the centre of the retina and the dim-light-
popping into view. This is one time when a rock-solid sensitive rods at its periphery. To see the faintest
mounting isn’t a good thing. details, don’t look straight at M64, look off to its side.
We’ll take one last glimpse of this big galaxy and With averted vision, the Black Eye and its spot may
then leave M106 and Canes Venatici, the Hunting be easy as well as impressive. X
Choosing a telescope
for galaxy viewing
Small scopes are a start, but with bigger optics
you’ll see galaxies in far greater detail
Any telescope design can work aperture is better. Of course, you
well for observing galaxies, but the shouldn’t buy one so large you’ll be
larger the lens or mirror, the better. reluctant to use it frequently.
Galaxies are the dimmest objects How about the mount? Unless you
we view, and maximum light- plan to do astrophotography,
gathering power is needed. You there’s no need to invest in an
can see many galaxies in 3-inch expensive and heavy equatorial
telescopes, and I’ve had some mount. A simple unpowered
terrific views with 6- to 8-inch Dobsonian altazimuth mount works
Larger-aperture instruments. If you want to see fine. No, it won’t track the stars, but
Dobsonian detail in them, however, not just it can be used to easily track by
scopes can be tick galaxies off an observing list, hand. Also, today some inexpensive
ideal for seeing aperture is the key. In my Dobsonian telescopes do feature
dim galaxies experience, a 10-inch telescope is tracking and even computerised
the place to start and 12 inches of Go-To pointing.

NGC 4274
NGC 4278
a
`
41
COMA NGC 4559
BERENICES
NGC 4565
12
NGC 4725 Melotte 111
NGC 4494
7
23
M64 35
NGC 2393
NGC 4147
M53 M85
24 11
Diadem
Try averted vision to see _ NGC 4450
the dark dust lanes that NGC 5053
make M64’s ‘black eye’ NGC 4651 M100
S Pop over to
Tricky arms and a cigar happened to it. The 9.3 x 4.4-arcminute mag. +9.0 neighbouring
X The hours are passing and the Bear is climbing disc is crisscrossed by dark and bright lanes, giving it Coma Berenices
higher. And that is where we are going, to Ursa Major a disrupted appearance. It is believed this was caused for M64, two-thirds
itself, for M81, Bode’s Galaxy and M82, the Cigar by a close encounter with M81 in the distant past. of the way between
Gamma (γ) Comae
Galaxy. This is our longest star-hop of the evening, When she was young, my daughter called M82 ‘the
Berenices and
DIXOOŌWRWKHQRUWKQRUWKZHVWWRWKHVHOGRPYLVLWHG Exploding Cigar Galaxy’, and it certainly looks it. Diadem
northwestern area of the Bear. Well, it would be Observing tips for the pair? Use a wide range
seldom visited if not for the presence of two of the RIPDJQLƅFDWLRQV,HQMR\XVLQJDQXOWUDZLGHƅHOG
most spectacular galaxies in the northern sky. eyepiece that delivers enough power to show details
0LVRXUƅUVWVWRS)URPDGDUNVLWHZKDWLVYLVLEOH LQERWKDQGDƅHOGZLGHHQRXJKWRFRQWDLQWKHWZR
of this mag. +7.1 spiral is a bright core wrapped in a A favourite with my old 12-inch Dobsonian was a
large 21.9 x 5.8-arcminute envelope of nebulosity. PPŌDSSDUHQWƅHOGH\HSLHFH6HHLQJ0DQG
This is often all that can be seen, even in large 0LQRQHƅHOGIURPDGDUNVLWHZDVEUHDWKWDNLQJ
LQVWUXPHQWV)URPSULVWLQHVLWHVKRZHYHULQFKDQG
larger scopes reveal two delicate spiral arms. Maybe A spin on the Pinwheel
you’ve heard the phrase ‘baby’s breath on a mirror’ Let’s end the night on a distinct challenge: M101,
used when describing faint nebulosity. It is certainly the Pinwheel Galaxy. There is no question that
apt when talking about M81’s arms. this enormous face-on spiral is one of the most
$PHUHŌQRUWKRI0LVDJDOD[\WKDW,FRQVLGHU beautiful northern galaxies. Unfortunately, along with
even more spectacular: M82. It’s a near-edge-on autumn’s Phantom Galaxy, M101 is also one of the
irregular galaxy that looks as if something bad has most challenging. But we’ve got our bag of deep-sky
Our own Galaxy blocks

out distant objects until we
face away from it in spring
Why do we see so many
galaxies in spring?
MICHAEL DEGER/CCDGUIDE.COM, JOHANNES SCHEDLER/CCDGUIDE.COM, THOMAS HENNE/
CCDGUIDE.COM, CAVAN IMAGES/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, CHARTS BY PETE LAWRENCE
Consider the wider view for the reason galaxies

are on the menu this season
Why is spring ‘galaxy season’ in the the Milky Way. Indeed, astronomers
Northern Hemisphere? There are call the disc of our Galaxy, a strip
two reasons. The first is to do with across the sky extending from
Earth’s orbit of the Sun over the Sagittarius, ‘the zone of avoidance’.
course of the year. In spring, it’s at a In spring, the night side of Earth
position in its orbit where the night is facing away from the Milky Way.
side is pointing away from the The same is true in autumn, of
centre of our Galaxy, which lies in course, when many galaxies are
the summer constellation also visible. The reason there are so
Sagittarius. Secondly, the tilt of many more galaxies in the spring
Earth’s axis also positions the night sky is we are then looking toward
side pointing away from the the Coma–Virgo Cluster, the great
Galactic centre and Sagittarius. mass of galaxies that stretches all
This nebula- and cluster-filled the way from northernmost Coma
region obscures galaxies beyond Berenices to southernmost Virgo.

UGC 4035
DRACO NGC 2985
2 Giausar
h M82
M81
IC 2574
NGC 2976
NGC 3077
NGC 3359 23 Muscida k

Dubhe _
NGC 2768
URSA
p MAJOR
S Look above
the Bear’s head
for spectacular
galactic duo M81
and M82
It’s hard to beat the

sight of the Cigar and
Bode’s Galaxies in the
VDPHƅHOGRIYLHZ
magnitude of +8.1 doesn’t mean it is easy for the

visual observer.
I have seen the galaxy as a faint brightening in the
X Throw all our tips
ƅHOGRIDQLQFKWHOHVFRSHIURPEDGO\OLJKWSROOXWHG
and tricks at the
stunning Pinwheel, VXEXUEDQVNLHV)URPDGDUNVLWHRQDQHVSHFLDOO\
and make sure it’s good evening, I’ve observed the spiral arms without
a dry night too GLIƅFXOW\ZLWKDQLQFK2QDWUXO\VXSHULRUQLJKW
in the mountains of West Virginia, I’ve glimpsed the
Pinwheel’s arms with 10x50 binoculars. M101 isn’t
NGC 5678
impossible, if you know how to observe it.
You should use all the tricks we’ve mentioned,
EXWWZRRWKHUVUHDOO\KHOS)LUVWLVSXWWLQJHPSW\
NGC 5585
VSDFHDURXQGWKHJDOD[\8VHDZLGHƅHOGH\HSLHFH
80 c to frame this big galaxy with dark sky and provide
Alcor Mizar VRPHFRQWUDVW7KHRWKHUVHFUHW")RUWKH3LQZKHHO
BOÖTES 83
M101 like other face-on galaxies, a good night means a dry
as well as a dark one. Any moisture in the air makes
NGC 5474 0GLIƅFXOWRUHYHQLPSRVVLEOHWRREVHUYH
URSA ,WŝVGHƅQLWHO\QRWGU\ZKHUH,DPWKLVHYHQLQJ'HZ
Asellus Primus MAJOR is falling and it’s chilly and damp, and thoughts turn
e
f to a warm den and something hot to drink. Tonight,
we only scratched the surface of the spring galaxies
available to visual deep-sky observers. Leo and,
NGC 5676 PRVWRIDOO9LUJRZLWKKHUJUHDWJDOD[\ƅHOGVEHFNRQ
Alkaid But they will be there another night, and so will we,
d 24 standing on the shore of a great, dark ocean, hunting
bright treasures.
S +HDGŌHDVW observing tricks; let’s try them on this marvel.
of M82 for M101, 7KH3LQZKHHOLVŌHDVWRI0DQGLVHDV\WR
the apex of an ƅQGZLWKRXWDFRPSXWHULVHGPRXQWVLQFHLWIRUPVDQ Rod Mollise is an American
equilaterial triangle equilateral triangle with the Plough’s two bright stars, amateur astronomer and writer
with Alcor and who lives near Mobile, Alabama.
Alkaid and Alcor. Or it would be easy if it weren’t
Alkaid as its base He is the author of Choosing
so dim. As with all face-ons, it’s tough. This 22.0 x
and Using a New CAT
DUFPLQXWHVSLUDOJDOD[\QHDUO\ƅOOVWKHƅHOGRI
a lower-power eyepiece and its bright integrated

Dani Robertson explains how simple changes at home
can beat the scourge of light pollution in your area
T
hey say that home is where the revealing themselves, destroying your night vision
heart is, but is your home where and wrecking your stargazing plans.
the lights shine? Electric lighting has
changed the way we live, and lighting Light’s dark side
technology has advanced to the point When it comes to light pollution, every bulb
where we can now hold the power of thousands of counts. We all know how frustrating an ill-placed
FDQGOHVLQWKHSDOPRIRXUKDQGV$UWLƅFLDOOLJKWDW streetlight can be when it comes to our own personal
night (dubbed ‘ALAN’) has created its own experiences of trying to stargaze from home.
empire in little over a century, and very Light pollution from those individual
few places are left on the globe bulbs accumulates, creating a
that have escaped its growing, much bigger issue that impacts
glowing campaign. us all. This dome of light
Between 2012 and 2022, covers our towns and cities
light pollution increased as the wasted light from
globally at a rate of 7–10 millions of unshielded bulbs
per cent each year. The shines upwards.
situation is so dire that It’s bad news for
many places are now astronomers, both
KPNO/NOIRLAB/NSF/AURA/B. TAFRESHI, SERHII LYSENKO/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
working to protect their amateur and professional.

night skies, such as the A Royal Astronomical
newly appointed Dark Sky Society study recently
Community of Presteigne and found that two-thirds of the
Norton in Wales, conquering world’s largest professional
light pollution in an incredible show observatories are impacted by
of community spirit. light pollution and no longer have
Due to the low cost of LEDs, lights S Light-flooded
natural levels of darkness. If we can’t
have crept into places once safe in the urban areas are rife, protect the workplaces of our professional
shadows. Daffodil bulbs are being replaced but you can make a astronomers, what hope have us amateurs
by the glowing LED bulbs of decorative positive difference in our back gardens and urban parks got?
OLJKWVLQRXUƆRZHUEHGVIURPZKLFKRQO\ It’s not only astronomers affected.
light blooms upwards. From rooftops and rafters Light pollution is increasingly recognised as a major
KDQJOXPHQƆRRGOLJKWVWKHVLOHQWHQHP\ impactor on human health. As a disruptor to our
of backyard astronomers. They wait until you’ve circadian rhythm, it has been linked to increases in
assembled your telescope and tripod with frozen insomnia, diabetes and cancers. Medical studies
ƅQJHUVDQGEDWWOHGWRDOLJQZLWK\RXUWDUJHWEHIRUH have found those of us living in more light-polluted X

Take some practical
steps today and begin
to reclaim your view
of the stars

Overbearing lighting
blurs night and day, exhausted, leaving them vulnerable to predators,
disorientating night- H[KDXVWLRQDQGƆ\LQJLQWREULJKWO\OLWEXLOGLQJV
migrating species We have lost 60 per cent of our winged insects in
the UK in the last 20 years, and light pollution is
understood to be a major driver of this loss. We are
only beginning to uncover the true impacts on our
ecosystems of our addiction to light.
Let’s talk solutions

But we do have the solution to light pollution. It’s
you. Every single one of us could have an immensely
positive impact on light pollution by giving more
consideration to how we light our homes. The golden
rule of dark-sky-friendly lighting is to only light what
you need to, when you need to. Does the driveway
need to be lit all night? Is your shop’s advertising sign
visible without being lit up? Can you make do without
the fairy lights in the garden? Every bulb must have
It may look pretty, but a purpose – and a pretty aesthetic is not a purpose,
wildlife will thank you for unless you count being pretty deadly to wildlife. If
switching off unnecessary \RXGRQŝWQHHGWKHOLJKWRQVZLWFKLWRII2QHƆLFN
garden lighting of a switch and the problem is solved.
When lighting is essential, it needs to be fully
shielded on the top and sides to prevent light
Replace glaring units with
from leaking out into the environment. It should
warm, downward-facing
low-energy bulbs – install
also be directed straight down. It doesn’t matter
a motion sensor too KRZHQHUJ\HIƅFLHQWDEXOELVLILWŝVVHQGLQJOLJKW
needlessly upwards. Thinking more carefully about
OLJKWLQJFDQDOVRPDNHLWIXOƅOLWVSXUSRVHEHWWHU
Overpowered lights shining into your eyes often make
LWPRUHGLIƅFXOWWRVHH%ULJKWOLJKWVFUHDWHGDUNQHVV
around them. The glare dazzles you, making it harder
to see into the shadows. Reducing powerful lighting
creates more subtlety of shadow, making hazards
clearer and so reduces accidents.
Timing really is everything. Banish the dusk-til-
dawn sensors from your lawns and install motion
sensors or timers)RUH[DPSOHƅWDPRWLRQVHQVRU
at the bottom of your driveway so your lights are
triggered as you pull up to your home, but then turn
off when you’re safely inside. Motion sensors are
also great for security, alerting you to the fact that
X areas are more at risk of developing mental health someone is around your property.
issues, and it’s even been shown to impact fertility There are many options for timers now, from
levels. It all links back to how our brains are hard- traditional clock timers to cutting-edge smart light
wired to respond to natural light cycles. technology which you can control from an app on
From the ‘birds and the bees’ to the literal birds and your phone. These are a great option as they can
bees, light pollution spells disaster for wildlife. Light be preprogrammed to illuminate at a time of your
pollution is responsible for the death of between 300 choosing, or you can turn them on and off at will.
million and one billion birds in the US every single Reducing the amount of time your lights are on also
year. We know that lots of bird species migrate at helps reduce the amount of electricity you’re using,
QLJKWXVLQJQDWXUDOFXHVLQWKHQLJKWVN\WRƅQGWKHLU keeping down both carbon emissions and your energy
way. But human-created ALAN is drawing them bill. It’s better to have more OLJKWƅWWLQJVDWDORZHU
off course. They become lost, disorientated and intensity of brightness than one powerfully bright

How to stargaze in
light-polluted areas
If you can’t completely eliminate the problem, you
can still make the most of the darkness you have
Light pollution has made amateur then, hopefully switching lights off
astronomy and casual stargazing behind them. There will be fewer
a challenge. If you aren’t lucky car headlights on the road too.
enough to live in an area with dark Light-pollution filters can be
skies or can’t travel to one, there fitted to your telescope’s eyepiece,
are some things you can do to which filter out specific
improve your viewing experience. wavelengths of light. However, if
Find your nearest area of you live on an LED-lit street, LEDs
relative darkness – this could be are notoriously difficult to filter
in a suburban park, sports field or out as they cover a broad spectrum
even churchyard. These tend not of wavelengths. Some light-
to have their own lighting, so are pollution filters are now available
relatively darker than the specifically for filtering out LED
surrounding streets. lamps, like the IDAS LPS-D3, which
View as late into the evening as could help improve your views.
possible, as many councils dim
streetlights from 11pm. Most X The IDAS LPS-D3 filters out the
residents will have gone to bed heavy light pollution from street lights
Smart lighting systems

managed from your tablet
or phone put you even
more in control
Encourage your council to
SETH GOLDFARB/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, WELCOMIA/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, ALAN POWDRILL/ISTOCK/GETTY

use shielded lighting that
lights the way, not the sky
IMAGES, ALVARO MEDINA JURADO/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, QIN NINGZHEN/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
ƆRRGOLJKWWU\LQJWRZDVKRYHUHYHU\WKLQJ7KLVZD\ Sometimes it’s as simple as setting up a telescope

you can have more control over what is lit and when. in a local park to show your community a view of the
Crucially, warmer colour temperatures are key Moon like never before, so they can better appreciate
when it comes to dark-sky lighting. Harsh, cool-white what it is they’re losing. You can also help monitor the
lights, which emit a lot of blue light, are damaging to impact of light pollution on our night skies via citizen
human health, our wildlife and our night sky. When science campaigns, such as the CPRE’s annual star
it comes to colour temperature, stick to warmer- count or the Globe at Night project.
coloured bulbs. The best temperature is 2,700 Kelvin Dark-sky-friendly lighting saves you money, the
or lower, which glows towards the redder end of the climate from crisis, our ecosystems from collapse,
spectrum. The warmer the colour temperature, the your neighbours from health issues, and the starry
better it is for humans and wildlife. It also gives a sky all at once. Not bad for a night’s work, eh?
more aesthetically pleasing, cosy glow, instead of
that of a dentist’s waiting room.
,I\RXUHDOO\ZDQWWRƅJKWOLJKWSROOXWLRQinvolve Dani Robertson is the Dark
the rest of your community. Most people are 6NLHV2IƅFHUIRU(U\L1DWLRQDO
unaware of light pollution. Having a friendly 3DUNDQG$21%DQGDXWKRURI
All Through the Night: Why Our
conversation with a neighbour or writing to your
Lives Depend on Dark Skies
local councillor or MPDERXWWKHEHQHƅWVDQG
savings can be the catalyst for major changes locally.

