Astronomy

The world's best-selling astronomy magazine offers you the most exciting, visually stunning, and timely coverage of the heavens above. Each monthly issue includes expert science reporting, vivid color photography, complete sky coverage, spot-on observing tips, informative telescope reviews, and much more! All this in a user-friendly style that's perfect for astronomers at any level.

ONLINE FAVORITES

What we know and what we don’t

Astronomy

A HOT-HEADED STALLION • JWST gets an extreme close-up of the steaming “hair” atop the Horsehead Nebula.

HOT BYTES

TWO BLACK HOLES FOUND DANCING IN THE NIGHT • Astronomers have never seen a pair of black holes quite like this one — but the universe may be filled with them.

QUICK TAKES

Io’s long, active life

NASA’S SLITHERING ROVER

‘SPIDERS’ ON MARS

NASA reboots Mars sample return

BIGGEST ASTRONOMICAL CAMERA COMPLETE

WHAT TIME IS IT ON THE MOON?

10 MODERN MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE • What is the fate of the universe? What is dark matter? Why are we here? These are the enigmas keeping astronomers up at night — literally.

SURVIVORS FROM THE MILKY WAY’S BIRTH • Galaxy mergers are a violent process — but these clusters lived to tell the tale.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

SKY THIS MONTH • THE SOLAR SYSTEM’S CHANGING LANDSCAPE AS IT APPEARS IN EARTH’S SKY.

RISING MOON • An enduring favorite

METEOR WATCH • The Perseids return

STAR DOME

PATHS OF THE PLANETS

WHEN TO VIEW THE PLANETS

COMET SEARCH • Tangled in stars

LOCATING ASTEROIDS • Time for tea

TROUBLE AT THE HEART OF COSMOLOGY • JWST and Hubble agree: The universe is expanding faster than theorists predict.

Build a MENTAL MAP OF THE COSMOS • Don’t just stare at faint fuzzies — with a bit of knowledge, you can begin to get a true sense for the enormous scale of the universe.

OUR UNIVERSE AT A GLANCE • *ly= light-years

Measuring magnitudes • The brightness scale that astronomers use has been around since ancient times. Here’s how to understand it.

ESTIMATING LIMITING MAGNITUDE

DwarfLab’s lightweight smart scope • Don’t underestimate the DWARF II — its dual apochromatic lenses and real-time stacking abilities impress.

The Ring Nebula’s twilight zone • M57’s central star exists in a dimension not only of sight but of mind.

Framing the shot • To perfectly frame objects in your field of view, you’ll need to know your telescope’s focal length — and a bit of math.

NEW PRODUCTS

Light echoes • Astronomy’s experts from around the globe answer your cosmic questions.

READER GALLERY

A HEROIC CELEBRATION

October 2024 • Saturn’s evening show

STAR DOME