News – Astronomy Now

How to see Comet Lemmon

29 October 2025 Emily Baldwin-Fiebrich

Don’t miss the chance to see Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) as it races towards its closest approach of the Sun on 8 November.

Hubble revisits a cosmic yardstick

25 October 2025 Stuart Clark

The latest ESA/Hubble image highlights the spiral galaxy NGC 3370, located nearly 90 million light-years away in the constellation Leo.

Europe’s planet hunting spacecraft complete and ready for final testing

21 October 2025 Stuart Clark

Engineers have completed the construction of ESA’s Plato spacecraft — the mission designed to search for Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars — marking a major milestone before its final round of testing.

Nova outburst in Centaurus

24 September 2025 Emily Baldwin-Fiebrich

There’s a ‘new’ star in the constellation of Centaurus. A nova dramatically appeared on 22 September, discovered by John Seach of Grafton, Australia.

Astronomy Now relaunches digital platform

12 September 2025 Emily Baldwin-Fiebrich

We are pleased to announce that our new Astronomy Now app is live! Since taking ownership of the magazine in July, creating an enhanced digital experience has been a high priority for our new Astronomy Now team.

Potentially habitable planet TRAPPIST-1e displays tentative evidence for an atmosphere

8 September 2025 Stuart Clark

Astronomers have seen tentative evidence for an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e, a rocky planet 40 light years away.

Ten-Year Lease Extension Confirmed at Herstmonceux Observatory

18 August 2025 Emily Baldwin-Fiebrich

The announcement, on 18 August, follows a year of uncertainty after Queen’s University Canada declared that the lease to the current operators of the science centre, Science Projects, would not be renewed after December 2026.

Graphic showing the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus with other stars and contellations marked on a dark sky, above a horizon with trees in silhouette.

Venus and Jupiter’s bright morning conjunction

10 August 2025 Emily Baldwin-Fiebrich

Get ready for a clash of the titans when Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in our Solar System, come together for a dazzling event visible across the length and breadth of the UK in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A stunning night sky composite photograph shows dozens of bright Perseid meteors streaking across the sky above a rural landscape, with the Milky Way arching overhead. The foreground features trees, a house, and softly lit structures, creating a serene countryside scene.

It’s time again for Perseid meteors!

8 August 2025 Emily Baldwin-Fiebrich

August means the Perseids: the annual shooting star spectacular reaches its peak to wow meteor enthusiasts with abundant bright events, writes Astronomy Now’s Night Sky manager Mark Armstrong.

Lonely giant planets may form their own planetary systems

30 July 2025 Stuart Clark

Planets without stars may not be so lonely after all. New research led by astronomers at the University of St Andrews suggests that free-floating giant planets—those adrift in interstellar space—can host their own miniature planetary systems.