CAUTION The fundamentals of astronomy for beginners
Never observe or
image the Sun with
the naked eye or any
XQƅOWHUHGRSWLFDO
instrument
E XTRA
Capturing totality
As a total eclipse crosses the US on 8 April, Pete Lawrence explains
how to photograph the event from within the path of totality
P
hotographing a total eclipse of the S Don’t be in WKDWVHOIFRQWDLQHGXQLWVVXFKDV'6/5VDUHSRSXODU
Sun is exciting. To make the most of it, the dark when 3OHQW\RIFKDUJHGEDWWHULHVDQG6'PHPRU\FDUGV
though, requires some pre-planning. totality arrives! are a must, as well as a reliable remote shutter-
Follow our guide to
,QWKLVDUWLFOHZHŝOOVXJJHVWZD\VWRPDNH release cable to avoid shaking the camera. A
capturing one of
it as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. the astronomical back-up camera body is also handy if you have
,I\RXŝYHQHYHUSKRWRJUDSKHGDWRWDOVRODUHFOLSVH spectacles of one, just in case!
before, trying to catch everything that happens may the decade The big kit decisions are usually which lenses to
GETTY X 4, PETE LAWRENCE X 2
EHRYHUDPELWLRXV,QVWHDGRQO\WDFNOHZKDW\RXŝUH XVHDQGKRZWRPRXQWWKHFDPHUD/HQVIRFDOOHQJWK
comfortable with and do plenty of rehearsals, as dictates image scale: a long focal length gets you
then you’ll be able to fully enjoy the day. close in on the eclipse, but it means you’ll have to
)LUVWOHWŝVWKLQNDERXWNLW0DQ\GLIIHUHQWLPDJLQJ NHHSHYHU\WKLQJFHQWUHG,WDOVRUHVWULFWVFRYHUDJHRI
devices can record an eclipse, but the demands of peripheral sky targets such as stars, planets and the
WUDYHOOLQJWRDVSHFLƅFORFDWLRQW\SLFDOO\PHDQ solar corona. A short-focal-length, wide-angle lens

First contact Partial phase Second contact Totality Third contact Partial phase Fourth contact
0DNHVXUH\RXUVRODUƅOWHULV A good time for shots Baily’s beads, The corona, A second chance An opportunity to After the Moon’s last
ƅWWHG LWFDQRQO\FRPHRIIIRU of the crescent cast diamond ring prominences, to get Baily’s attempt shadow moment of contact with the
totality) and your exposure set through a pinhole, effect and the stars and even beads and a bands and to capture Sun, full daylight returns.
correctly as the show begins eg a colander chromosphere planets appear diamond ring the scene around you The show is over
First diamond ring Totality Second diamond ring
allows you to capture the bigger picture, but if it’s too S Best of three: The partial phases are mirrors of one another, both
wide it will produce a rather tiny eclipsed Sun. with so much UHTXLULQJDVRODUƅOWHUWREHXVHG)RFXVDFFXUDWHO\
Your choice of mount is usually dictated by travel happening, it may using any visible sunspots or else the Sun’s edge.
restrictions, a simple tripod being easier to carry than pay to focus on 8VHDORZLVK,62DQGLIXVLQJDOHQVDVRSSRVHGWR
the key moments
a heavy equatorial mount. Both work for an eclipse, a telescope, set its f/number to around 8–11. Adjust
around totality
but a tripod will require constant adjustment to keep the exposure to deliver a bright but not over-exposed
the target centred. The most important thing here Sun, using the camera’s histogram or over-
is to choose a stable and easily adjustable exposure meter to check this. Take shots at
mounting solution. SUHGHƅQHGLQWHUYDOVEXWGRQŝWVHWWKH
One essential piece of equipment is interval so short that you’ll be tied to
DVRODUVDIHW\ƅOWHU7KLVFDQEHD',< \RXUFDPHUD'RQŝWIRUJHWWKDW\RX
YDULHW\PDGHIURPFHUWLƅHGVRODU want to enjoy the experience too!
VDIHO\ƅOPRULWFDQEH
pre-bought. Bear in mind that The zone of panic!
WKHƅOWHUKDVWREHERWKVHFXUHO\ The ‘zone of panic’ describes
ƅWWHGDQGTXLFNWRUHPRYH the central portion of the
during totality. Before using Full-format eclipse, from just before to
DQ\VRODUƅOWHULWŝVLPSRUWDQW 35mm APS-C just after totality. This period
to check that there are no contrasts dramatically with the
pinpricks letting through relative calmness of the partial
light; it’s a good idea to have a phases. With lots of phenomena
backup in case of damage. You happening in quick succession,
PXVWDOVRRIFRXUVHZHDUFHUWLƅHG you’ll need mental focus and
eclipse glasses to protect your eyes. dexterity to see and capture them.
There are three distinct stages to A popular image to capture during
a total solar eclipse: the initial partial the latter stages of the initial partial
phase; totality; and the second partial phase (or during the second partial phase,
SKDVH7KHVRODUƅOWHUPXVWEHƅWWHGGXULQJERWK LI\RXPLVVLWWKHƅUVWWLPH LQYROYHVDSLHFHRI
partial phases and so must be replaced after totality S Decisions, card or an object with one or more 1–2mm holes
– it’s very easy to forget after the excitement! The decisions: how the in it. This is used to cast a shadow onto a piece of
stages are, in theory at least, determined by eclipse eclipse will appear white card, each hole producing a tiny eclipsed Sun
FRQWDFWV7KHLQLWLDOSDUWLDOSKDVHUXQVIURPƅUVWWR depending on the image. Colanders and tea strainers are ideal for this.
second contact; totality from second to third; and focal length of the Another to try is as the Sun’s crescent becomes
lens you choose
the last partial from third to fourth contact as the thin; it then acts as a curved slit of light, causing
eclipse ends. The reality is slightly fuzzier. shadows to appear sharp in one direction and fuzzy X

Snap the scene: Holey effective:
don’t forget to look cast a crescent with
around and capture a pin-holed sheet or
the day itself too a kitchen colander
X at right angles to that direction. Both are easy to A lowish ISO is important to do the intense
photograph simply using a smartphone. colours of totality justice. As the Moon
A large white sheet laid on the ground totally hides the Sun’s photosphere,
or mounted on a sunlit wall improves prominences may be seen projecting
chances of seeing shadow bands off the edge of the Sun. These
– subtle, rippling waves caused by have an exquisite deep red-
the light of the almost-totally- pink colour that may be
eclipsed Sun passing through seen visually as well – don’t
Earth’s atmosphere. forget to look! After the
A smartphone in video ƅUVWŜGLDPRQGULQJŝIDGHV
mode should catch them, also look out for the arc
although they can be of red-pink light from the
very subtle. Remember solar chromosphere. This
too that a smartphone doesn’t last long, but it
is great for the scene can also be caught at
around you, including your the end of totality. During
fellow eclipse chasers, and totality, no part of the
is something that will really Sun’s surface is visible and
help capture the experience. this is when the corona can
be seen and photographed.
Beads to diamonds
As we approach totality, the Cue the corona
cusps of the Sun’s crescent close The Sun’s corona can extend from
strikingly fast. As they do, tiny star- the Sun for many solar radii. A shorter
like points called Baily’s beads appear focal length, offering mid- or wide-angle
where the Moon’s rough edge allows sunlight photographic coverage, is recommended to
to pass. As totality approaches (or ends), it may also S Seconds count: capture it. As the 8 April 2024 total solar eclipse
be possible to see the approaching and receding the spectacular occurs near solar maximum, when solar activity
shadow in the clouds and on the ground, especially diamond ring effect is heightened, expect the corona to surround the
if you’re viewing from an elevated position. This is lasts mere seconds, HFOLSVHG6XQOLNHWKHSHWDOVRIDƆRZHU1HDUVRODU
so be ready!
subtle, but can be photographed by capturing a large minimum it has a more linear appearance. Bracketed
swathe of the sky. As the beads exposures, where you take
disappear, the largest produces “During totality, a range of exposures in
PETE LAWRENCE X 5, GLOBE: PAUL WOOTON
an intense light, the ‘diamond’ succession, are recommended

in the famous ‘diamond ring’
HIIHFW7KHVRODUƅOWHUQHHGV
no part of the Sun’s surface for capturing the corona. Use
shorter exposures for the inner
to come off from just before is visible and this is when corona and longer ones of
WKHDSSHDUDQFHRIWKHƅUVW up to several seconds for the
diamond ring; remember to the corona can be seen long outer streamers. Longer
replace it just after the second, exposures should also pick
at the end of totality. and photographed” up sky objects such as stars,

SETTING SUGGESTIONS ISO 100 at f/8, 200 at f/11 and 400 at f/16
Partial
Baily’s W Our exposure and timing
(using solar V 1/4,000s
beads suggestions for each of the
ƅOWHU1'
day’s rare eclipse phenomena
Chromosphere Prominences
planets and possibly even comet 12P/Pons–Brooks
1/2,000s 1/1,000s
during the 2024 event. A longer exposure may reveal
detail on the Moon’s disc due to ‘earthshine’, when the
Moon’s night side is illuminated by the light of Earth.
Inner corona Mid to outer corona
By using high-dynamic-range composition
7RVRODUUDGLLV 7RVRODUUDGLLV
7RVRODUUDGLLV 7RVRODUUDGLLV techniques, for example layer masking, you could
7RVRODUUDGLLV 7RVRODUUDGLLV merge the bright inner corona with fainter outer
7RVRODUUDGLLV streamers. This involves opening the different corona
exposures as separate layers in a layer-based editor
For exposure times for different ISO and f/numbers such as Photoshop, with the shortest exposures at
visit www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html the bottom. Align all images, hiding all but the lower
$OOYDOXHVDUHIRUJHQHUDOJXLGDQFH/RFDOVN\FRQGLWLRQVPD\DIIHFWH[SRVXUHWLPHV
two layers. Create a blurred layer mask in the upper
visible layer to reveal correctly exposed detail from
the lower layer. Once done, make the next layer up in
the stack visible and repeat.
However you observe and record the 8 April 2024
eclipse, make sure you relax and enjoy the experience.
Such events are precious and last in your memories
for a very long time.
Pete Lawrence is a skilled

With some planning and astro imager and a
practice, you can nail co-presenter of The Sky
an incredible shot when at Night on BBC Four
the moment arrives
The path of the eclipse

Over 5,500km of the path of totality crosses North America
Most of North America will be able to Piedras Negras in Mexico. It arcs gently
see partial phases of the 8 April solar northeast, passing through 13 states
eclipse (much of Alaska being the (14 if you count a tiny bit of northwest
exception). However, only those in the Tennessee) up through Maine
narrow ‘path of totality’ get to see before clipping the extreme
all the wonderful phenomena eastern corner of Canada.
associated with a total solar The best weather is
North America
eclipse. Getting close to predicted for Mexico, with
this path will increase the Point of Texas having the best
Atlantic Ocean
percentage of eclipse you’ll greatest eclipse projected weather in
Nazas
see, but this is nothing like the US. Warm ocean
the majesty of a full total. Mexico temperatures in the
h
The path of totality has p at HTXDWRULDO3DFLƅF (O
se
an average width of 185km c lip L W \ Niño) are expected to
E O
and is around 16,000km WD further improve Texan
WR
long, though only 5,500km weather. The worst
of that passes over land South America weather is expected in
across North America. The 3DFLƅF2FHDQ the northern states
total eclipse starts over the and Canada.
3DFLƅFWKH0RRQŝVVKDGRZ A sunset partial eclipse
racing northeast to make requiring the use of a solar
landfall just south of Mazatlán ƅOWHUFDQEHVHHQIURPZHVWHUQ
in Mexico at 11:07 MST (18:07 UTC). locations in the UK. Getting a
From there it tracks northeast to the clear view of the low-altitude Sun near
point of greatest eclipse near the the horizon can be challenging, so keep
town of Nazas, where four minutes S The total eclipse makes landfall on
an eye on the weather and be prepared
and 28.13 seconds of totality can be Mexico’s west coast, travels across 14 US to travel. Find more about the UK’s
seen. It passes into the US just north of states and leaves from eastern Canada view of the eclipse on page 46.

The British Astronomical Association
One Day Meeting - Saturday 11th May 2024, 10:00am—5.30pm
tHE MUSIC OF SPACE

The Beacon Arts Centre, Custom House Quay, Greenock, PA15 1HJ
SPEAKERS
DAME JOCELYN BELL-BURNELL
PROFESSOR MARTIN HENDRY DR ALEXANDER MACKINNON
CLARA BRASSEUR NICK JAMES
SPECIAL MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
For more details and to book your tickets visit:

https://britastro.org/event/spring2024
Thanks to Inverclyde
Skywatchers Astronomy Group
who are hosting this meeting
The
Possibilities
are
Endless
Recycle your magazine and seven days

later it could come back as your newspaper www.recyclenow.com
16-PAGE
CENTRE
PULLOUT
APRIL 2024
The west of the UK

experiences a small
partial eclipse at
sunset on 8 April
CATCH
THE COMET CROWN JEWELS
PETE LAWRENCE
12P/Pons–Brooks predicted Six binocular targets to find

to be at naked-eye visibility around Corona Borealis
About the writers Also on view Red light friendly Get the Sky
this month… Guide weekly
Astronomy Steve
expert Pete Tonkin is ✦ Jupiter finally catches For weekly updates on
Uranus what to look out for in
Lawrence is a a binocular
skilled astro observer. ✦ Waxing crescent Moon To preserve your night the night sky and more,
skirts the Pleiades vision, this Sky Guide sign up to our newsletter
imager and a Find his tour
presenter on The Sky at of the best sights for ✦ Mars and Saturn’s can be read using a red at www.skyat
twilight dance light under dark skies nightmagazine.com
Night monthly on BBC Four both eyes on page 54

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS Your guide to the
night sky this month
Tuesday
2
Monday
1
Possibly
The first half of April naked-eye
provides good, comet 12P/Pons–
Moon-free opportunities Brooks will be visible
to attempt this month’s in the evening twilight this
Deep-Sky Tour on page 56. month. The best time to
This month we’re looking at spot it will be at the start
objects close to the border of of April. Turn to page 53
Boötes and Coma Berenices. for more details.
Saturday
6
A 9%-lit
waning
crescent Moon is near
Mars and Saturn as
they rise above the east-
southeastern horizon in
the dawn twilight.
Wednesday Thursday W Friday
10 11 12
This Mars and See
evening’s Saturn are the
5%-lit waxing half a degree apart this wonderful Vallis
crescent Moon sits morning, but tricky to Rheita tonight, the
3.2 ° north of mag. –1.9 Jupiter see well in the dawn twilight. lunar feature highlighted in
as they approach setting at the this month’s Moonwatch (see
west-northwestern horizon as At 22:00 BST (21:00 page 52), near the Moon’s
darkness falls. Uranus is 1.8° UT), the 12%-lit southeast limb. It’s also
northeast of Jupiter today. waxing crescent Moon sits 3.7° visible later in the month
from the Pleiades open cluster. on 25 and 26 April.
W Thursday Saturday
18 20
The easy- Jupiter
to-see and
Jewelled Handle Uranus reach
clair-obscur effect is conjunction,
visible this evening. This occurs separated by just 0.5°.
when the curved Montes Jura Evening twilight will
mountain range catches the compromise the view of
light of the lunar dawn. mag. +5.8 Uranus, but
mag. –1.9 Jupiter should
be easy to spot.
Monday X Wednesday Friday
22 24 26
Peak of the The less The
annual Lyrid common red
meteor shower. A lunar clair-obscur supergiant star
bright Moon makes effect known as the Antares (Alpha
this year’s peak unfavourable. Zeno Steps is visible this (α) Scorpii) lies 2.1° to the
evening around 23:00 BST west of the 90%-lit waning
PETE LAWRENCE X 7
(22:00 UT). An arrangement of gibbous Moon as they rise

linear highlights near the crater this evening.
Zeno gives the appearance of
a set of steps.

NEED TO
KNOW
The terms and symbols
used in The Sky Guide
Thursday X
4
M87
The galaxy- Universal Time (UT)
heavy region and British Summer
of sky known as the Time (BST)
Realm of Galaxies is NGC 4486A Universal Time (UT) is
well placed in moonless skies NGC 4476 the standard time used
NGC 4478
currently. Multitudes of galactic by astronomers around
smudges can be found in the the world. British
region within and north of the Summer Time (BST) is
Bowl of Virgo asterism. one hour ahead of UT
RA (Right ascension)
and dec. (declination)
These coordinates are the
Sunday W Monday night sky’s equivalent of
7 8
The 1%-lit longitude and latitude,
A total solar eclipse
waning describing where an object
crosses Mexico,
crescent Moon is on the celestial ‘globe’
the US and Canada
approaches Venus today. While we won’t
as they set around 18:20 BST experience totality in the UK, Family friendly
(17:20 UT). An occultation it may be possible to glimpse Objects marked
does occur, but sadly after a slim partial eclipse from with this icon are perfect
both have set from the UK. more westerly regions right for showing to children
before sunset. See page 46
for more details. Naked eye
Allow 20 minutes
for your eyes to become
dark-adapted
W Tuesday
16
This
Photo opp
evening’s
Use a CCD, planetary
60%-lit waxing
camera or standard DSLR
gibbous Moon sits
3.3 ° northeast of M44, the Binoculars
Beehive Cluster. 10x50 recommended
Various clair-obscur Small/

effects are visible
medium scope
today. See page 47 for timings.
Reflector/SCT under 6 inches,
refractor under 4 inches
Sunday
21
Large scope
Potential Reflector/SCT over 6
naked-eye inches, refractor over 4 inches
comet 12P/Pons–
Brooks reaches
perihelion; unless it experiences
an outburst and brightens, it
will be a challenging object to
view in the evening twilight.
Monday Family stargazing GETTING STARTED
29
Mars
and
April is a great month for youngsters to get acquainted IN ASTRONOMY
with our nearest neighbour in space, the Moon. From its If you’re new to
Neptune are
crescent phase on 10 April (incidentally when it sits very astronomy, you’ll find
very close this
near to bright Jupiter) through to full Moon on 24 April, there are two essential reads on our
morning, separated by just
chances to view the Moon either with eyes, binoculars or a website. Visit bit.ly/10_
2.1 arcminutes. The dawn
telescope each evening. A view through a telescope can be easylessons for our
twilight will make them
particularly inspiring, as many craters, mountains and valleys 10-step guide to getting
difficult to see, especially
can be seen thanks to the shadows they cast. There are lots of started and bit.ly/buy_
dim Neptune.
interesting Moon-related events to look out for in this month’s scope for advice on
Sky Guide too. www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing choosing a scope

