BBC Sky at Night

BBC Sky at Night magazine is a monthly publication from the UK focused on astronomy, catering to hobbyist astronomers. It is produced by Immediate Media Company. The magazine's name is inspired by the BBC television program, The Sky at Night. Unlike the TV show, the magazine offers a deeper dive into technical and scientific topics related to astronomy. Additionally, it often comes with a bonus CD-ROM that features software, recent astronomical images, informative articles, and occasionally includes a 'classic' episode from the BBC's archive of The Sky at Night.

National, Consumer

English

Magazine

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Global

#82466

United States

#40750

Science and Education/Astronomy

#19

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Articles

How astronauts shower, brush teeth, wash clothes and keep clean

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Russell Deeks

Most of us take certain things like having a shower, washing our clothes and keeping clean for granted, but have you ever wondered how astronauts do these things in space? Space travel presents all kinds of challenges, from launching a rocket with enough thrust to escape the pull of Earth’s gravity, to shielding crew from the high radiation levels they’ll encounter on the journey.
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Russell Deeks

The 2025 summer solstice falls this weekend, 21 June at 03.42 BST (02.42 UTC), marking the first day of summer. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is approaching (whereas our friends south of the equator will soon be experiencing their winter solstice). As you probably know, the summer and winter solstices are the longest and shortest days of the year, respectively.
Webb and Keck view methane clouds on Titan

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

In the search for life beyond Earth, one of the most promising places in our Solar System isn't a planet at all; it's Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Wrapped in a thick, smoggy yellow haze and nearly as cold as Neptune, Titan is a world of extremes. And yet, it's one of the most Earth-like places in the Solar System because it also has something rare in our cosmic neighbourhood: weather. Titan's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and has clouds and rain, just like Earth.
China's space station glass of water experiment

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

You may have heard the theory surrounding the glass of water seen in a video taken onboard China's Tiangong space station, that has led some to claim it's proof the footage was faked. The video in question shows a glass of clear liquid sitting unperturbed on a table aboard the Chinese space station, causing some viewers to question why the water isn't floating out of the glass, given it's in a weightless environment. Indeed, why is the glass itself not floating away?
ESA Proba-3 mission first images released

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the first images from its Proba-3 mission, which produces artificial solar eclipses in space. Proba-3 consists of a pair of small satellites that make solar eclipses, enabling solar scientists to get a better view of the Sun's outer atmosphere. These first Proba-3 images offer new views of the Sun’s mysterious inner corona, the fiery halo of plasma surrounding our star, captured not during a natural eclipse, but during one made by space probes.
ESA Flyeye telescope first light images

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

The island of Sicily off the coast of southern Italy will soon be home to a brand new telescope; one that's scouring the skies not to look at distant stars and galaxies, but to protect planet Earth from potential danger. Flyeye is the European Space Agency’s newest planetary defender. This telescope, whose optics were inspired by an insect's eye, has just seen its 'first light', a milestone for any telescope, big or small, when it takes its first look at the night sky.
Eclipses every day? Astronomers unveil a unique 6-star system that makes it possible

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

Take a quick look at why this discovery is turning heads in the astronomy world:Scientists have found the first known 6-star system – TYC 7037-89-1 – where every star regularly eclipses its partner, creating a cosmic light show 1,900 lightyears away. The system is made up of three pairs of 'eclipsing binaries', meaning each pair’s stars take turns passing in front of one another, dimming the system’s brightness from Earth.
NASA ends remote working. Here’s what it means for space science

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

Get to grips with the key points of this story in our one-minute read:NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab staff must return to full-time, on-site work by late 2025, ending years of remote operations since the pandemic. Employees who don’t return by the deadline will be considered to have resigned, with only rare exceptions allowed. Why now? Facing budget pressures and big missions ahead, JPL leaders say in-person teamwork is essential for innovation and problem-solving.
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

1 week ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

Deep in the South Pacific Ocean lies Point Nemo, one of the remotest regions on Earth. This region has become famous because it's the location on Earth that's farthest from any land. In fact, if you were to position yourself there, the closest human beings to you would be astronauts on the International Space Station, should the ISS happen to be passing overhead at the time. There's nothing at Point Nemo: no island or marker.
Jets from black holes J1405+0415 and J1610+1811

2 weeks ago | skyatnightmagazine.com | Iain Todd

A black hole has blasted out a powerful jet into space, so deep in the distant Universe that it's being illuminated by the remnant glow from the Big Bang. The black hole is 11.6 billion lightyears from Earth, meaning astronomers are seeing it as it existed 11.6 billion years ago. Given the Universe itself is only 13.8 billion years old, this is a period in time known as the 'cosmic noon'.