Observing – Page 7 – Astronomy Now

Cygnus’ Crescent rides high on summer evenings

28 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

Superb Cygnus (the Swan) owns the summer nights. It is a constellation overloaded with bright deep-sky objects, including some exceptional nebulae.

See Saturn as opposition this weekend

22 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

The amazing ringed world Saturn, the jewel in the Solar System’s crown, comes to opposition on 27 August.

Capitalise on Barnard’s giant ‘E’ in the sky

21 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

Barnard’s ‘E’ in Aquila is formed from the dark nebulae Barnard 142 and 143 (B142/143). At

New comet predicted to brighten rapidly as it sprints Sunwards

18 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is a brand new comet discovered by on August 11 by Hideo Nishimura of Japan. In its one and only visit to the Solar System, it may reach magnitude +2 when at perihelion in September.

Celestial pyrotechnics in NGC 6946, the Fireworks Galaxy

14 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

NGC 6946 is a marvellously handsome-looking galaxy, with its enticing ‘pinwheel’ spiral structure set in a star-sparkling field for those imagers looking for the prettiest of pictures.

Perseids peak this weekend

8 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

The Perseid meteor shower, the year’s most popular shooting star show, reaches its predicted maximum activity this weekend, with the Moon’s glare not such a factor this time around.

Ancient open cluster NGC 6791: towards the dawn of the Universe in Lyra

7 August 2023 Mark Armstrong

NGC 6791 is well placed on August nights; located under 10 degrees east of brilliant Vega (alpha [α] Lyrae), it rides high and can be observed throughout the darkening nights.

Cygnus’ famous stellar duo: 61 Cyg and SS Cyg

31 July 2023 Mark Armstrong

Amongst its embarrassment of deep-sky riches, mighty Cygnus, the Swan, hosts two famous stars, the dwarf nova variable star SS Cygni and the binary 61 Cygni.

Messier 14: An Ophiuchus globular

24 July 2023 Mark Armstrong

Messier 14 (NGC 6402) is one of Ophiuchus’ seven Messier-tagged globular clusters, which are incredibly dense balls of stars that can provide striking viewing.

Galaxy NGC 4565: Coma’s edge-on wonder

29 May 2023 Mark Armstrong

It’s quite an accolade for NGC 4565, a stunning edge-on galaxy in Coma Berenices that’s also known as Caldwell 38 and the Needle Galaxy, to be widely regarded as the finest in its class.