THE BIG THREE The top sights to observe or image this month
PB = partial begins
DON’T MISS ME = maximum eclipse
SS = sunset CAUTION
Never observe or
All times shown are BST (UT +1hr) image the Sun with
A sunset Times will vary slightly with location the naked eye or any
XQƅOWHUHGRSWLFDO
instrument
eclipse
BEST TIME TO SEE: 8 April from 1 hour
prior to local sunset
There’s no hiding from the fact that

there will be a total solar eclipse
happening across the Atlantic on 8 April.
PB 19:55
Having already experienced one back in
ME 20:13
2017, the US will be ready for 2024’s total. SS 20:22
Unfortunately, here in the UK we don’t get PB 19:55
to experience a total solar eclipse; ME 20:24 PB 19:55
SS 20:28 ME 20:08 PB 19:55
however, some of us can still join in with
SS 20:12 ME 19:57
the event. Even if you aren’t in a good SS 20:00
location but have the means to move,
you might still get to see something.
Totality refers to the view that you get
PB 19:55
when the Moon completely covers the ME 20:13
Sun’s disc. As the Moon trundles east in SS 20:18
the sky relative to the Sun’s position, the No eclipse
Moon’s shadow moves west–east over visible
Earth’s surface, more often than not at
an inclined north or south angle. It’s the
Moon’s umbral shadow that gives rise to
totality, while the surrounding weaker
penumbral shadow marks the area where
a partial solar eclipse is experienced.
As the Moon’s shadow crosses Earth,
S Those in the west, or able to travel there, could see a partial solar eclipse on 8 April
its umbral shadow creates ‘the path of
totality’, a corridor that varies between ZLWKDFHUWLƅHGVRODUƅOWHU$ORZ6XQPD\
140km and 200km wide during the 2024 look docile, but it’s unwise to treat it any
eclipse. In order to experience totality, differently to a higher, bright Sun. Another
you’d need to be somewhere along this safe option would be to view the eclipse
path, preferably close to its centreline. WKURXJKDQDUURZEDQGƅOWHUVXFKDV
The path of the penumbral shadow is hydrogen-alpha or calcium-K.
much wider, and as it crosses Earth’s The further west you get, the
globe it can become quite elongated greater the starting altitude of the
in shape. eclipse and the more of the eclipsed
On 8 April, the penumbral shadow Sun you’ll see. The weather will play
crosses western parts of the UK, giving a critical role too; any thin or patchy
these areas a chance to see something cloud at low altitude could cover
of the eclipse event. As Earth is a globe, WKRVHƅQDOPRPHQWVEHIRUHVXQVHW
ALL PICTURES: PETE LAWRENCE
from the UK’s perspective the Sun will be when the eclipse is nearing its maximum
setting, giving rise to the prospect of a coverage. Being a sunset event, this will
sunset partial solar eclipse. Given clear be perfect for photography, again with
skies, this could be quite stunning to see. the usual safety caveats.
As ever, it’s imperative that the event is
only viewed through eclipse glasses or S A partial solar eclipse photographed
X For advice on how to photograph
WKURXJKDWHOHVFRSHRUHTXLYDOHQWƅWWHG through a hydrogen-alpha filter the event, see page 76

Tricky
conjunctions
BEST TIME TO SEE: As stated
The planets are not good for

observing at present, all being
located too close to the Sun to be seen
well. This is an unusual situation, as they
more commonly appear spread out across
WKHVN\7KHƆLSVLGHWRSRRUVSULQJ
planets is that after the summer solstice
on 20 June they will rapidly regain
position and become something of a
spectacle later in the year.
S Jupiter finally catches up with Uranus this month, but the conjunction isn’t easy to spot
Although you won’t currently be able to
see them satisfactorily with a telescope, setting. This would be an occultation and Saturn are 0.5° apart, but they
there are a number of interesting were it not for the fact that they both are very tricky to locate in the bright
conjunctions occurring during April and VHWƅUVWDVVHHQIURPWKH8. dawn twilight.
these may be seen either with the naked On the morning of 10 April, Mars 7KHQRQ$SULO-XSLWHUƅQDOO\FDWFKHV
eye or using binoculars. and Saturn are just 0.6° apart shortly up with Uranus, both planets separated
On the morning of 6 April, a 9%-lit after rising. Later that evening, a 5%-lit by 30 arcminutes in the evening sky. Mag.
waning crescent Moon sits near Mars and waxing crescent Moon sits 3.2° to the –1.9 Jupiter should be relatively easy to
Saturn, a tricky view best seen 30 minutes north of Jupiter as both objects approach see, but mag. +5.8 Uranus will take some
before sunrise. On 7 April, the now rather their setting point. Dim Uranus will be ƅQGLQJ,I\RXIDQF\DUHDOFKDOOHQJH0DUV
slender Moon makes a close approach to 1.8° northeast of Jupiter on this evening and Neptune will be just 2.5 arcminutes
the planet Venus just as they approach too. On the morning of 11 April, Mars apart on the morning of 29 April.
April clair-obscur effects

BEST TIME TO SEE: As stated
There are numerous lunar clair-obscur (shadow and light)

effects visible this month. On the morning of 16 April, as
the Moon approaches setting, the Lunar X and Lunar V effects
should be visible. Later that evening, the Stars or Aristillus can be
seen at 17:54 BST (16:54 UT), the illuminated peaks of the central
mountain complex within the crater Aristillus appearing like a
small open cluster of stars.
On 18 April, the large, easy-to-see Jewelled Handle will be
visible. Try to locate the 77%-lit waxing gibbous Moon during
daylight around 19:00 BST (18:00 UT) and you should be able to
see the illuminated arc of the Jura Mountains, which border the
semi-circular bay known as Sinus Iridum, stretching into the lunar
night. The effect is visible through binoculars or a small telescope;
with keen unaided eyesight it’s often possible to detect that there
is a small ‘blip’ along the northern part of the Moon’s terminator.
On 24 April, approaching 23:00 BST (22:00 UT), using a
telescope look near the crater Zeno near to the Moon’s northeast
limb, where you should be able to see a small region of parallel,
illuminated lines which resemble a set of steps. These form the S The Stars of Aristillus, looking like a tiny star cluster inside 55km
clair-obscur effect known as the Zeno Steps. Aristillus, is one of several clair-obscur effects visible this month

THE PLANETS Our celestial neighbourhood in April
Jupiter represents the

PICK OF THE best of a poor planetary
MONTH
performance this month.
A 5%-lit waxing crescent
Moon sits very close by
on the evening of 10 April
at 21:20 BST (20:20 UT)
Jupiter
Best time to see: 1 April, from 19:20 UT
Altitude: 23°
Location: Aries
Direction: West
Features: Complex markings,
Galilean moons
Recommended equipment: 100mm
scope or larger
None of the planets are particularly well-

placed this month, all lying very close to
the Sun. Those that do re-emerge into
the dawn twilight do so at a low altitude. The reduction in the visibility of
An image from
Jupiter and Uranus remain in the evening Jupiter towards the end of the month Uranus
when Jupiter and
sky, but not for much longer. is a little ironic. The planet has been Uranus were last
Jupiter is best seen at the start of located very near Uranus for many together in 2010
April, when it appears above the western weeks now, the apparent separation
horizon as the sky darkens after sunset. between both worlds slowly reducing.
It’s losing altitude now, a little over 20° Minimum separation occurs on 20 and
up when it starts to become visible after 21 April, when Jupiter and Uranus will
sunset at the start of April. By the end of appear 0.5° apart.
WKHPRQWK\RXŝOOEHKDUGSUHVVHGWRƅQGLW The bright twilight sky in which this Jupiter
at all, so take advantage of any clear skies occurs should allow Jupiter to be seen
that occur at the start of the month. fairly easily, but Uranus will be a real
There’s a lovely meeting between struggle. If there’s any chance of seeing and over towards the right. Jupiter will be
PETE LAWRENCE X 2
Jupiter and a slender 5%-lit waxing Uranus, the best strategy will be to brightly shining at mag. –1.9, but Uranus
crescent Moon on 10 April, the beautiful use binoculars to locate Jupiter. If Jupiter will be a lot dimmer at mag. +5.8 – right
lunar crescent appearing 3.2° to the north DSSHDUVLQWKHFHQWUHRI\RXUƅHOGRIYLHZ on the threshold of naked-eye visibility
of the planet on this occasion. Uranus should be visible too, slightly up in a dark sky.
The planets in April The phase and relative sizes of the planets this month. Each planet is
shown with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telescope
Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

15 Apr 15 Apr 15 Apr 15 Apr 15 Apr 15 Apr
Mercury
1 Apr
Mercury
15 Apr
Mercury
30 Apr
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
ARCSECONDS

Mercury from the UK) of 30 arcminutes
Best time to see: 1 April, on the morning of 11 April. On
40 minutes after sunset 29 April, mag. +1.1 Mars passes JUPITER’S MOONS: APRIL
Altitude: 8° mag. +7.9 Neptune by just 2.1
Using a small scope you can spot Jupiter’s biggest moons. Their
Location: Pisces arcminutes, although this is positions change dramatically over the month, as shown on the
Direction: West unlikely to be visible due to the diagram. The line by each date represents 01:00 BST (00:00 UT).
Mercury is an evening planet bright dawn twilight.
at the start of April, shining at DATE WEST EAST
mag. +1.8 on 1 April and setting Saturn 1
100 minutes after the Sun. It Best time to see: 30 April,
thereafter rapidly dashes 04:00 UT 2
towards inferior conjunction, Altitude: 5° (low) 3
which occurs on 11 April. This Location: Aquarius
PHDQVLWVYLVLELOLW\IRUWKHƅUVW Direction: East-southeast 4
part of April is generally poor. Saturn is a morning object but 5
Mercury passes 1.7° north of not well-placed, appearing
mag. –3.8 Venus on 19 April, very low in the dawn twilight. 6
but only rises 20 minutes A 9%-lit waning crescent 7
before the Sun, making the Moon sits 3.7° southwest of
8
conjunction virtually the mag. +0.8 planet on the
impossible to see, especially morning of 6 April. By the end 9
with Mercury now at mag. +3.2. of the month, Saturn only
10
Things improve towards the manages a paltry altitude of
end of April, but only slightly, around 5° before being lost 11
mag. +1.3 Mercury rising 30 to the dawn twilight. 12
minutes before the Sun.
Uranus 13
Venus Best time to see: 1 April, 14
Venus is approaching the Sun 20:40 UT
in the morning sky and not Altitude: 14° 15
well-placed, rising just 16 Location: Aries 16
minutes before sunrise on Direction: West
1 April. Towards the end of the An evening planet, now on
17
month, Venus gets too close to its last legs as it slips slowly 18
the Sun’s position to be seen but surely into the evening
19
safely, rising just 8 minutes twilight. Uranus is in
before sunrise on 30 April. conjunction with bright 20
Jupiter on 20 and 21 April, 21
Mars but the evening twilight will
Best time to see: 30 April, make this a very hard 22
40 minutes before sunrise conjunction to see properly. 23
Altitude: 2° (very low)
Location: Pisces Neptune 24
Direction: East Not visible this month. 25
Mars is currently a morning
planet, but – as is the way with
26
the major planets this month FREE BONUS 27
– is not well-placed. On the
morning of 6 April, mag. +1.2
CONTENT 28
Mars sits 3.1° west of mag. +0.8 29
Saturn, both planets
30
accompanied by a 9%-lit,
waning crescent Moon 2.7° 1
further to the south. Mars and
Saturn converge over the next Print planet observing forms 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
www.skyatnightmagazine
few mornings to reach a arcminutes
.com/bonus-content
minimum separation (as seen
Jupiter Io Europa Ganymede Callisto

THE NIGHT SKY – APRIL
KEY TO When to use this chart
STAR CHARTS 1 April at 01:00 BST
Arcturus STAR NAME 15 April at 00:00 BST
PERSEUS CONSTELLATION 30 April at 23:00 BST
NAME On other dates, stars will be in slightly different positions
GALAXY because of Earth’s orbital motion. Stars that cross the
sky will set in the west four minutes earlier each night.
OPEN CLUSTER
GLOBULAR
CLUSTER How to use this chart
1. Hold the chart
PLANETARY
NEBULA so the direction
you’re facing is
DIFFUSE at the bottom.
NEBULOSITY
2. The lower half
of the chart
DOUBLE STAR
shows the sky
VARIABLE STAR ahead of you.
3. The centre of
THE MOON, the chart is the
SHOWING PHASE
point directly
over your head.
COMET TRACK
Sunrise/sunset in April*
E A ST
ASTEROID Date Sunrise Sunset

TRACK
1 Apr 2024 06:42 BST 19:46 BST
STAR-HOPPING
11 Apr 2024 06:18 BST 20:04 BST
PATH 21 Apr 2024 05:55 BST 20:22 BST
`
1 May 2024 05:34 BST 20:40 BST

METEOR
RADIANT
Moonrise in April*
et
rcl
Moonrise times
Ci
ASTERISM
1 Apr 2024, 03:36 BST 17 Apr 2024, 12:51 BST
5 Apr 2024, 05:49 BST 21 Apr 2024, 17:46 BST
PLANET 9 Apr 2024, 06:34 BST 25 Apr 2024, 22:54 BST
13 Apr 2024, 08:11 BST 29 Apr 2024, 02:27 BST
QUASAR
*Times correct for the centre of the UK
STAR BRIGHTNESS:
MAG. 0 Lunar phases in April
& BRIGHTER
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
MAG. +1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
MAG. +2
MAG. +3 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
MAG. +4
& FAINTER
NEW MOON
5º N 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
E W COMPASS AND
FIELD OF VIEW
CHART: PETE LAWRENCE
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
S
MILKY WAY
FULL MOON
29 30

MOONWATCH April’s top lunar feature to observe
N
interrupt Vallis Rheita, indicating it’s younger than the
Vallis Rheita crater chain. The other side of the valley is marked by
Type: Crater chain valley 88km Metius, both Rheita and Metius appearing like
Size: 580km gateway guardians to the valley. Metius is interesting
Longitude/latitude: 51.7 ° E, 42.5° S under low-light conditions. A series of hills appear
Age: Older than 3.9 billion years DOLJQHGVRXWKHDVWŚQRUWKZHVWRQLWVƆRRU:KHQWKH
Best time to see: Four days after new lighting is just right, the hill peaks create the
Moon (11–13 April) or three days after full
impression of a set of stairs, similar to the Zeno Steps
Moon (25–27 April)
clair-obscur effect that occur near the 65km crater
Minimum equipment: 50mm refractor
Zeno, close to the Moon’s northeast limb.
Vallis Rheita appears to continue north of the
Vallis Rheita is a linear valley to the Rheita–Metius line, but its form becomes
south-southeast of Mare Nectaris, not far
from the Moon’s southeast limb. Its valley
The scalloped hard to discern as it heads towards 50km
Neander. In the opposite direction,
form is the result of multiple impacts
assumed to be associated with the
impacts make heading southeast, you can see
impressions of the different impacts that
formation of Mare Nectaris, with which it’s
UDGLDOO\DOLJQHG7KHOHVVZHOOGHƅQHG
superb targets form the chain. An impressive interaction
can be seen with 73km Young, 160km
Vallis Snellius, a similarly sized crater
chain valley to the northeast, shows a
for observation southeast of Rheita. Young is an ancient
crater that appears overlaid by Vallis
similar alignment. It seems the impact that formed Rheita. It’s almost as if something has applied
Mare Nectaris threw out objects that landed in such SUHVVXUHRQWKHVRXWKZHVWHUQWZRƅIWKVRI<RXQJ
a way that they created the two linear valleys. and it has simply dropped in altitude as a result.
Vallis Rheita is named after the 70km crater Rheita Immediately south of Young lies the younger form
near its northern extremity. Rheita appears to of 45km Young D. Unlike Young, Young D stamps its
mark on Vallis Rheita, completely overlapping the
Vallis Rheita seems crater chain and appearing to terminate its progress.
to have been However, look carefully and you’ll see evidence for a
gouged out by narrower, more furrowed gouge in the lunar surface
debris thrown from starting at the southeastern rim edge of 34km Mallet
Mare Nectaris
Vallis Snellius C. Its track takes it over the more ancient and heavily
worn form of 58km Mallet, which has a large portion
RILWVƆRRUWDNHQXSZLWKNPMallet A. The 41km
crater Mallet D interrupts Vallis
Rheita adjacent to Mallet, the
valley reappearing to the south of
Vallis
this crater’s rim where it interrupts
Rheita Rheita
42km Mallet K, continuing south to
terminate at 29km Reimarus A.
Vallis Rheita The scalloped impacts that form
Vallis Rheita make superb targets
for observation when the
terminator is nearby, the low Sun
Metius really exaggerating the individual
impact sites. Being relatively close
Young
Young C to the southeastern limb, lunar
libration also has an effect on the
crater chain. The early-phase view
on the evenings of 11–13 April sees
Young D
Mallet C the terminator crossing the feature,
with Vallis Rheita appearing fully lit
Mallet
on 13 April, under favourable
libration. A view after full Moon on
Mallet A the mornings of 25–27 April will
Mallet D
show the valley under unfavourable
Mallet K Reimarus libration; it will be interesting to
compare the two views.
Reimarus A
COMETS AND ASTEROIDS
Grab an early-April view of brightening
¡
comet 12P/Pons–Brooks Aldebaran
_
d
Pleiades
Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks is currently in the evening sky. Its Hyades
a a `
brightness is expected to increase slightly throughout April, but
41 TRIANGULUM
the rapid expansion of evening twilight means your best chance
TAURUS
of spotting it will be at the start of the month. As its name + h
47 b ¡
suggests, it was the 12th comet to have the periodic nature of its 30 Jupiter ARIES _
5 14
orbit calculated. Its orbital period is 71 years. Its next perihelion (15 Apr)
i 4 Apr 30 Mar
Hamal
occurs this month on 21 April, making 2024 a particularly good 31 j h 25 Mar
14 Apr 9 Apr g _
\HDUWRWU\WRƅQGLW 24 Apr 19 Apr
5 May 29 Apr k
12P/Pons–Brooks’s orbit is highly inclined at 74.2°. At aphelion, `
h 12P/Pons–Brooks a
it moves to a position 33.6 AU from the Sun, which is just further CETUS +
out than the orbit of Neptune. At perihelion, it moves to a 10 PISCES
Menkar
position slightly further out than the orbit of Venus, at 0.8 AU. _
j
j d
The comet was heavily observed in 2023 and was seen to
undergo an outburst on 20 July of that year, brightening by 100
times to 12th magnitude. It showed an interesting change in
S Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks should now be in naked-eye territory
DSSHDUDQFHDWWKLVWLPHWRRDGHƅQLWHKRUVHVKRHVKDSHGFRPD
that some likened to the shape of the Millennium Falcon from locations that experience the total solar eclipse on that day. The
Star Wars. Another outburst occurred on 5 October 2023 and comet lies very close to the star Hamal (Alpha (α) Arietis) on 31
then again in late November. March and 1 April, passing the star at 12:00 BST (11:00 UT) on 31
12P/Pons–Brooks is predicted to be in naked-eye territory this March by 6.5 arcseconds. On 1 April, the comet is around 10° up
month: mag. +4.8 on 1 April and around +4.1 at the time of above the west-northwest horizon as true darkness falls. Its
perihelion on 21 April. Interestingly, on 8 April the comet lies 25° monthly track takes it close to Jupiter mid-month, although
from the Sun, offering an opportunity to observe or image it from evening twilight will make this encounter harder to see.
STAR OF THE MONTH

Megrez, the faintest of the Plough stars
Megrez (Delta (δ) Ursae Normally in this section we
Majoris) is one of the easiest discuss stars that make our
stars in the night sky to locate. Sun look rather puny, but not
It’s the one that joins the so Megrez. It’s only 1.4 times
handle of the Plough asterism larger, 1.6 times more massive
to its blade. For those who and has a luminosity 14 times
don’t know what an old- higher than the Sun. Its
fashioned plough looks like, VSHFWUDOFODVVLƅFDWLRQLV$9
the pattern is also known as which means it’s a hot main
the Saucepan, Megrez joining sequence star, a dwarf like the
the handle to the pan. Even if Sun. It’s estimated to be
you forget its position, it’s easy around 50 million years old, so
to identify as it’s the faintest roughly half-way through its Dim or not, Megrez is an easy
of the seven Saucepan stars, hydrogen-fusing process. spot in arguably the most
shining at mag. +3.3. In the It’s relatively close to us too, famous asterism of them all
bigger picture, Megrez also with a distance estimated at
marks the point where the 80.5 lightyears. It’s also part of VDPHVSHHG7KHLQQHUƅYH excess – a good indication
Great Bear’s tail joins its body. the Ursa Major moving group, stars of the Saucepan all that there’s a circumstellar disc
This is emphasised by Megrez’s a family of stars moving belong to this group. Analysis of material in orbit around the
Arabic translation: the base [of through space together in the of the light received from star. Measurements show this
the bear’s tail]. same direction and at the Megrez shows an infrared orbits 16 AU from Megrez.

