BBC Sky at Night

Sky at Night magazine is your practical guide to astronomy. Each issue features the world’s biggest and best night sky guide complete with star charts, observing tutorials and in-depth equipment reviews to ensure that amateur astronomers never miss those must-see events.

Welcome

BBC Sky at Night

The complete guide to astrophotography cameras • Charlotte Daniels takes a look at what different cameras can do for your night-sky imaging

Smart telescopes Your passport to capturing the deep sky • Pete Lawrence takes us on a tour of smart scopes and reveals his top tips for how to get the best out of them

Choosing a smart scope • There's an ever-increasing choice of brands and models to suit all budgets. Here's our pick of some of the best

Your first smart scope targets • Got a smart scope? Start exploring the night sky with these top winter sights

Jump into the DEEP end How to progress from planetary to deep-sky photography • Love imaging the planets, but ready to try something new? Charlotte Daniels explains how to take the plunge and stretch your skills further

Try these for your first deep-sky image

Image processing EXPLAINED • Lead Image Processor for the James Webb Space Telescope, Joe DePasquale explains how you can apply the processes he uses to create JWST's stunning images to enhance your own astrophotos

Is what JWST sees real? • With so much processing applied to the raw data from space, it's the question many will wonder about

The meaning of colour in astro images • Far from being just a pretty add-on, colour is a crucial part of decoding scientific information in images

BEST OF 2025 • Over the past 12 months, we tested 32 different pieces of astronomical equipment. Here are five of the finest to have passed through our labs…

The night sky month by month 2026 • Your guide to the stars throughout the year

January • Don't miss Jupiter's bright Galilean moons

February • Look out for a special plantary display on 18 February

Constellation of the season SPRING: Scorpius

March • Enjoy a multitude of lunar spectacles this month

April • Don't miss the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower

May • Don't miss the ‘Blue Moon’ and lunar X and V clair-obscur effects this month

Constellation of the season SUMMER: Draco

June • Enjoy interesting planetary displays and hopefully some noctilucent clouds

July • Enjoy viewing the Moon this month, with a clair-obscur effect and close approaches

August • Don't miss the partial lunar eclipse on 28 August

Constellation of the season AUTUMN: Lacerta

September • See Neptune at opposition and the Harvest Moon

October • Don't miss the many Jovian moon events this month

November • Don't miss the Solar System line-up on 2 November

Constellation of the season WINTER: Cassiopeia

December • Be patient and you should be rewarded with a display by the Geminid meteor shower

Gallery WINNERS • Winning images from BBC Sky at Night Magazine's monthly astrophotography competition in 2025

Challenge yourself Project 1: Volcanoes on the Moon • Go hunting for volcanic activity on the Moon's surface

Challenge yourself Project 2: Go after globular clusters • Investigate the bounty of globular clusters visible from the UK

Challenge yourself Project 3: Twilight transitions • Discover the amazing astronomical phenomena visible during twilight

Keep your camera sensor clean • Dust and debris make for grainy, blurry shots – here's how to keep your DSLR free of them

Skills for stargazers How to take calibration frames • Stop noise, dust and vignette messing up your DSLR...