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 • Could we be the aliens we're searching for?

Sky at Night - lots of ways to enjoy the night sky…

This month's contributors

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STANDARD CANDLEHOLDER • This unassuming galaxy has a few tricks up its spiral arms…

3I/ATLAS: captured from other worlds • Mars orbiters repurposed to photograph elusive interstellar visitor

Students fix JWST's blurry vision • PhD researchers restore the telescope's ultra-precise imaging – without a spacewalk

Clocks on Mars tick faster than on Earth • The discrepancy could cause major problems for future space missions

Mysterious glow could be dark matter • New map suggests elusive substance lies at the heart of our Galaxy

Scientists find the purest object in the Universe • Most pristine star ever discovered is a rare survivor of the Big Bang era

Did the Moon's birth give Earth its water? • A colossal planetary smash-up may have delivered the essentials for life

First-ever photo of black holes orbiting each other • The image shows a duo locked in a death spiral, confirming a 40-year-old theory

Earth-based telescopes could rival those in space • New algorithm strips away atmospheric interference to bring stars into greater focus

Galaxy scar caused by runaway black hole? • Astronomers find the trail of destruction left as something scythed through galaxy NGC 3267

Moon's split personality solved • Ancient heat imbalance may explain our Moon's two-faced appearance

Can life's ingredients survive planet birth? • Lab models pinpoint survival zones inside young planetary systems

INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT • When The Sky at Night joined Curious Cases for a special episode, George Dransfield was there to answer your burning questions. Here she dives deeper into her favourite

When life gives you Lemmon…

INTERACTIVE

BBC Sky at Night

Forget Instagram - embrace the moment • When did stargazing become just a photo op? Ditch the filters and the checklists, says Mark Westmoquette. The night sky is best experienced, not posted

Smart scopes: from backyard to big science • Home-based stargazers are helping scientists crack some of the Universe's big mysteries – and you can join them. Charlotte Daniels shows us how

Other ways to get involved • Don't have a smart telescope? Don't worry, there are plenty of citizen science astronomy projects you can participate in

10 years of reusable rockets • Ben Evans charts the rise of multi-flight spacecraft, the tech revolution that's transforming our access to space

The downside of reusable rockets • Congested skies are the price we pay for easier, cheaper hops into space

Reusability by the numbers • How much money is actually saved by recycling spacecraft?

Why do stars twinkle? • Find out how starlight that's steady in space seems to sparkle from Earth

How telescopes beat the blink • Twinkling is distortion – and that's a problem for astronomers. Here's how they fix it

The Sky Guide • DECEMBER 2025

DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS • Your guide to the night sky this month

NEED TO KNOW • The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide

Callisto events • THE BIG THREE The top sights to observe or image this month

Geminids 2025 • BEST TIME TO SEE: 8–16 December, peak night is 13/14 December

Comet 24P/Schaumasse brightens • BEST TIME TO SEE: Before dawn...