BINOCULAR TOUR
An erratic sooty star and a comet imposter are among this month’s targets
With Steve Tonkin
Seginus a
N Kite
W Nekkar
5º ` BOÖTES
RV l d
E 6
S m
p
o +
q 5 Izar
¡ Arcturus _
b
c
d
3 g e
m / Nusakan
o
`
M92
d
4 _
2
M13 i R Gemma c
i a
1 f
CORONA
/ Keystone b BOREALIS
¡
l
c
f
HERCULES
g
¡ SERPENS
` CAPUT
` Kornephoros a b
1. M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules 3. Tau Coronae Borealis group 5. Delta Boötis
10x As we approach the season for trying 10x Navigate 4° northwest from Nu (ν) 10x Mag. +3.5 Delta (b) Boötis is a very
50 a Messier marathon, M13 reminds us 50 Coronae Borealis to find mag. +4.7 50 easy double. The primary is a
why Charles Messier created his famous Tau (o) Coronae Borealis, the brightest deep-yellow giant nearly 60 times more
catalogue of objects not to be mistaken star in a very pretty, straight chain of five luminous than the Sun. Its mag. +7.8
for comets. The great Hercules globular stars running east–west for 2.6°. All but companion, 105 arcseconds to the east, is
cluster lies one-third of the way down the the central star, a mag. +7.4 triple star slightly paler. At 117 lightyears distance
western side of the Keystone asterism. In resolvable in binoculars, shine brighter from us, that 105 arcseconds translates to
binoculars, it looks just like a comet, than magnitude +6, and binoculars reveal an enormous 0.6 lightyears apart. At that
brightening towards the core. You might their colours. Notice that the mag. +5.6 separation, the orbital period of this binary
even be able to see it with your naked eye stars at the ends of the chain are a deeper system is about 120,000 years. SEEN IT
in very transparent skies. SEEN IT yellow than the others. SEEN IT
6. RV Boötis
2. Nu Coronae Borealis 4. R Coronae Borealis 15x The reddish variable (mag. +7.2 to
70 +8.7) star RV Boötis is a little more
10x Nu (ν) Coronae Borealis appears as 10x Lying in the middle of the Northern
50 a double to your naked eye and is 50 Crown, R Coronae Borealis usually than 2.5° northeast of mag. +3.6 Rho (l)
therefore easily split in small binoculars. shines at mag. +5.9, but the brightness Boötis, in between two mag +6.3 stars, the
The stars of this optical double (a chance of this enigmatic variable star randomly brightest in the field of view. RV Boötis is a
line-of-sight pairing of stars that are not plummets as low as mag. +15, like a semi-regular variable with a period of 288
gravitationally bound) are both giants of reverse nova. It does this very quickly, days. The Sun will eventually become like
about 2.5 solar masses. Although the so it’s worth observing the star on every RV Boötis, with an inert core surrounded
PETE LAWRENCE X 2
brighter star, mag. +5.2 Nu1 (ν1), is more clear night. R Coronae Borealis periodically by helium- and hydrogen-burning shells
distant, it’s at a later stage of evolution puffs out jets of carbon which, if they are within a hydrogen envelope. SEEN IT
and therefore more luminous than mag. in line of sight with us, obscure this ‘sooty’
+5.4 Nu2 (ν2). SEEN IT carbon star. SEEN IT Tick the box when you’ve seen each one


THE SKY GUIDE CHALLENGE
Can you beat the tough sky conditions to spot any of April’s tricky conjunctions?
One of several rather
challenging conjunctions
on offer this month.
Turn to page 47 for more
information on the
dates and timings
View on 6 April,
20 minutes before sunrise
It’s impossible to sugar-coat the fact that locked on an object and wind the and compare it to the size of your
the main planets are poorly positioned at time back, keeping the app’s horizon outstretched hand at arm’s length. This
present, a situation that will persist until representation static. Note when a gives you an apparent sky ruler, which will
the start of the second half of 2024. recognisable star is at a similar height to come in handy when the sky is too bright
However, it’s still possible to get your one of the planets in the same general to see background stars.
SODQHWDU\ƅ[E\KXQWLQJGRZQWKH direction, and note the date and time. Go Pre-focus your scope or binoculars on
conjunctions on view this month (see out at the recorded date and time and try a star or planet when it’s dark; you’ll need
page 47 for the full details). Looking at to see the star. If you succeed, you stand them as accurately focused as possible
how these are located against mostly a chance of seeing the conjunction. during your hunt. Lose any preconceptions
bright skies, you might be forgiven for For morning conjunctions, you can use about how bright a planet will appear in
thinking it’s a bit of a lost cause, but a bit the dark period before dawn to establish bright twilight, as this may make it appear
of effort and luck with the weather can the conjunction’s position relative to the fainter. If the weather doesn’t work out,
reap rewards. horizon. Although it seems obvious, this don’t forget that most planets move
There are tricks that can help you technique allows you to check if there’s relatively slowly in the sky. There will be a
succeed. One is to use a planetarium app going to be something blocking your view, IHZGD\VWRWU\WRƅQGWKHPWRJHWKHU
WRGHWHUPLQHH[DFWO\ZKHUHDFRQMXQFWLRQ such as a tree or building. before their meet-up is over. If you want to
ZLOOEHUHODWLYHWR\RXUKRUL]RQ7U\WRƅQG Establishing the scale of the sky is HOHYDWHWKHH[SHULHQFHWRDQRWKHUOHYHO
it at the last minute and the lack of sky important too. Use a planetarium how about trying to photograph the
navigational points may cause problems. program to help identify the altitude of a FRQMXQFWLRQV"+HUHVKRUWH[SRVXUHVRQ
Wind your app’s time to when the conjunction event. Find something in the low ISO are the key, making sure you don’t
conjunction is visible. Make sure you’re not sky of similar size, such as a star pattern, RYHUH[SRVHWKHVN\WRZKLWH

DEEP-SKY TOUR A hunt for globulars and spirals close to the
border between Boötes and Coma Berenices
1 NGC 5466 as a faint smudge approximately 5 arcminutes

We start with globular cluster across. A 250mm scope shows a few distinct
NGC 5466. Listed at mag. +9.2, stars, a 300mm scope resolving perhaps
the core of this 9-arcminute-across three dozen members. SEEN IT
globular isn’t as bright as it could
be and its overall appearance is 4 M53
of an object with a low surface M53 is a short, easy
brightness. It’s relatively easy hop from NGC 5053,
to spot with small just 1° to the northwest. This
instruments, but that weak is a brighter prospect
core means any light altogether. Listed at mag.
pollution in your sky will have +7.5 and with an apparent
DVLJQLƅFDQWGHWULPHQWDO diameter of 13 arcminutes,
effect. You’ll need a 200mm a 150mm scope shows it as
or larger scope to resolve any a 3-arcminute glow with a
VWDUVDPDJQLƅFDWLRQRYHU broad core and a mottled,
100x being recommended for grainy texture. If you have
the best views. NGC 5466 lies 9.6° steady conditions, using 200x
north and 1° west of Arcturus power you might start to get some
(Alpha (α) Boötis). SEEN IT star resolution. A 250mm scope
shows over 100 resolved members in a
2 M3 circular area 4 arcminutes across. A
In stark contrast to NGC 5466, M3 300mm scope expands the observed apparent
is a big, bright and rather spectacular size to around 6 arcminutes, with plenty of resolved
S With averted
globular cluster. It lies 5.1° west of NGC 5466 or close PHPEHUVXQGHUKLJKPDJQLƅFDWLRQ,QWHUHVWLQJO\
vision and high
to the mid-point between Arcturus and Cor Caroli M53’s distance of 60,000 lightyears is further away
PDJQLƅFDWLRQ
(Alpha (α) Canum Venaticorum). It has a listed you’ll see the dark than NGC 5053 at 57,000 lightyears. SEEN IT
magnitude of +6.4 and twice NGC 5466’s diameter at dust lanes that
18 arcminutes. With an age estimated at 11.4 billion earned M64 its 5 M64
years and located 32,600 lightyears from the Sun, it’s QLFNQDPHWKH Next, a different class of object: spiral
an ancient and distant globular. Through a small %ODFN(\H*DOD[\ galaxy M64. It lies 5.2° northwest of M53
scope it appears as a smudge with a brighter core, and shines with an integrated magnitude of +9.3.
but careful examination should show individual stars Through a 150mm scope it’s an obvious oval with a
on the periphery. A 200mm scope resolves stars ZHOOGHƅQHGFRUH+HUHXVLQJDYHUWHGYLVLRQŚWKH
across the face of the cluster, more appearing with technique of looking slightly to the side of an object
THOMAS HENNE/CCDGUIDE.COM, CHART BY PETE LAWRENCE
increased aperture. M3 has a slightly elongated to place delicate details on a more sensitive part of
appearance with many star strings visible. SEEN IT \RXUUHWLQDŚUHYHDOVDGDUNHORQJDWHGSDWFKDORQJ
the north-northeastern side of the core. This is most
3 NGC 5053 DSSDUHQWZLWKPDJQLƅFDWLRQVRYHU[$PP
Our next two targets are globulars too, scope shows the patch clearly with direct vision. Try
ORFDWHGQHDURQHDQRWKHU7RƅQGWKH higher powers to get the best view. The dark patch
dimmer one, NGC 5053, head 12.2° south-southwest beside one edge of the core has led to this object
from M3. Alternatively, locate the star Diadem (Alpha becoming known as the Black Eye Galaxy. SEEN IT
(α) Comae Berenices) and NGC 5053 lies 1.5° to the
east. Shining at mag. +9.0, NGC 5053 is similar in 6 NGC 4725
DSSHDUDQFHWRRXUƅUVWWDUJHWLQWKDWLWVFRUHLVQŝW Located 4° north-northwest of M64, NGC
very concentrated. In fact, the whole globular is quite 4725 is an intermediate barred spiral that
loose, more resembling a compact open cluster. It’s has a prominent ring structure in long-exposure
VLPLODULQVL]HWRRXUƅUVWWDUJHWWRRZLWKDQDSSDUHQW photographs. Visually, through a 150mm instrument
diameter of 10 arcminutes. A 150mm scope reveals it
FREE the mag. +9.2 galaxy appears 7 x 5 arcminutes in size,
BONUS with a small, concentrated core. Through a 250mm
CONTENT scope it’s fairly bright and easy to see. The increased
This Deep-Sky Tour has been automated Print this chart light grasp of a 300mm scope shows a prominent
ASCOM-enabled Go-To mounts can take and take the oval core with two brighter arcs either side of the
you to this month’s targets at the touch of Go-To tour.
oval’s extremities. Use a power of 100x or more to
DEXWWRQ)LQGWKH'HHS6N\7RXUƅOHLQ www.skyatnight
magazine.com/ bring out the detail here. NGC 4725 lies at a distance
our free Bonus Content online. bonus-content of 40 million lightyears from Earth. SEEN IT

NGC 4631
NGC 4656 NGC 4414
13h00m
14h00m
37 +30°
NGC 4278
+30°
a
1
M3 NGC 4559 14
NGC 5466
2 COMA 31 16
9 BERENICES ` 41 Melotte 111
13
NGC 4565 17 12
NGC 4494
N
5º NGC 4725 21
12 6
18
2º
E W 23
BOÖTES 40
2 5
M64
10 20
35 26
6
S 39
+20° +20°
Arcturus NGC 4293
24 M85
_
M53
Muphrid
d NGC 5053 Diadem NGC 4450
4 _ 36 25
o 3 M100
27
p M88 M86
14h00m
M91 M84
NGC 4459
NGC 4473
M90
13h00m
NGC 4654 NGC 4438

AT A GLANCE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
How the Sky Guide events will appear in April
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1
M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W
The Moon
Mercury IC
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
6 Apr: 9%-lit waning crescent Moon near Mars and Saturn

Lyrids (ZHR 18)
7 Apr: 1%-lit waning
crescent Moon near Venus
Calendar 10 Apr: 5%-lit waxing crescent Moon near Jupiter and Uranus
highlights 11 Apr: 12%-lit waxing crescent Moon near the Pleiades
26 Apr: 90%-lit
waning crescent
Moon near Antares
Moonwatch
Deep-Sky Tour
A sunset eclipse (page 46)
The Big Three Tricky conjunctions (page 47)
April clair-obscur effects (page 47)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1
M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W
KEY
Observability Inferior conjunction Full Moon
IC
(Mercury & Venus only)
Optimal Poor
CHART BY PETE LAWRENCE
SC Superior conjunction First

Best viewed quarter
Morning Daytime Evening Night OP Planet at opposition Last
twilight twilight quarter
Meteor radiant peak
Sky brightness
New Moon
during lunar phases Planets in conjunction
'DUN ƅUVW Light (full Dark (last Total darkness
quarter) Moon) quarter) (new Moon)

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drops in on Jupiter
and the total eclipse
Stuart Atkinson
assesses the chances
of seeing a comet
with a history of
sudden brightenings
Showstopper or just so-so?

12P/Pons–Brooks, pictured here
passing 72 Cygni in February,
could be one to watch this month

The path of brightening
evening comet 12P/Pons–
Brooks this month
T
here are many popular misconceptions KLVWRU\EXWZKLFKXOWLPDWHO\ƅ]]OHGWRQRXJKW
in astronomy. For example, that Polaris, comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) might even
the Pole Star, is the brightest star in the become as bright as the famous Hale–Bopp was
sky (it’s actually only the 48th-brightest), back in 1997. We’ll just have to wait and see. In the
that the Plough is a constellation meantime, a comet will be on view this month
(it’s an asterism – a small, eye-catching that, while it has no chance of becoming
pattern of stars within a constellation) as bright as A3, could become visible
or that during a meteor shower to the naked eye.
you’ll see dozens of shooting stars
at the same time (in reality you Flying visit
might see one skip across the Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks
sky on its own every couple of was discovered in July 1812
minutes or so). by French astronomer Jean-
One of the most popular Louis Pons. It was recovered in
misconceptions is that 1883 by astronomer William
comets are rare visitors to our %URRNVZKRLGHQWLƅHGLWDV
skies. Comets bright enough the same comet seen in 1812,
to be seen with the naked eye which is why it bears both
are rare, but on any night of astronomers’ names.
JOSÉ CHAMBO, CHART BY PETE LAWRENCE, YENDIS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
the year you’ll be able to see Pons–Brooks is a classic

perhaps a dozen faint comets up Halley-type periodic comet,
there, if you know where to point which means it has an orbit around
your binoculars or telescope. You can the Sun that takes between 20 and
see this for yourself using your favourite 200 years. Pons–Brooks’s orbit takes 71
astronomy app. Set it to display all the years – just a few years less than that of
comets currently in the sky and your screen Halley’s Comet itself – and it last visited our
ZLOOƅOOZLWKVRPDQ\GRWVDQGQDPHV\RXZRQŝWEH skies in 1953. It was recovered again on 10 June 2020
able to see the stars for them. S It won’t match when it was 11.9 AU (1.78 billion kilometres) away, still
Later this year there might be a comet in our 1997’s super-bright beyond Saturn. It was shining, if that’s the right word,
Hale–Bopp, but
sky bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. at mag. +23.
Pons–Brooks could
If it behaves itself and doesn’t “do an ISON” (the still bring surprises This occasional visitor is one of the brightest
much-anticipated 2013 comet heralded at the time known periodic comets, regularly reaching naked-
as likely to be one of the greatest comets in human eye brightness when it appears in our sky. This is X

