Australian Sky & Telescope

GHOSTLY RINGS of radio emission spanning a million light-years, dubbed Odd Radio Circles (ORCs), are a recent discovery. They emit no radiation other than radio waves. And we’re only starting to understand what made them. Ray Norris (Western Sydney U

This image tells the story of a pulsar as it speeds through space via a combination of visible light (red, brown and black), collected by the Gemini telescope through a hydrogen-alpha filter, and high-energy photons detected by the Chandra X-ray Obse

A NEW INSTRUMENT on a powerful telescope has enabled astronomers to discover another planet circling our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri. The find brings the star’s exoplanet tally to three candidates (one of them confirmed). The newest o

The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory has released a striking series of images showing the complex and chaotic centre of our galaxy, part of a study to appear in the Astrophysical Journal. Unaffected by the large quantities of dust that obscu

OF EVERYTHING WE KNOW about our Solar System, the number of planets orbiting the Sun might seem like one thing that we should have nailed down by now. And yet, there have been rumors of another world, lurking beyond Neptune. This is no dwarf planet l

The origin of the universe may seem an impossible subject to study. After all, according to the Planck spacecraft, the Big Bang — the brilliant event that gave birth to our cosmos — occurred 13.8 billion years ago. Nevertheless, we do see signs of th

THIS IS THE DAWN OF A NEW Age of Venus. After a dry spell lasting more than 25 years, NASA has finally selected not one but two missions to our neighbouring planet: the VERITAS orbiter, launching as soon as 2027, and the DAVINCI flyby and atmospheric

I LIVE IN A FOREST. The only view of the sky I get from my house is a tiny notch above my roof, viewable from my driveway. To make matters worse, my sky is badly light polluted. So every telescope I’ve made has to fit into my car for the drive out of

Throughout winter, the crooked, asymmetric star patterns of Centaurus ride above the southern horizon like the rigging of a wrecked pirate ship. And there’s certainly treasure to be found here: Omega (ω) Centauri, or NGC 5139, the largest globular cl

HOW Go outside within an hour or so of a time listed above. Hold the map out in front of you and turn it around so the label for the direction you’re facing (such as west or northeast) is right-side up. The curved edge represents the horizon, and the

Just off the ‘left hand’ corner of the Southern Cross, near the star Mimosa (β Crucis) lies a compact cluster of stars known as the Jewel Box. This photo by Fernando Menezes shows why it got its name, with its mostly blue stars gleaming like a collec

This year’s Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower is expected to be active from July 12 to August 23, with a maximum on July 30/31. This is one of the best showers of the year, with up to 25 meteors per hour not uncommon for observers who have dark s

There’s only one comet likely to be magnitude 10 or brighter during the closing months of winter, and that will once again be the distant C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS). This slow-moving object will begin July in Ophiuchus and drift into Scorpius during the f

In 1855, Cambridge University announced the Adams Prize for a work explaining the stability and appearance of Saturn’s rings. The winner was a brilliant, 26-year-old Scottish scientist, James Clerk Maxwell. (He was also the only contestant.) In his e

“Small is beautiful.” This old adage holds true for lots of things, including petite patterns in the night sky. To my delight, Sagitta, the Arrow, is one of them. Sagitta’s dart-like pattern comprises just four relatively dim stars and measures less

We’re all going to be treated to three very different oppositions during July and August — one planet, Saturn; one dwarf planet, Pluto; and one asteroid, Vesta. Something for everyone! Opposition occurs when the Sun and a Solar System body are 180° a

For the second year running, Amrit Prasad has been crowned Astrophotographer of the Year in the annual competition run by Sky-Watcher Australia. His image of the Tarantula Nebula — which won for him an astrophotography package valued at more than $6,

IN NOVEMBER 2021 an online video went viral. My inbox filled with emails all containing the same link, all with the same subject line: “You must write about this!” Indeed, I must. If this isn’t the coolest telescope I’ve ever seen, then I haven’t see

WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH about colour in astrophotography? Well, it isn’t black and white, that’s for sure. The fact is, colour is subjective. We all perceive colour slightly differently — images evoke different perceptions depending on the viewer, bec

IN OCTOBER 2007 I attended celebrations in Moscow for the 50th anniversary of Sputnik 1. Space Age ironies were on full display. The festivities highlighted both the militaristic motivations that launched us off Earth, and the belief in an enlightene

WHILE THE NAME RIGHTLY implies that the Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX was designed as a guidescope, it’s more versatile than that. Fitted with eyepieces, it can serve as a high-quality finder and even a small telescope (more about that later). And with t

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, amateur astronomer Morgan Amos graduated from a 100-mm starter scope to a 30-cm Dobsonian. What he received via the mail order was not quite what he expected. He ended up with a “monstrous, difficult-to-handle” beast “in a cask

Two amateur astronomy initiatives — one by an individual, and one a group effort — have been awarded the prestigious 2022 Berenice and Arthur Page Medal, Australia’s highest honour for amateur astronomers who conduct scientific work. The presentation

Venus has enthralled humanity since the dawn of time with its brilliant presence in the twilit sky. And yet the second planet from the Sun jealously guards its secrets under a roiling, cloud-enshrouded atmosphere. There is renewed interest in the pla

The aptly named Dolphin Head Nebula (also known as Sharpless 308 and RCW 11) is located about 4,500 light-years away in Canis Major. Simon produced this image from his home observatory in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, using a 100-mm refractor and H-alpha

THE WIND-WASHED dusk sky awas immaculately cloudless that night — April 16, 1972. As twilight deepened, a fetching celestial tableau emerged high in the west: the crescent Moon perched within kissing distance of lustrous Venus. It’s an odd thing. Whe