Pons–Brooks
begins the
month near
Hamal (Alpha
Arietis) at around
mag. +4.8
X partly because of its size; Pons–Brooks’s nucleus dramatically increased its brightness for brief
is much larger than the average comet’s, with a periods. On 20 July 2023, the comet brightened a
diameter of 30km or so. In comparison, Halley’s hundredfold, from mag. +16 to mag. +11, after an
nucleus has a diameter of around only 15km; explosive event on the surface of its nucleus
the nuclei of both comet Encke and 2020’s sent 10 billion kilograms of material blasting
beautiful comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) off it into space. When this happened, the
are just under 5km wide; while comet 67P/ comet was utterly transformed visually,
Churyumov–Gerasimenko, studied by the changing almost overnight from a mere
ESA Rosetta mission in 2014, has a diameter faint, circular smudge in telescope eyepieces
of only 4km. In contrast, beloved Hale–Bopp to a much brighter anvil with a horn curving
is twice the size of Pons–Brooks, a whopping away on either side – a change that saw it
60km in diameter. christened the Devil Comet on social media and
in the press. Several other large outbursts have been
Fit to burst? S Devil’s horns or
observed in the months since.
Astronomers have been looking forward to the Will such a dramatic event happen again this
Millennium Falcon?
return of Pons–Brooks for many years because it Explosions have month? Like comet-watchers everywhere, we hope so,
has repeatedly experienced ‘outbursts’ that have reshaped the comet but there is no way of knowing in advance – which for
CHARTS BY PETE LAWRENCE, FILIPP ROMANOV, NEOWISE: STUART ATKINSON,
ABRIENDOMUNDOISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
On the path of totality, the

comet and several planets will
pop into view during the total
solar eclipse on 8 April

High hopes for A3
Pons–Brooks may be the warm-up act for the big performer later in 2024…
Comet observers are all hoping September, it will be a morning
A3 (Tsuchinshan–
for big things from comet C/2023 object, perhaps shining as
ATLAS) could wow
A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) this brightly as mag. +0.6, but rising
sky-watchers like
autumn. When it was discovered, just before the Sun.
NEOWISE did in 2020
it was hailed as a potential Our best views of A3 will
‘comet of the century’ and come when it moves up into the
calculations suggested it might evening sky around 10 October.
become as bright as mag. -4! It’s By then it will have faded
now thought that at best A3 will slightly, but is predicted to still
reach mag. +0.4, a lot fainter but be as bright as mag. +0.8, low in
still much brighter than the last the west after sunset. Hopefully
really bright comet, C/2020 F3 by then it will have grown a tail,
(NEOWISE), which delighted but we can’t count on that. By
sky-watchers in summer 2020. mid-October the comet will still
At the moment, A3 is a be a first-magnitude object,
13th-magnitude speck in Libra, setting almost three hours after
visible only through large the Sun, and should be a lovely
telescopes and on long- sight to the naked eye and in
exposure images. By the end of binoculars and telescopes too.
By the evening of
9 April, the comet will
“During April, it will
sit just 5° from Jupiter
appear to pass
beneath one of the
brightest planets in
the sky, Jupiter”
VSRUWLQJDŌORQJWDLOVRWKHFKDQFHVDUHWKDWWKLV
feature will have grown longer and brighter. Cross
\RXUƅQJHUVIRUDIX]]\JUH\JUHHQVPXGJHZLWKD
misty tail stretching away from it!
During April, it will appear to approach and then
pass beneath one of the brightest planets in the sky,
-XSLWHU2Q$SULOWKHWZRZLOOEHMXVWXQGHUŌDSDUW
low in the northwest after sunset. They might be
GLIƅFXOWWRVHHXQWLOWKHVN\KDVGDUNHQHGDVE\WKDW
time they will be low, but still well worth looking for.
As the evenings pass, Pons–Brooks is expected
some is part of the appeal! If it does undergo another to steadily brighten as it draws closer to Jupiter. If
outburst, it could go from a modest, naked-eye this close encounter were high in a dark sky we
smudge to something much brighter and would be in for a real treat. But as both will be
more impressive – but we can’t count on that low in the northwest, aim to observe from an
happening. So, putting hope and hype aside, elevated or coastal location with an open
what can we expect to see this month? horizon clear of hills, trees or buildings
As April begins, Pons–Brooks is expected on the skyline, which will hide the planet
to have reached mag. +5.0, which will and its cometary visitor from view. The
technically make it visible to the naked brightness of the sky will be an additional
eye. However, it will be low in the darkening challenge to seeing the comet, although if X
twilight sky, so you’ll probably need
W If you have a view northwest that’s clear
binoculars or a small telescope to see it.
of obstructions, you could try to track Pons–
And what will you see? Well, photos taken of Brooks’s passage under the gas giant Jupiter
the comet in mid-February showed it was already

ILLUSTRATION
Icy travellers that slingshot into
our cosmic neighbourhood, comets
shed tails of gas and dust when
they hit the heat of our Sun
The science of celestial visitors

What are comets, why are they bright and why do some visit us more regularly than others?
Comets are essentially icy leftovers from ZDUPHGE\WKH6XQIRUEULHISHULRGVZKHQ FORXGRUŜFRPDŝDURXQGWKHQXFOHXV6RPH
the birth of the Solar System, around WKH\YHQWXUHFORVHDQGVZLQJDURXQGLW – but not all – comets then go on to form
ƅYHELOOLRQ\HDUVDJR7KH\RUELWWKH6XQ EHIRUHUHWXUQLQJWRWKHGDUNQHVV6RPH JORZLQJWDLOVDVJDVDQGGXVWLVSXVKHG
like the planets do, held captive by its FRPHWVNQRZQDVVKRUWSHULRGFRPHWV DZD\IURPWKHPWUDLOLQJEHKLQG+RZ
JUDYLW\+RZHYHUXQOLNHSODQHWDU\RUELWV have orbits that carry them around bright and impressive a comet becomes
ZKLFKDUHURXJKO\FLUFXODUFRPHWRUELWV WKH6XQHYHU\IHZ\HDUVZKLOHRWKHUV LQRXUVN\GHSHQGVRQKRZFORVHLWJHWVWR
are much more eccentric, long loops NQRZQDVORQJSHULRGFRPHWVWDNHPDQ\ WKH6XQDQGWR(DUWKKRZPXFKPDWHULDO
UDWKHUWKDQFLUFOHV7KLVPHDQVFRPHWV WKRXVDQGVRI\HDUVWRJRDURXQGLWRQFH LVUHOHDVHGIURPLWKRZORQJDWDLOLWJURZV
VSHQGPRVWRIWKHLUWLPHIDUIDUDZD\ $VDFRPHWQHDUVWKH6XQLWŜZDNHVXSŝ DQGWKHDQJOHZHVHHWKDWWDLOIURP(DFK
from the Sun, out in the dark depths releasing gas and dust from beneath its FRPHWLVGLIIHUHQWDQGWKDWŝVZKDWPDNHV
of space, and are only illuminated and LF\FUXVW7KLVPDWHULDOIRUPVDPLVW\ WKHPVRIDVFLQDWLQJ
Incoming! Pons–Brooks drops by on

its 71-year orbit from way out 33.6 AU
Pons–Brooks orbit
(5.03 billion kilometres) from the Sun
PLANETS NOT TO SCALE
Mars Earth Jupiter

Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
X it has another outburst it could be much brighter. magnitude, shining close together like a bright double
If the comet develops a tail of any decent length, we star. Meanwhile, to the upper left, Jupiter will be
NAZARII NESHCHERENSKYI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES,
might see that poking up from behind the horizon shining at mag. –2, and close by will be Pons–Brooks.
DIWHULWVKHDGKDVVHW&URVVLQJ\RXUƅQJHUVZRXOGEH ,ILWKDVUHDFKHGƅIWKPDJQLWXGHE\WKDWGD\
a good idea. the comet could be visible to the naked eye as a
On 8 April, observers in the US watching the total misty smudge to the upper left of the eclipsed Sun.
solar eclipse might be in for a very rare treat indeed. Observers on the line of totality will have almost 4.5
CHARTS BY PETE LAWRENCE
$VWKH0RRQWRWDOO\FRYHUVWKH6XQDQGGD\EULHƆ\ minutes to look for it before the Moon moves away

becomes night, several planets will pop into view. To DQGGD\OLJKWƆRRGVWKHVN\
the lower right of the eclipsed Sun, Venus will be a By the evening of 9 April, the comet and Jupiter
mag. –3.9 lantern, and to its lower right, closer to the will be just 5° apart. Look out for a very thin crescent
VRXWKZHVWKRUL]RQ6DWXUQDQG0DUVZLOOERWKEHƅUVW Moon forming a triangle with the comet and the gas

A thin crescent Moon forms
a triangle with the comet and
Jupiter low in the sky on 10 April
giant low in the sky on 10 April. By the evening of 13 Will comet Pons–Brooks live up to expectations?
April, the comet and Jupiter will be just 3° apart and We just don’t know. It’s never a good idea to trust
VKRXOGERWKƅWLQWKHVDPHELQRFXODUƅHOGRIYLHZ comets – they almost seem to delight in
However, the pair will be very low in the sky after disappointing us. As ever, we’ll just have to wait to
sunset and, depending on how bright it is at this time, ƅQGRXWťKRSLQJWKDWWKHFRPHWH[SHULHQFHVDQRWKHU
the comet could be drowned out by the twilight. explosive brightening event like the ones we’ve seen
By 20 April, Pons–Brooks will have reached its peak over the past few months, and ready to observe if
magnitude, around mag. +4.4, but it will be setting Stuart Atkinson dreams become reality.
is a committed
just an hour after the Sun. Again we’ll cross our
comet chaser,
ƅQJHUVIRUDQRXWEXUVWWKDWEULJKWHQVLWHQRXJK X Turn to page 53 to read more about comet
cometographer and
WRƅJKWWKURXJKWKHWZLOLJKW astronomy author 12P/Pons–Brooks’s movements this month
If you like a challenge, look for

the comet just 3Ō from Jupiter
on the horizon on 13 April

EARTH
Where is
Far from being at the centre of the
Universe, Earth is located in the spiral
arm of a fairly small galaxy
WORDS: RUSSELL DEEKS AND EZZY PEARSON
SOLAR SYSTEM
Measuring the Milky Way We can triangulate

the precise position
Star
Finding our place in the Galaxy has been no easy feat of nearby stars – but
stars beyond our
Mapping the Milky Way from inside then use trigonometry to calculate Galaxy’s centre are
it is like trying to draw a plan of the star’s distance. another matter
your home town using only the view The fullest view of our home
from the window. But it can be done. Galaxy comes courtesy of ESA’s
All you need is to measure the Gaia spacecraft, which has been
position of as many stars as you measuring the parallax angle of
can, then combine them all together over two billion stars since 2013.
to create your cosmic atlas. Gaia has an accuracy of 24 micro-
ANDREW Z. COLVIN X 2, MILKY WAY: ARVITALYA/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Measuring a star’s position on arcseconds, precise enough to

the night sky is easy, but to make measure stars right up to the
the map 3D requires knowing how galactic centre 30,000 lightyears
Earth on
far away it is too. Astronomers do away. To see what’s happening on
one side
this using something called the other side of our Galaxy,
of the Sun
parallax. Precisely measure the though, you need radio telescopes
position of a star twice, with a that cut through the thick dust of Earth’s orbit
six-month interval, and you should the galactic disc. They also use
notice its apparent position shifts a interferometry to measure down to
tiny amount. This is because Earth miniscule angle sizes. This isn’t
has moved from one side of its orbit much good for individual stars, but
300 million kilometres
to the other, so is now placed 300 can be used to trace radio-bright Earth on the
million kilometres to one side star-forming regions, hinting at our opposite side
relative to the star. Measure the Galaxy’s other spiral arms of the Sun
angle of the change and you can wrapping behind its back.

L
ong ago, people thought that JDOD[\RXWRIPLOOLRQVPDNLQJ(DUWKDQG because we’re a part of it. Unlike other
Earth was at the centre of LWVLQKDELWDQWVIHHOHYHQOHVVLPSRUWDQWLQ galaxies we can see through telescopes,
the Universe. This ‘geocentric’ WKHJUDQGVFKHPHRIWKLQJV we can’t look at the Milky Way face-on.
view was challenged as early The really bad news for geocentrists, ,QVWHDGLWVVKDSHPXVWEHGHWHUPLQHG
as the third century by those WKHQLVWKDWRXU6RODU6\VWHPGRHVQŝW E\H[WUDSRODWLQJIURPRXUYLHZZLWKLQLW
who suggested that Earth and the other even lie at the heart of the Milky Way. 2XUFXUUHQWXQGHUVWDQGLQJPD\QRWEH
planets actually orbited the Sun. This In fact, we can be found on one of the entirely accurate, but ‘about half-way
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on until after Copernicus published 2ULRQŚ&\JQXVDUPWREHSUHFLVHŚDQG DURXJKLGHDRIZKHUHWRƅQGXV
WKHƅUVWPDWKHPDWLFDOPRGHORID we’re sitting at a point roughly half-way 7RPDNHPDWWHUVZRUVHWKH0LON\:D\
KHOLRFHQWULFPRGHOLQDQG*DOLOHR IURPWKHJDODFWLFFHQWUHWRLWVRXWHU isn’t even a particularly large galaxy:
later expanded on his ideas. ULP7RUHDFKHLWKHU\RXŝGKDYHWRWUDYHO LWVQHDUHVWQHLJKERXU$QGURPHGDLV
/DWHUDVWURQRPHUVZRXOGFRPHWR DERXWOLJKW\HDUV roughly twice the size. On the plus side,
UHDOLVHƅUVWWKDWWKH6XQZDVPHUHO\RQH We should add a caveat at this point. WKHWZRJDOD[LHVSXWWRJHWKHU SOXVVRPH
VWDULQWKH0LON\:D\*DOD[\DQGWKHQ ,WŝVKDUGWRVD\PXFKDERXWWKH0LON\ VPDOOHUQHLJKERXUV PDNHXSWKH/RFDO
that the Milky Way itself was just one :D\ŝVVWUXFWXUHZLWKDQ\FHUWDLQW\VLPSO\ *URXSRIJDOD[LHVZKLFKLVSDUWRIWKH
Virgo Supercluster, which in turn is part
of the Laniakea Supercluster, which is
SDUWRIWKH3LVFHVŚ&HWXV6XSHUFOXVWHU
&RPSOH[ZKLFKLVRQHRIWKHODUJHVW
structures in the observable Universe.
,QRWKHUZRUGVIDUIURPEHLQJ
the centre of the Universe, Earth is
DFWXDOO\DVPDOOLQVLJQLƅFDQWSODQHW
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SDUWRIVRPHWKLQJWKDWŝVDEVROXWHO\
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this grain of sand, a species evolved
the understanding to be able to
FRPSUHKHQGWKLVHQRUPLW\3HUKDSV
there are, or were once, others out
WKHUHZHZLOOKHDUIURPRQHGD\
m
s ar
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Our Solar O
System
MILKY WAY
Local galaxy
group
VIRGO
SUPERCLUSTER

From nearby planets
to distant stars and
even the very fabric
of the Universe, Ezzy
Pearson looks at
how we’re able to
measure the age
of everything in
the cosmos
C
ompared to the history of
the cosmos, the span of
humanity’s existence has
been little more than the tick
ILLUSTRATION: NASA’S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER/CI LAB
of a clock. And yet that hasn’t

stopped astronomers from looking up at
the stars and trying to fathom how long
they have shone in the skies above us.
Measuring the age of something that
was around millions, if not billions, of
years before our earliest ancestors walked
the Earth is far from straightforward,
however. Here, we take a look at how
astronomers have managed to measure
the age of the cosmos, from our own
planet, to our neighbouring stars, and
even the Universe itself. X

Boundless lightyears and
mind-boggling timescales
GRQŝWVWRSXVSXWWLQJDƅJXUH
on the age of space

The Solar
System
Our cosmic neighbourhood all
started at the same time
ILLUSTRATION
Age: 4.57 billion years
From looking at infant planets in other

S Lucky leftovers: Earth and the other planets in the Solar System formed in a spinning disc
systems, we know that worlds form at
of matter around the early Sun – but it’s meteorites that tell us how long ago it happened
the same time as their stars. Both the
Sun and all of the planets of our Solar daughter element. Geologists use this to refreshed by volcanic activity or eroded
System originated in clouds of gas and do radiometric testing, where they look by weather, meaning their surface rocks
dust known as stellar nurseries. Hydrogen at the relative amount of the original GRQŝWQHFHVVDULO\UHƆHFWWKHWUXHDJHRI
comes together, forming a star and element to its daughter, to determine the planet. Fortunately, in its multitude
setting the dust spinning until it forms a rock’s age. For measuring the ages of of asteroids the Solar System has a vast
a disc. This ‘protoplanetary disc’ is where planets, geologists use uranium, which collection of rocks that were never part
the planets form. decays to lead. Certain uranium isotopes of a planet, and these are conveniently
7RƅQGWKHDJHRIWKH6RODU6\VWHPZH have a half-life of around 4.5 billion years, delivered to Earth as chondrite meteorites.
QHHGWRƅQGWKHDJHRIWKHROGHVWWKLQJV the same order of magnitude as the Most of these space rocks appear to
LQLWŚVSHFLƅFDOO\WKHROGHVWURFNV7KHVH planet’s age, making it ideal for the job. be around 4.57 billion years old, giving
contain a tiny amount of radioactive The surface of Earth and that of most a good indication of when the Solar
material which decays over time to a of the other planets have either been 6\VWHPƅUVWIRUPHG
The Moon
ILLUSTRATION
The Apollo missions are our key to unlocking
the age of our lunar companion
Age: 4.46 billion years
Although Earth formed at the same time as the other Solar

System planets, it wasn’t initially accompanied by a moon.
Instead, the Moon is thought to have been created later, in
the aftermath of a collision between young Earth and another
infant planet the size of Mars, called Theia. The impact created
a plume of debris that eventually coalesced to form the Moon.
To discover when this happened, geologists need Moon
rocks, which we luckily have in abundance thanks
to the Apollo missions. These were taken
from a variety of locations across the lunar
surface and so give a variety of different
ages. For many years, the oldest rock
was thought to come from samples
collected by the Apollo 14 mission.
However, to commemorate the 50th
DQQLYHUVDU\RIWKHƅUVWOXQDUODQGLQJ
several Moon rocks were unsealed for
testing using the advanced methods
available today. Radiometric tests on the The Moon’s origins and
age are still disputed, but
Apollo 17 samples revealed a rock that was
recently reopened Apollo
4.46 billion years old, 40 million years more samples (inset) have added
than the previous lunar record holder. millions of years to the clock

The surfaces of planets
The pockmarked surface of
a world can reveal how
quickly it refreshes itself
Age: Up to 4 billion years
Space rocks collected on Earth reveal

how old our planet is, but the scars they
leave behind upon impact also show the
age of the planet’s surface. Space rocks
are constantly crashing into each other
throughout the Solar System, creating
craters. On a dead world, like the Moon or
Mercury, these craters steadily accumulate
S Europa is likely as old as Jupiter, but its S Like the Moon, Mercury is scarred by
over time. On active planets such as Earth,
fissured surface is billions of years younger impact craters from a lifetime of collisions
where volcanoes and weather constantly
refresh the surface, these craters are same. The older a planet’s surface is, the covered. Up to this age, however, it’s
erased over time. On icy moons, such as more craters it accumulates. After around possible to count the number of craters
Europa, icy water acting like lava does the four billion years, the surface is completely to reveal how old the surface is.
The stars
It’s only in their dying days that stars reveal their true age
Age: Up to 13.8 billion years main sequence, they devour their fuel death throes. Once a dying star is
far faster than small stars and so have found, we can use its stellar mass to
Strangely, it’s far easier to predict how shorter lives. It also means larger stars work out at what age it would enter
long a star is going to live than measure burn brighter and hotter, therefore bluer. the giant phase, thus telling us how old
how long it has already existed. Most Small stars, meanwhile, appear the star is now. Because stars form in
stars spend the vast majority of their cool, dim and red. clusters, this gives the age of not just
lives in what’s known as the main For most of a star’s life, its brightness the star itself, but potentially dozens of
sequence phase. Main sequence stars and its colour are tightly linked. This stars that formed alongside it. X
have reached maturity and are steadily begins to change when the fuel in its core
burning through the hydrogen within runs out, causing it to swell in size.
STOCK PHOTO, EARTH: NASA/JPLCALTECH, EUROPA: NASA/JPLCALTECH/SETI INSTITUTE, MERCURY: NASA/

PITRIS/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, STOCKTREK IMAGES/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, ASSOCIATED PRESS/ALAMY
their cores. This era can last for billions Its size means it still appears
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY/CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON

of years, during which time they show bright, but the expansion
little outward change. Our Sun, for cools its outer layers. By
instance, looks pretty much as it did looking for stars that
a billion years ago. Stars only really are brighter than
change when they’re very young or their colour suggests
when they’re approaching the end of they should be,
their lives – which is why astronomers astronomers can
look towards dying stars when trying identify stars
to measure stellar ages. approaching their
How long a star lives depends on
its mass. Bigger stars have more fuel,
but gravity also pulls their gas together
far more strongly, creating intense
pressure in their cores. While on the
X A star’s mass, colour and

ILLUSTRATION
brightness are all pointers

Red dwarf Main sequence Blue giant
to its lifespan

The Milky Way
Our Galaxy was born out of collisions – each part has its own history
Age: 13.6 billion years Globular clusters are known to contain
some of the oldest stars in the Universe.
Before we can answer how old our Those surrounding our Milky Way appear
*DOD[\ŚWKH0LON\:D\ŚLVZHƅUVW WRKDYHIRUPHGZKHQWKHƅUVWVWDUV
have to decide when it began. Like most were beginning to shine in the Universe,
other large galaxies, the Milky Way grew around 300 million years after the Big
from several smaller galaxies merging %DQJ7KLVLVZKHQWKHƅUVWSLHFHVRIWKH
together, meaning that different parts Milky Way began to appear. S Old timers: the Milky Way is circled by
of it have different ages. Measuring the ages of stars in the disc globular clusters, balls of old stars from
It has several main components. LVWULFNLHUDVDVWURQRPHUVQHHGWRƅQG the earliest epochs of the Universe
There is a densely packed region, called suitable stellar targets right across the
the central bulge, that spans 10,000 disc. One team did this in 2022 by looking team were able to track down 250,000
OLJKW\HDUVDQGLVƅOOHGZLWKVWDUV7KLVLV for sub-giant stars – those just on the sub-giant stars and discover their ages.
home to our Galaxy’s central black hole, cusp of becoming red giants. This era of a These reveal that the thick disc formed
Sagittarius A*. Extending from this are star’s life only lasts a short time, making at around the same time as the halo. The
several spiral arms, curving through a disc it a very accurate measure of their age. It thin disc, meanwhile, has a more complex
of stars. There is a 1,000-lightyear-deep also means they are rare, as there’s only history. Though there is a scattering
‘thin disc’ of young stars, surrounded by a short timeframe you can catch them. of stars from those early days, most
DQOLJKW\HDUGHHSŜWKLFNGLVFŝƅOOHG Fortunately, the Gaia spacecraft has appear to be at least two billion years
with older stars. Surrounding all of this is spent more than a decade measuring \RXQJHU7KHVHFUHWEHKLQGWKLVƆXVKRI
a halo with a sparse scattering of stars over a billion stars in the Milky Way; new growth could lie with several of the
and globular clusters. scouring this huge catalogue, the stars that appear to have a different
composition to most of the stars in the
Milky Way. These are thought to have
been born in a different galaxy, called
Gaia-Enceladus, which collided with our
own, leading to the Milky Way as we
NQRZLWQRZ7KHLQƆX[RIJDVVSDUNHG
a furious burst of star formation, which
lasted until about six billion years ago.
A thick disc of old stars and

ILLUSTRATION
younger stars from a smash-up

with another galaxy add to our
Galaxy’s patchwork of ages

Supernova brightness is
one measure of galactic
distance, providing a big
clue to the Universe’s age
The Universe
ILLUSTRATION
The age of the cosmos is one of the biggest controversies in astronomy today
Age: 13.8 billion years By comparing that to how bright they 7KHŜHDUO\8QLYHUVHŝPHWKRGPHDQZKLOH
appear, we can tell how far away they looks at the cosmic microwave
The Universe began with the Big Bang, are. Closest to Earth, astronomers look background (CMB). This is the echo
sending all the matter and energy of at Cepheid variable stars, the brightness of the Big Bang, laid down when the
the Universe rushing outwards. It’s been of which rises and falls every few days Universe was just 380,000 years old.
expanding ever since. If we could measure in a very predictable way that’s closely How the CMB appears today depends
how fast this expansion is happening, in linked to their true luminosity. For galaxies on many factors, including the Hubble
theory it should be possible to backtrack slightly further away, astronomers use constant. By comparing how the CMB
and work out how old the Universe is. Type Ia supernovae, created when a looks with various computer simulations,
Cosmologists think they know the rules white dwarf steals stellar material from a astronomers are able to hone in on the
of how this rate of expansion has changed companion star. These always have the value of the Hubble constant. The most
over time, but to use these to work out same mass when they explode, so are detailed maps of the CMB were created
the Universe’s age, they need the rate of all the same brightness. In both cases, by ESA’s Planck satellite, which launched
expansion in today’s Universe, called the astronomers measure how fast these in 2009. Using these, cosmologists came
Hubble constant. Unfortunately, the exact objects are moving away from us by their up with a Hubble constant of around
value of the Hubble constant is one of the redshift, where their light is stretched out 68km per second per megaparsec, giving
biggest controversies in cosmology today. to longer wavelengths. The faster they an age of 13.8 billion years. As this is the
The issue is there are two methods of are moving, the more the light is shifted. only measurement that measures the
measuring the expansion and they don’t Using both pieces of information together, Hubble constant directly, this is the age
TXLWHDJUHH7KHƅUVWLVWKHŜODWH8QLYHUVHŝ astronomers have measured the Hubble most astronomers use.
PHWKRGZKLFKORRNVIRUŜVWDQGDUG constant to be around 73km per second Exactly what’s causing the difference
candles’ – stellar objects for which we per megaparsec, giving the Universe an is unknown. Perhaps Type Ia supernovae
can work out an intrinsic brightness. age of around 12.8 billion years. don’t work as we think they do, or there’s
some currently unknown factor affecting
the CMB, or maybe our assumptions
about how the Universe works aren’t
completely correct. To make matters
worse, there have been stars in globular
MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO X 2,
MICHAEL DEGER/CCDGUIDE.COM, ESA/PLANCK COLLABORATION
clusters that appear to be 14 or even 15

billion years old – older than either age
ascribed to the Universe. There’s still lots
of work to do before we can say for sure
how long our Universe has been around.
Ezzy Pearson is
BBC Sky at Night
Magazine’s features
editor. Her book
Robots in Space is
S Expansion gap: the cosmic microwave background – ‘fossil’ radiation from the Big Bang available through
– points to 13.8 billion years, but other measures of expansion say our Universe is younger History Press

Practical astronomy know-how for every level of expertise
SKILLS FOR STARGAZERS

Clear moisture from your sensor
How to recharge the sealed sensor chamber inside your astro camera
M
odern astrophotography cameras S Left: an image It makes sense to carry out both operations
are technical marvels that produce ruined by moisture concurrently, so that the recharged plug can be
exquisitely detailed and colourful on the sensor. Right: inserted back into the camera to complete the
images. However, they remain at the after recharging the VHDOLQJRIWKHUHƅOOHGFKDPEHUDVVRRQDVSRVVLEOH
sensor chamber
mercy of Mother Nature. Cameras It is also important that the plug doesn’t start
designed for deep-sky imaging need to capture long absorbing moisture from the atmosphere, thus
exposures, and to help combat the thermal noise reducing its moisture-extraction capacity.
generated during this process they are equipped with %HIRUHEDNLQJWKHPLFURVLHYHSOXJƅUVWSUHKHDW
Peltier cooling modules that cool the sensor down to your oven to the temperature recommended by the
20°C or more below the ambient temperature. camera manufacturer for about an hour, to burn off
However, if moisture is present, ice crystals can any grease and oils in the oven. Make sure to abort
form on the sensor’s surface. These appear as the mission if the oven is smoking after this period,
Steve Richards is
irregular black dots or as condensation on the or you’ll risk damaging the plug.
the author of
protective glass in front of the sensor. Both will ruin Unless you have access to a TIG or MIG welder
Making Every
image quality, but worse, the moisture threatens to Photon Count: that uses argon gas as a shield, the easiest way to
damage the pin connections on the sensor. A Beginner’s Guide source argon at a reasonable cost is wine preserver.
To combat these issues, many sensors are installed to Deep Sky However, it is very important to only use a preserver
in a sealed chamber, with moisture kept at bay with Astrophotography that consists of pure argon.
either a desiccant tablet or micro-sieve desiccant
plug. Some cameras also have their sensor chamber
purged with either nitrogen or argon gas to further
What you’ll need
exclude moisture and oxygen, argon being the better
X A camera that uses a micro-sieve desiccant plug with an argon-purged
choice as it’s denser. An argon-purged chamber can sensor chamber
remain moisture-free for years, but eventually the
X A clean oven that can reach 260°C
gas leaks out and the desiccant tablet or micro-sieve
X A clean, dry baking dish
plug reaches its absorption capacity and needs to be
ALL PICTURES: STEVE RICHARDS
replaced or recharged. X Canister of pure argon gas (with no other gases included), such as
Here we will tell you how to recharge the more that used for preserving wine
FRPSOH[PLFURVLHYHSOXJDQGKRZWRUHƅOO\RXU X Small screwdriver or Allen keys to remove the desiccant port
sensor chamber with argon gas. We carried out the X Tweezers and needles to remove the ‘O’ rings and filter
procedure with our QSI CCD camera, but the process X Lint-free lens cleaning cloth
is similar with other brands.

Step by step
Step 1 Step 2
With the camera body suitably supported, unbolt the cover from Remove the micro-sieve plug and carefully detach its ‘O’ ring, as
the desiccant port on top of the camera using an Allen key or under no circumstances should the ‘O’ ring go in the oven. Cover
screwdriver as appropriate for your camera. Carefully remove the camera’s exposed port with a clean lens cloth. With a clean,
the cover and place it on a clean, dry surface for safe storage. dry cloth, remove any contamination from the surface of the plug.
Step 3 Step 4
Preheat the oven, then place the plug on a clean baking tray and Modify the outlet of the argon gas canister by attaching a short
put it on a high shelf. Bake for the time and at the temperature piece of drinking straw to the nozzle with electricians’ tape. It
recommended by the manufacturer (260°C for four hours in our helps to make two 10mm cuts down the end of the straw to push
case), then remove the plug and allow it to cool. the straw onto the nozzle before applying the securing tape.
Step 5 Step 6
Using a needle to dislodge them, carefully remove the sensor Ensuring that the port is facing upwards (so the heavier argon
chamber’s ‘O’ ring, followed by the micro dust filter from the sinks to the bottom), release argon into the sensor chamber for at
inside of the port, and temporarily place the lens cloth over the least 40 seconds to replace air with argon. Immediately reinstall
port. Place the filter in a sealed plastic bag to keep dust at bay. the filter, micro-sieve plug, two ‘O’ rings and cover.

Take the perfect astrophoto with our step-by-step guide
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
CAUTION
Never observe or
image the Sun with
the naked eye or any
XQƅOWHUHGRSWLFDO
instrument
A partial solar eclipse at sunset

UK viewers won’t see the total eclipse, but photographing a partial is possible for some
mitigate the risk of damage to equipment and
eyesight. Don’t allow your kit to be exposed to the
6XQŝVOLJKWFRQWLQXRXVO\DQGGHƅQLWHO\GRQRWYLHZ
the Sun with unprotected eyes or equipment. In this
way, if you misjudge things, it’s just your equipment
WKDWJHWVGDPDJHG5HPHPEHUDOVRDUWLƅFLDOO\KLJK
horizons, caused by viewing the event from buildings
or elevated terrain, mean the Sun’s light won’t be
dimmed by as much as it would be if you were
looking at a zero-degree horizon, say, over the sea.
:LWKDVRODUVDIHW\ƅOWHUƅWWHGWKH6XQŝVOLJKWLV
dimmed to such a degree that you can safely take
shots of the eclipse without damaging equipment.
7KHƅOWHUQHHGVWRFRYHUWKHIXOORSHQDSHUWXUHRI
your lens or telescope. If using the latter, remember
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2QFHWKHƅOWHULVƅWWHGLPDJLQJLVH[DFWO\WKHVDPH
as how you would attempt, say, the Moon. However,
EHDZDUHWKDWDODUJHLPDJHVFDOHWKDWƅOOVWKHVHQVRU
of a DSLR (or equivalent) is likely to produce a less
than sharp image, due to the increased atmospheric
A
s you’ll see elsewhere this issue, there’s S The small seeing at low altitude and atmospheric dispersion,
a total solar eclipse visible across North partial eclipse which subtly spreads the Sun’s colour.
America this month. The USA’s second visible from the There are alternative methods of photographing
western UK on
LQƅYH\HDUVZLOOPHDQWKH\DUHUHDG\WR an eclipse, of course, some of which are very low-
8 April will make an
max out on this one. And why not? irresistible target tech. The popular pinhole projection method works
A total eclipse of the Sun is an amazing, spectacular very well. At the other end of the spectrum, high-end
event. In the UK, we’re too far away from totality to ƅOWHUVVXFKDVWKRVHXVHGWRFDSWXUHWKH6XQLQ
be able to see anything close to a total, but if you live hydrogen-alpha or calcium-K light can be used to
in the western part of the country, you do stand record the partial in an interesting manner. An
a chance of seeing a partial solar eclipse at sunset. advantage of H-alpha captures is that being a longer
As this event will be a partial solar eclipse with wavelength, seeing has less of a detrimental effect.
plenty of the photosphere visible, a protective solar Also, essentially being monochrome, H-alpha light
VDIHW\ƅOWHUQHHGVWREHXVHGERWKIRU\RXUH\HVDQG doesn’t suffer from atmospheric dispersion.
for your equipment. As the Sun gets low in the sky, its
light is attenuated (dimmed) by a thicker layer of Equipment: 6RODUƅOWHU'6/5 RUHTXLYDOHQW ZLWK
ALL PICTURES: PETE LAWRENCE
atmosphere. This can lull you into a false sense of a 200mm or longer focal length lens or telescope,
security. A low Sun can still cause eye and equipment tripod or tracking mount
damage, so it pays to be vigilant. Pete Lawrence is an
The dimmer light of the Sun at low altitude may expert astro-imager Send your images to:
WHPSW\RXWRULVNDFDSWXUHZLWKRXWƅOWHUV:HGRQŝW and a presenter on
gallery@skyatnightmagazine.com
advise this; however, there are things you can do to The Sky at Night

Step by step
STEP 1
Partial To observe and
eclipse visible image the sunset
at sunset eclipse on 8 April,
you’ll need to be
towards the west
of the UK – the
further west the
better (see page 46
for details). As the
event occurs at
sunset, a low
western horizon is
recommended too,
preferably one over
the sea if possible.
Choose a lens or
telescope with a
focal length of at STEP 2
No eclipse least 200mm to A solar safety filter should be fitted over the front of your lens or
visible show the eclipse. telescope, taking note to remove, cap or filter any finders fitted
to a telescope. Once fitted and before the start of the eclipse,
point the setup at the Sun and focus as accurately as possible on
either the edge of the Sun or, preferably, on any sunspots.
B W B W B W
B = black point W = white point
STEP 3 STEP 4
A low to mid ISO can be used for this image. If using a lens, we’d If you know what you’re doing and the Sun is really low, at your
recommend stopping the aperture to around f/11–f/16. Adjust the own risk it may be possible to grab a shot of the eclipse and any
exposure so the centre of the Sun’s disc is not over-exposed to foreground scenery without a filter attached. Don’t view through
white. Check your histogram display to make sure the ‘mountain the viewfinder; use live view. We do not recommend pointing
peak’ graph is between the black and white points of the display. equipment at an unfiltered Sun for any length of time.
STEP 5 STEP 6
A safe way to grab There are many
a view of the ways to capture the
eclipse is to create event. Using
a 1–2mm hole in narrowband
card and project hydrogen-alpha or
the Sun’s image calcium-K filters
onto a white sheet will produce
of paper. This interesting images.
creates a small For this, you’ll need
pinhole image of a monochrome
the eclipse that can high-frame-rate
be imaged using a imaging setup.
smartphone. The Alternatively, if
use of some form of you have a smart
stand or a second telescope with a
pair of hands is solar filter, this can
recommended to take a lot of the
keep everything hassle out of
in position. tracking the Sun,
providing a way to
image the event
and maybe capture
a timelapse too.

Expert processing tips to enhance your astrophotos
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
Lunar occultations $GYLFHIURPWKHZLQQHU

Essential tips for creating richly detailed images LQWKHŜ2XU0RRQŝFDWHJRU\
of the Moon occulting a planet
S Ethan’s raw, stacked video file that he

gathered in multiple 15-second exposures
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S Ethan’s winning entry, Mars-set, an extraordinary close-up of Mars being occulted by the
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S In AutoStakkert! set ‘Image Stabilization’ mode to ‘Surface’. Move the image stabilisation anchor to a distinct feature on the Moon's
surface such as a prominent crater
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S Having narrowed your selection down to the best frames and restacked, open the
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Your best photos submitted to the magazine this month
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY FREE
BONUS
CONTENT
Find our extended
Gallery at
www.skyatnight
magazine.com/
bonus-content
PHOTO
U The Heart Nebula OF THE
MONTH
Graham Prescott, St Albans, Hertfordshire, December 2023–January 2024
Graham says: “I wanted to balance, but the end result was beyond what Graham’s top tips: ş6WDUWZLWKDUREXVW
capture the entire nebula, but ,WKRXJKWSRVVLEOHZLWKP\FXUUHQWVHWXSŠ EDVLFVHWXSDQGJURZZLWKLW,WŝVEHVWQRWWR
it was much larger than my RYHUFRPSOLFDWHWKLQJVZKHQƅUVWVWDUWLQJ
ƅHOGRIYLHZ,ŝYHQHYHUWULHGD Equipment:=:2$6,0&FDPHUD out; it makes it quicker to set up and get
PRVDLFEHIRUHEXWWKRXJKW,ŝG 6N\:DWFKHU([SORUHU3'6UHƆHFWRU capturing, with less to go wrong! I always
JLYHLWDJRWKRXJKVWRUP\ZHDWKHUPHDQWLW 6N\:DWFKHU(43URPRXQW NHHSWKHPRXQWDQGWULSRGUHDG\WRJR
WRRNWZRPRQWKVWRFRPSOHWH6WLWFKLQJWKH Exposure:KRIŠVXEV[SDQHOV I mark where the tripod will be set down,
processed stacks to ensure consistency was Software: 'HHS6N\6WDFNHU6LULO6WDU1HW and the scope and weight positions, which
challenging, as was getting the colour ,PDJH&RPSRVLWH(GLWRU*,03 VDYHVYDOXDEOHWLPHOHYHOOLQJDQGEDODQFLQJŠ

Y The Moon
over Bath
Alex Bell, Bath, Somerset,
18 January 2024
Alex says:
ş,XVHG3KRWR3LOOV
to estimate when
WKH0RRQDQG
Jupiter would be
DERYHWKHVSLUHRI6W-RKQWKH
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IRUHJURXQGFLW\DQGVN\
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Software: 6HTXDWRU3KRWRVKRS
Jupiter, Io
and Europa Z
John Chumack, Dayton, Ohio,
USA, 3 October 2023
John says: ş,I\RX
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$XWR6WDNNHUW5HJL6WD[
Y The Leo Triplet

Prabhakaran (Prabhu), Emirates
Astronomical Observatory, Razeen Desert,
Abu Dhabi, 15–21 February 2023
Prabhu says: ş,ŝYHZDQWHGWR
FDSWXUHWKHORQJIDLQWWLGDOWDLO
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ORQJWLPH$IWHUPRYLQJP\
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I was able to get a long integration and
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Exposure:5[Š*[Š%[Š
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Software: 3L[,QVLJKW

Y The north celestial pole
Marcella Pace, Modica, Sicily, Italy,
13–14 December 2023
Marcella says: “To capture
the north celestial pole and
the North Star, I used a
600mm telephoto lens,
VKRRWLQJHYHU\ƅYHPLQXWHV
for 24 hours. During post-processing,
I extracted one shot per hour and created
a sequence of shots in a montage. The
image has an educational purpose, showing
the apparent rotation of the North Star
relative to the north celestial pole.”
Equipment: Nikon D750 camera,
600mm telephoto lens
Exposure: Compiled from 40 frames,
varying exposures, ISO 100 f/6.3
Software: Photoshop
U The Soul Nebula

Chris Gale, Letterston, Pembrokeshire, September 2023–January 2024
Chris says: “With a large endure terrible weather which meant it took Watcher EQ6 Pro mount Exposure: R 20x 60”,
amount of hydrogen-alpha in a long time, but I’m glad I persisted.” G 20x 60”, B 20x 20”, Ha 272x 300”, OIII 187x
this nebula, this image revealed Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera, 300”, SII 108x 300” Software:
a lot of intricate detail. I had to Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED refractor, Sky- DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Photoshop

The Spaghetti Nebula Z
Jonathon Elliott, Gloucester,
16 and 18 January 2024
Jonathon says: “This is a tough, faint
target the size of six full Moons in our night
sky. In fact, it’s so faint that only lots of
exposures, and careful processing and
stretching, helped me to reveal its secrets.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MC camera, William Optics
RedCat 71 refractor, ZWO AM5 mount
Exposure: 120x 10’
Software: PixInsight, Lightroom
V The Sun
Anton Matthews, Bristol, 16 January 2024
Anton says: “The Sun was low and heading
towards a group of trees, and it was cloudy
too. It shows how active the Sun is at the
moment that one can see this amount of
detail, despite the challenging winter skies.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI178MM camera, Coronado SolarMax
II 60 solar telescope, Sky-Watcher AZ-GTiX mount
Exposure: 1,000 frames, 18fps
Software: ImPPG, GIMP
U The Orion Nebula

Sonia Turkington, North Reddish,
Stockport, 14 January 2024
Sonia says: “Astrophotography
KDVDOZD\VEHHQDELWGLIƅFXOW
with a 10-inch Dobsonian.
After seeing images taken
with the SeeStar, I thought
I’d give it a try. I can capture so much of the
Universe now in far more detail!”
Equipment: SeeStar S50 integrated camera,
telescope and mount Exposure: 210x 10”
Software: Google Photos
ENTER YOUR IMAGE

Whether you’re a seasoned astrophotographer or a beginner just starting out, we’d love to see your images.
Send them to us at www.skyatnightmagazine.com/send-us-your-astrophotos

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The best in equipment, accessories and books each month Discover the best
new kit every mon
th
SEE PAGE 26
Find out more about how we test equipment at

www.skyatnightmagazine.com/scoring-categories
86
We test Masuyama’s
HLJKWQHZŌH\HSLHFHV
Do the views justify the
hefty outlay?
HOW WE RATE
(DFKSURGXFWZHUHYLHZLVUDWHGIRUSHUIRUPDQFHLQƅYHFDWHJRULHV
@THESHED/PHOTOSTUDIO
+HUHŝVZKDWWKHUDWLQJVPHDQ
PLUS: new book reviews, including Chris
Lintott’s latest, and a roundup of must-have
+++++ Outstanding +++++Very good
astronomy gear and gadgets +++++Good +++++Average +++++Poor/avoid

Our experts review the latest kit
FIRST LIGHT
Masuyama
1.25-inch 53eyepieces
Eight high-end eyepieces that open up heavenly views – for a premium price tag
WORDS: CHARLOTTE DANIELS
E
yepieces are something of a personal power, inserting the 30mm for star alignment.
VITAL STATS choice. Differences in eyesight and even 3RSSLQJRYHUWR9HJDZHKDGRXUƅUVWORRNDQG
• Price £185 each variations in pupil diameter mean that ZHUHJUHHWHGE\DVXSHUEƅHOGRIYLHZWKDWZDV
(for sizes 5mm what works for one person might not work well illuminated from edge to edge.
–20mm), £195
for another. Every astronomer, however,
each (for 25mm
and 30mm)
should have a selection of low- and higher-powered Love at first sight
eyepieces in their arsenal. Masuyama’s offering of 53° Alignment completed, we slewed to Albireo with
• Focal lengths
5mm, 7.5mm, eyepieces covers an excellent range, from a long- the 25mm and enjoyed exquisite colour contrasts
10mm, 12.5mm, focal-length 30mm down to a punchy 5mm. between the gold and blue stars. This was repeated
15mm, 20mm, :LWKDQDSSDUHQWƅHOGRIYLHZRIpƅUVW DWPPDQGPPWKHRSWLFVSURYLQJƆDZOHVV1H[W
25mm, 30mm impressions were that these should work for a wide VHOHFWLQJWKH2ULRQ1HEXOD0WKHPPH\HSLHFH
• Lens design range of objects and eyes, but we were curious about SURYLGHGDUHDVRQDEOH[PDJQLƅFDWLRQDQGZH
Ortho Plössl ƅHOGLOOXPLQDWLRQDQGH\HUHOLHIYHUVXVQDUURZHU resolved some lovely detail among the mist
• $SSDUHQWƅHOG variants. There isn’t an option to purchase all eight surrounding the Trapezium. Eye relief continued to be
of view 53°
eyepieces as a set in an eyepieces case. Instead, we excellent through the 12.5mm and 10mm sizes as we
• Eye relief
received them within a single parcel, each individually ƅQDOO\KHDGHGWRWKH'RXEOH&OXVWHULQ3HUVHXV7KH
4mm, 5mm,
7mm, 8mm, packaged in smart boxes. A clear and moonless night ƅHOGRIYLHZUHPDLQHGEHDXWLIXOO\ƆDWIURPHGJHWR
9mm, 13mm, presented itself and so, armed with our 81mm edge, with no distortions, allowing us to enjoy a
16mm, 19mm refractor, we headed out. We started with the lowest pleasingly immersive view for 53°. X
• Optical
elements 5
• Extras Dust
caps, filter
thread
• Weight 60g,
70g, 80g, 90g,
100g, 120g,
115g, 140g
• Supplier
First Light
ALL PHOTOS: @THESHED/PHOTOSTUDIO
Optics
• Email
questions@
firstlightoptics.
com
• www.
firstlightoptics.
com

Filter screw SCALE
threads
On the underside of every
eyepiece is a screw thread for
LQFKƅOWHUVVXFKDVFRORXURU
high-contrast varieties. Such
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1.25-inch barrels
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LQFKGLDJRQDOPDNLQJWKHVHH\HSLHFHVHDV\WRVZDSRXW
LQGDUNFRQGLWLRQVZKLOHHQVXULQJWKH\DUHZHOOVHFXUHG

FIRST LIGHT
Ortho Plössl
lens design
Each Masuyama 1.25-inch 53° eyepiece
combines the best of popular Plössl and
classic orthoscopic eyepieces to produce
a unique hybrid design. While standard
versions of those types typically consist
of four elements across two lens groups,
the Masuyama Ortho Plössl (MOP)
comprises five multi-coated lens
elements across three groups, rendering
these ‘super ortho Plössls’ for maximum
control over aberrations, optimal colour
correction and sharp views.
Each eyepiece provides a supremely
flat field of view from edge to edge with
minimal light scatter, making them
suitable for a range of different
astronomical objects, including the
Moon, planets, deep-sky objects and the
Sun (only with an appropriate solar
filter). The hybrid design also allows a
wider apparent field of view than
standard orthoscopic eyepieces, which
at 53° strikes an ideal balance between
narrow and widefield alternatives.
Dust caps
Keeping eyepieces dust-free is essential to maintaining
performance and ensuring you make the most of each
observing session. These dust caps are a beautifully simple
but effective addition that, provided you replace each cap as
your night progresses, allows you to easily swap eyepieces
knowing that each one will be free of dust.

Rubber eye-cups
(DFKH\HSLHFHFRPHVƅWWHGZLWKDVRIW
rubber eye-cup for maximum viewing
comfort. These guide observers to the
best resting position, providing an
optimised viewing experience.
Meanwhile, for the high-powered
versions, the cups can be folded down
to allow spectacle wearers eye relief.
X As we stepped up the power, we were impressed given the excellent seeing conditions of the night.
to discover that the eyepieces appeared to be at Heading back to the Moon, we weren’t surprised to
least close to parfocal, barely requiring refocus. Eye see our view start to blur, in addition to a minor
relief was less forgiving at 7.5mm, which could be UHƆHFWLRQLQRXURSWLFDOWUDLQ\HWZHZHUHVWLOO
challenging for glasses wearers. However, we didn’t relatively pleased with the results.
note any aberrations. Overall, these Masuyama eyepieces did more than
The next clear sky was a couple of weeks later, impress us. Even for a seasoned astronomer, it almost
when we brought out our long refractor for another IHOWDVLIZHZHUHYLHZLQJHDFKREMHFWIRUWKHƅUVW
session, this time at a 1,100mm focal length. The time. We found ourselves lost in the moment as we
30mm, 25mm and 20mm eyepieces (now providing homed in on the Moon and admired its terminator
[[DQG[PDJQLƅFDWLRQ SURYHGDJDLQWREH features, including the Apennine mountains and even
excellent for star alignment. We now had the Moon shadows strewn across crater Ptolemaeus as we
and nearby Jupiter to play with, so popped the progressed to higher powers.
15mm in and started some lunar observing. With minimal distortions up to 7.5mm, we knew
that this was a set that we would use again and
Majestic Moon views again. Bearing their cost in mind, these are eyepieces
This is where the Masuyama 53° set really came to cherish and not relegate to a forgotten kitbag.
into its own – the view was exceptional and eye Perfect for outreach events, at-home observation KIT TO ADD
relief was perfect. We couldn’t resist grabbing our and as a grab-and-go option, these are to be used 1. Masuyama
smartphone for a quick picture. Even at 7.5mm, we and enjoyed often. 1.25-inch 1.5x
were impressed with the lunar details and our view Barlow lenses
UHPDLQHGVKDUSHYHQDW[PDJQLƅFDWLRQDOWKRXJK
VERDICT 2. StellaMira
the seeing was undeniably brilliant. We couldn’t 1.25-inch 90° di-

take our eyes off Jupiter as we studied its bands Build & design +++++ electric diagonal
and zones. Ease of use +++++ 3. Astro
Next, we popped the 5mm in. With an aperture Extras +++++ Essentials
of 101mm, the theoretical limit of useful
Eye relief +++++ variable
PDJQLƅFDWLRQIRUWKLVIRFDOOHQJWKLVDERXW[ polarising
whereas the 5mm ortho Plössl pushes beyond this
Optics +++++
0RRQƅOWHU
DW[PDJQLƅFDWLRQ1HYHUWKHOHVVZHZHUHFXULRXV OVERALL +++++

Our experts review the latest kit
FIRST LIGHT
Altair Astro
Hypercam 585C colour camera
From nebulae to the Moon, this jack-of-all-trades does it all for under £500
WORDS: TIM JARDINE
W
hen you look at Altair Astro’s The camera couldn’t have been easier to set up.
VITAL STATS impressive range of astronomy After installing the software and plugging it in, the
• Price £499 cameras, it might not be Hypercam 585C was ready to use. Given that there is
• Sensor IMX585 immediately obvious where the no need for a separate power supply other than the
STARVIS 2 BSI
+\SHUFDP&ƅWVLQJLYHQWKDW USB 3.0 cable, it struck us that it would make a very
• Resolution
there’s a divide between cameras for deep-sky desirable travelling or portable astronomy camera,
8.3MP, 3,840
x 2,160 pixels images and smaller variants suited to Solar System especially when combined with a short refractor and
• Exposure range and auto-guiding applications. In fact, the 585C sits a lightweight mount… assuming that the capture
0.1ms–1,000 neatly in the middle of both applications and may quality was good enough, which we were about to
seconds well be the answer to a question many astronomers put to the test.
• Frame rate Full ask, namely: “What single camera can photograph
resolution nebulae, galaxies, planets and the Moon?”. Testing times
47fps at 8 bit, We were keen to take pictures of all these targets, Naturally, with the Orion Nebula so well placed we
23.4fps at 12 bit and while the ideal telescope for the deep-sky side of started with that, as not only does it offer a
• Connectivity
things would be a short-focal-length refractor, time challenging range of brightness to deal with, the
USB 3.0, USB
and weather constraints meant we opted for a larger more subtle and fainter areas of nebulosity can reveal
2.0 compatible,
ST4 refractor to which we could add a Barlow for lunar and much about the camera’s sensitivity on the red end
• Size 80mm planetary imaging, while accepting the compromise of the spectrum. Even with the lowest gain setting,
x 65mm on image scale for the deep-sky images. the Hypercam 585C was really responsive, so we X
• Weight 295g
• Extras USB
cable, ST4
guide cable,
2-inch OD
nosepiece,
CS-mount
insert, dust
cap, software
• Supplier
Altair Astro
• Email info@
altairastro.com
• www.
altairastro.com

512MB DDR memory SCALE
Fast frame rates and data transfer are
facilitated by the 512MB DDR onboard
buffer memory, which ensures there are
no bottlenecks when capturing
large amounts of frames and
writing the data to your PC,
while the good-quality
1.5-metre USB 3.0 cable
transfers the image
information without
introducing loss or
unwanted noise.
USB-powered fan
and the thermal energy can
introduce noise to your images. A
USB-powered fan pulls cooler air over
a heat sink and out through a vent,
to remove as much heat as possible
without requiring a full-on thermo-
electric cooling setup.
The rear of the camera has an

ST4 port, and a cable is included
for auto-guiding purposes. The
Hypercam 585C is more than
sensitive enough to be a guide
camera and it’s compatible with
mounts from the major
manufacturers; this could negate
the need for separate guiding and
Solar System cameras.

FIRST LIGHT
STARVIS 2 sensor
As CMOS imaging technology light, which is invisible to our eyes
keeps improving, the benefits but makes up large parts of
filter into our hobby. The business deep-sky nebulae. In fact, the
end of this Hypercam 585C holds quantum efficiency (QE) of this
a Sony IMX585 colour CMOS camera is given at an impressive
sensor. There is no amp glow and 91 per cent.
our pictures were taken without The sensor itself measures 11.14
the use of additional dark frames, x 6.26mm, giving it a diagonal of
although if we had wanted to use 12.8mm. The 2.9+m square pixels
them, the built-in temperature add up to produce an 8.3MP
sensor makes it easier to match image. With eight binning modes
them to the light frames. to choose from, the ability to
It has back-side illumination capture faint details can be
(BSI) for greater photo-reactivity enhanced even further, but we
and the STARVIS 2 design makes found the camera to be perfectly
it more sensitive to near-infrared capable in 1 x 1 mode.
80mm 65mm
Light, compact design

The 585C has the now-familiar barrel design in Altair’s
trademark purple livery. It is just 80mm long and 65mm in
diameter, weighing in at a pocket-sized 295g. Fitting neatly
in the hand and requiring only a USB cable and perhaps a
@THESHED/PHOTOSTUDIO X 3, TIM JARDINE X 5
nosepiece, it is a portable, lightweight and practical camera.
Software
Each Hypercam comes with a 12-month license for the
excellent SharpCap Pro, the capture software of choice for
many. Altair also provides its own application, AltairCapture,
which we used to great effect. Its simple interface makes it
easy to operate even in the wee hours when tiredness sets in.

It was simple to capture
Io’s transit of Jupiter with
short, fast exposures
The 585C excelled with

light and shade, as our
Moon shot shows
Deftly handling the subtle

charms of the Orion
Nebula: best of 60x 30”
exposures, 25’ total
X took half an hour’s worth of 30-second exposures Our mid-range laptop was averaging 22fps in S The dimmer,
to retain detail around the Trapezium area. The full-resolution 16-bit mode. Despite the wobbly far-distant Cigar
resulting stacked image was really pleasing, with seeing doing its best to ruin the picture, the quick Galaxy – not bad for
lots of detail in the faint areas. We couldn’t wait to response of the Hypercam 585C enabled us to take just 30 three-minute
get the next target in the bag, M82, the Cigar Galaxy. thousands of frames and skim off the blurry ones, exposures
For this dimmer target we chose three-minute leaving a sharp, high-contrast image with good
exposures. Once again, the detail in the dusty lanes resolution. And so we had the results we were looking
and the red hydrogen jet areas of the galaxy were for: nice clean pictures from long exposures and, by
most impressive. increasing the gain setting a little, fast and high-
With its deep-sky capability amply demonstrated, resolution short exposures.
KIT TO ADD
1. Altair Astro
we wanted to go from longer exposures to very short In an ideal world, we would have a different
Premium 2-inch
and fast ones, using the Moon and Jupiter as our telescope and camera combination to perfectly
&/6&&'ƅOWHU
targets. By selecting a smaller region of interest than match each type of target we wanted to capture. with UV/IR
the full 3,840 x 2,160 pixels available, we found the In the real world, however, the attractively priced blocking
Hypercam 585C was bringing home over 65 frames Hypercam 585C offers great results across the whole
2. Altair Astro
per second (fps), capturing Jupiter’s moon Io just range of deep-sky and Solar System objects.
Hypercam spare
grazing the edge of the planet’s disc in a very short
clear AR-coated
time. With a one-shot-colour camera like the 585C,
all the data is gathered at once; there’s no need for VERDICT or UV/IR-coated
optical windows
VHSDUDWH5*%ƅOWHUV,QIDFWFDSWXULQJWKHLPDJH Build & design +++++ 3. Altair Astro
we wanted couldn’t have been simpler. This is an Connectivity +++++ GPCAM 2-inch
easy camera to use. Ease of use +++++ nosepiece with
For our lunar image, we chose an interesting
Features +++++ dual 1.25-inch
quarter of the Moon, with nicely lit craters and good DQGLQFKƅOWHU
variance between the lightest and darkest areas,
Imaging quality +++++
mounting
using the whole of the CMOS chip for the capture. OVERALL +++++

FROM THE
MAKERS OF
The Astronomer’s
Yearbook 2024
Discover your ultimate guide
to stargazing and the night
sky in 2024. With 12 months
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to make the year truly
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Charlotte Daniels rounds up the latest astronomical accessories
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New astronomy and space titles reviewed
BOOKS
mysterious asteroid-like object
‘Oumuamua was discovered, and later
Interview with
found to have come from deep space. No the author
one was searching for the afterglow of the
Chris Lintott
Big Bang when the cosmic microwave
background was detected. And no one Isn’t science all about
was prepared for the avalanche of remote accuracy, not
galaxies when the Hubble Space accidents?
Telescope was pointed at an ‘empty’ Of course!
patch of sky for more than 100 hours. Everything we
But Our Accidental Universe can also know about, for
be read as a book about the accidental example, ‘Oumuamua
– the interstellar object that flew
emergence of life and intelligence in a through the Solar System a few years
cold, dark and inhospitable Universe. The back – comes from very precise
majority of the nine chapters deal with measurements made with large
ideas about extraterrestrial life, one way telescopes. But no one expected
or the other. UFOs, SETI, aliens, ‘Oumuamua to show up, and plans
and theories were made up on the fly.
Our Accidental biomarkers, habitable worlds – Lintott
evidently loves the topic. Even in chapters
We often talk about science as a
careful process of testing theories
Universe on cosmology and radio astronomy, he
works in links to life.
and hypotheses; actually it’s often
about scrambling to understand
The conversational style of the book things we didn’t expect. Luckily,
Chris Lintott
makes it accessible to a broad audience. that’s a lot of fun.
Torva
However, readers without some
£22 z HB
background in astronomy may get a bit What are your favourite examples
If you like Chris Lintott as co-host of the confused every now and then by the of astronomical accidents?
BBC’s The Sky at Night, you’re guaranteed seemingly haphazard change of subjects There are so many! I’ll never forget
to also like him as a writer. In in some chapters, where the the first sight of the bruises left by
this, his second book, he author’s associative mind comet Shoemaker–Levy 9’s impact
with Jupiter through my small back
eloquently guides us can take you from, for
garden telescope, when no one had
through a wide range example, pulsars to
NASA/ESA, G. ILLINGWORTH (UCO/LICK OBSERVATORY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA/SANTA CRUZ)
expected even large telescopes to

of fascinating gravitational waves see much. And I’m fascinated by how
astronomical or exoplanets in just early radio astronomy, carried out
topics, presenting a couple of pages. by a set of outsider engineers,
R. BOUWENS (UCO/LICK OBSERVATORY AND LEIDEN UNIVERSITY) AND THE HUDF09 TEAM
his favourite Dense with blindsided the astronomical

establishment of the day. The
examples of information, Our
discovery of the radio sky, from black
“the times when Accidental holes to pulsars, was full of surprises.
astronomers have Universe is also
stumbled on new light-hearted and
What role can citizen science play
truths about the funny, thanks to
in happy accidents?
cosmos, either through Lintott’s nerdy humour,
From galaxies shaped like penguins
unexpected discoveries or especially in the many to the mysterious ‘green peas’ which
E\VXGGHQO\ƅQGLQJQHZ footnotes. But most turned out to be the most efficient
ways to explore”. Tales of the unexpected: Lintott of all, his boundless factories of stars in the local
explores astronomy’s surprise finds,
0DQ\VFLHQWLƅF enthusiasm for Universe, volunteers have pointed us
like Hubble’s astonishing Deep Fields to all sorts of surprises. Crowds of
breakthroughs are everything cosmic
accidental. Isaac Asimov once wrote: “The makes it hard to put this book away volunteers turn out to be very good
at being surprised and distracted
most exciting phrase to hear in science, once you start reading. ★★★★★
by the unusual.
the one that heralds new discoveries, is
not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’.” Govert Schilling is an astronomy Chris Lintott is a professor of
As Lintott recounts, no one was looking writer and author of The Elephant in astrophysics and citizen science
for interstellar visitors when the the Universe lead at the University of Oxford

What’s Hidden Inside Planets? The Astronomers’
Sabine Stanley with John Wenz of helium on Saturn’s surface. The book Library
Johns Hopkins also discusses new discoveries of ASTRO
£14 z PB exoplanets and how they pose a Karen Masters
challenge to the long-held assumption Quarto
HISTORY
Earthquakes might that only small and rocky planets could £28 z HB
be a terrifying form near stars, because gas and ice
experience for most giants would evaporate. Exoplanets such This book is both
people, but they are as the Jupiter-like 51 Pegasi b, orbiting beautiful and
a very useful tool for eight times closer to its star than Mercury quirky. It sets
planetary scientists. orbits the Sun, helped give rise to the new out to describe,
In this engrossing theory of ‘planetary migration’, in which book by book,
and lively study, planets can drift a long way from where a fantasy
Sabine Stanley draws they first formed. astronomical
on her professional research to set out The book finishes with an argument library. It’s not
how seismology, together with other that we should not consider the proposed based on any one
methods of investigating what goes on commercial mining of asteroids or allow real library, although the author Karen
beneath our feet, can explain why planetary exploration to lead to Masters does cite various well-known
Earth is habitable: its iron core generates colonisation, given the damage that we astronomical libraries that helped inspire
the magnetic field that protects our have already caused to our own planet. the book. Rather, this is an imagined
atmosphere from being stripped away All in all, this is a great introduction to the collection, if money, availability and prior
by the solar wind. subject, with enough up-to-date detail to ownership were no object.
The interdisciplinary nature of this ensure that even readers with some The book is filled with detailed
research deepens our understanding of background in the subject will find photographs of magnificently illustrated
chemistry itself; exotic substances such something new. ★★★★★ astronomical works from across the world
as ‘helium rain’ have been hypothesised and throughout time. It is broken up into
to form within the depths of gas giant Pippa Goldschmidt is an astronomy type, in an almost chronological fashion,
planets, explaining the relative depletion and science writer starting with star atlases, moving on to
popular astronomy and finally ending with
modern astronomical books. It is by no
Space Oddities means exhaustive (how could it be?), but
The Astronomers’ Library contains enough
Harry Cliff heard of quarks and neutrinos before. that is well known to make it feel
Picador Many of the stories of confusing results thorough, while at the same time
£18.99 z HB – whether that’s neutrinos apparently introducing almost every reader to some
appearing from nowhere or seemingly new astronomical gem. Flamsteed’s
The title may misbehaving quarks – are accompanied Catalogue, Ptolemy’s Almagest and
imply that particle by accounts from those hunting for Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time
physicist Harry Cliff’s answers. These highlight what making are all included, but so too are Telescope
latest book will be scientific discoveries involves, particularly Teachings by Mary Ward, Urania’s Mirror,
about oddities seen those that demand incredibly precise a boxed set of engraved constellation
in, well, space, but measurements. There are examples of cards, and the Tantrasamgraha by
Space Oddities where our understanding has been Nilakantha Somayaji. For those who
explores far more revolutionised by a discovery, detections love both books and astronomy, it is
fundamental that have ‘gone away’ with more data, and a joy and a gift.
conundrums than intriguing results that still defy theories. Any good anthology will provoke
misbehaving stars or planets. If you’re interested in learning about thoughtful debate on its choice of
The introductory ‘cosmic story’ is told unexpected radio signals, planets inclusions and omissions. As a community,
from a perspective befitting the author’s spinning backwards or galaxies that for example, we still don’t know enough
day job, and it’s soon clear that the focus shouldn’t exist, this isn’t the book for you. about non-European historical
is not so much on vast expanses of space, But if you want to understand how some astronomers and their books, and
but the tiniest subatomic particles and of the most precise measurements ever inevitably this is reflected here. What
their behaviour. Most of the book covers have been made, and how they’ve the book does do, however, is include as
our understanding of the ‘standard model’ changed our understanding of the diverse a range of books as is currently
of particle physics; it’s only at the end that Universe at a fundamental level, then known. This makes it not only beautiful,
we get to cosmology and a brief look at this is a page-turner. ★★★★★ but also a book worthy of inclusion in its
some astronomical conundrums. own fantasy library. ★★★★★
For those not familiar with the standard Chris North is head of public
model or statistical analysis, the engagement at Cardiff University Emily Winterburn is an astronomy
explanations are clear, but it helps to have School of Physics and Astronomy historian and science writer

Ezzy Pearson interviews Professor Jayne Birkby
Q&A WITH AN EXOPLANET EXAMINER

We know that life on Earth creates waste gases that unbalance our atmosphere.
Now astronomers are seeking similarly off-kilter worlds in the hunt for alien life
How are you using current facilities, telescopes
exoplanet atmospheres in the eight-to-10-metre
to look for life? class, we’re looking in detail
Life impacts our atmosphere at hot Jupiters. We’re
on Earth. The amount of starting to push towards the
oxygen in our atmosphere is mini-Neptunes – we really
in a disequilibrium state; don’t know much about
there’s something these planets at all. About
constantly replenishing it in 75 planets have been
our atmosphere – and that’s observed at high spectral
life. If all life on Earth was to UHVROXWLRQƅQGLQJmolecules
suddenly disappear, the and atomic species in the
ILLUSTRATION
oxygen in our atmosphere atmospheres. For the very
would disappear. The idea is VSHFLƅFPHWKRGRIKLJK
that if we can see the same resolution with cross
signature of disequilibrium correlation that I do, the
elsewhere, that starts to become S High levels of number is more like 50–60 planets.
a signature that maybe life is causing that. oxygen, water,
carbon dioxide or +RZFRPPRQLVLWWRƅQGWKHPROHFXOHVWKDW
What molecules are you looking for? methane around you’re looking for?
There are four main molecules that we focus on rocky exoplanets :HVHHZDWHUSUHWW\PXFKHYHU\ZKHUH:HƅQG
could indicate that
when talking about Earth-like life: oxygen, water, carbon monoxide in a lot of hot Jupiters too. This is all
life exists below
carbon dioxide and methane. There are other less expected from standard equilibrium chemistry.
abundant things out there that might signal life as &DUERQGLR[LGHKDVRQO\EHHQFRQƅGHQWO\VHHQZLWK
well, molecules that can only be made by life. But low-resolution spectra from space. Methane is
the former are the easiest things for us to look for. tentatively seen using the high-resolution method in
It’s the abundance that matters – on Earth, we have hot Jupiters, but has been seen at lower resolution
21 per cent oxygen. The molecule itself also makes with the James Webb Space Telescope for a sub-
it easier to observe, as it has a strong absorption line Neptune planet. Oxygen has not been detected.
in its spectrum [which makes it easier to detect]. None of these suggest any evidence of life. That
would be more for the rocky planets, which we
How do you observe planetary atmospheres? haven’t looked at yet at high resolution.
As a planet orbits, it causes its star to wobble back
and forth because of the gravitational pull of that How could you examine rocky worlds?
star. The star is wobbling at a few centimetres or We need the Extremely Large Telescope, due to
metres per second. Meanwhile, the planet is whizzing start operations in 2028. It will have a 39-metre-
around at kilometres per second. That means if you diameter mirror – we need that big ‘light bucket’.
were to observe the spectra of the planet you would The goal is to make a census of rocky planets and
see it Doppler-shifting back and forth, while the star see how many of them are like Earth. Maybe they’re
by comparison would look almost stationary. Remove all like Venus – really hot, with a sulphuric
NAZARII NESHCHERENSKYI/ISTOCK/HETTY IMAGES
everything that isn’t moving in wavelength over time atmosphere that’s inhospitable to life. Or maybe
and what you’re left with – buried in a lot of noise – is they’re like Mars, just arid deserts.
a spectrum. If we do this at a high resolution, there Water and methane, in particular, have quite
are many lines, so it’s a very robust detection. complex spectra that make them harder to
distinguish, so tKHIDFWWKDWZHFDQƅQGPROHFXOHV
What kind of planets do you observe using Jayne Birkby is an in hot gas giant planets is good news for searching for
this technique? associate professor biosignatures on rocky worlds. It means when we look
The important thing about this technique is that of exoplanetary DWURFN\SODQHWVZKHUHZHPLJKWKRSHWRƅQGOLIHDQG
it works on non-transiting exoplanets. That means science at the where these molecules could be biosignatures, we
it makes the nearest planets accessible. With our University of Oxford know that our methods will work.

THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
With Glenn Dawes
A fabulous month for spotting planetary conjunctions
and all the iconic constellations of the seasons
HE
When to use this chart
AS
T
1 Apr at 00:00 AEDT (31 Mar, 13:00 UT) The chart accurately matches the sky on the
dates and times shown for Sydney, Australia.
15 Apr at 23:00 AEST (13:00 UT) The sky is different at other times as the stars
30 Apr at 22:00 AEST (12:00 UT) crossing it set four minutes earlier each night.
APRIL HIGHLIGHTS STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS

Morning skies in April deliver some What a great time to spot bright
impressive conjunctions. Mars has constellations that are iconic to the
_
two interesting meetings. From 9 to 13 seasons. There’s no better symbol for
_
April, it sits within 1.5° of Saturn, being side autumn than the Southern Cross and
OPH
by side on the 11th, only 0.4° apart. It then pointers rising in the southern evening sky.
encounters Neptune from 28 April to 1 May, Before Crux crosses the meridian, catch
UCH I
the planets fitting in a 1° circle, closing to the summer signpost of Orion, now on its
US
just 0.3° on the 29th! The next two meetings side, setting in the west. Winter’s repres-
`
involve Venus and are low in the dawn sky. entatives must be Scorpius rising in the
a
The most challenging finds Venus 0.5° east, followed by Sagittarius’s Teapot. All
from faint Neptune on 4 April. Then on 20 are visible under light-polluted skies and
April, Venus sits 1.8° from Mercury. ideal for beginners learning the heavens.
E A ST
THE PLANETS
As Jupiter and Neptune drop into the the brilliant ‘Morning Star’ rising around
_
western twilight sky in early April, dawn. April begins with Neptune close to
planet observing switches to the morning. Venus. This ice giant then rises quickly in
M16
b
Mars and Saturn are rising around 03:30 the predawn, passing Mars as April closes.
SC
M
UT
17
(mid-month) and travel together for most Mercury returns to the morning mid-month
UM
of April, less than 10° apart. Venus remains and is best visible at month’s end.
M
25
DEEP–SKY OBJECTS
This month, a sip from Crater the (RA 11h 03.4m, dec. –23° 05’). This 11th-
Cup. Found west of Corvus, this faint magnitude spiral has a faint, elongated
constellation’s main stars are around halo (4 x 1 arcminutes) that brightens
fourth magnitude, one being Gamma (a) slightly towards its centre, showing a hint
Crateris (RA 11h 24.9m, dec. –17° 41’). This of a small, oval core. Only 0.2° south is
double star consists of a white mag. +4.1 another spiral galaxy, NGC 3513. In
primary and a fainter mag. +9.5 blue contrast, this appears almost circular
companion, a snug 5.2 arcseconds apart. (approx. 1.5 arcminutes across). It
brightens towards its centre, but with no
Find mag. +4.4 Beta (`) Crateris. Only obvious core. The pair make an attractive
2° westward lies the galaxy NGC 3511 sight through widefield eyepieces.
SO
Chart key
STAR
GALAXY DIFFUSE ASTEROID BRIGHTNESS:
NEBULOSITY TRACK MAG. 0
CHART: PETE LAWRENCE
OPEN CLUSTER & BRIGHTER

DOUBLE STAR METEOR MAG. +1
GLOBULAR RADIANT
MAG. +2
CLUSTER VARIABLE STAR QUASAR MAG. +3
PLANETARY
MAG. +4
NEBULA COMET TRACK PLANET & FAINTER
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ƆRRGOLJKWWU\LQJWRZDVKRYHUHYHU\WKLQJ7KLVZD\ Sometimes it’s as simple as setting up a telescope