BBC Sky at Night Magazine - 18 Nov 2025
LIFE FROM SPACE
NEW TELESCOPE FOR CHRISTMAS? DON’T MISS THESE 10 TOP TARGETS
A DECADE OF REUSABLE ROCKETS: WHAT’S GONE RIGHT (AND WRONG)
DETECT ALIEN WORLDS: BIG SCIENCE WITH A SMART SCOPE
BEGINNER SKY-WATCHER 130P TELESCOPE REVIEWED
NEW CLUES FOR LIFE FOUND ON SATURN’S ICY MOON
Welcome
Sky at Night – lots of ways to enjoy the night sky…
Become an Insider
Smart scopes: from backyard to big science
Did asteroids bring life to Earth?
10 Christmas crackers for your new telescope
10 years of reusable rockets
Skills for stargazers: take great photos of the Milky Way
QHY miniCAM8 monochrome camera bundle
Sky-Watcher StarQuest DX130P Newtonian reflector
Explainer: why do stars twinkle?
Q&A: a planetary life expert
The Sky Guide challenge
December’s all-sky chart
Inside The Sky at Night
December at a glance
Comets and asteroids
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Star of the month
Deep-sky tour
Binocular tour
The big three
Eye on the sky
Cutting edge
Field of view
Moonwatch
The planets
Processing
Interactive
Highlights
Capture
Bulletin
Gallery
Books
Gear
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This month’s contributors
The Virtual Planetarium
New to astronomy?
STANDARD CANDLEHOLDER
STANDARD CANDLEHOLDER
◁ Reclusive rogue
Third time lucky ▷
3I/ATLAS: captured from other worlds
Comment
Students fix JWST’s blurry vision
Clocks on Mars tick faster than on Earth
Mysterious glow could be dark matter
Scientists find the purest object in the Universe
Did the Moon’s birth give Earth its water?
First-ever photo of black holes orbiting each other
Earth-based telescopes could rival those in space
Galaxy scar caused by runaway black hole?
Moon’s split personality solved
Can life’s ingredients survive planet birth?
INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT
13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle
When life gives you Lemmon…
Lucky break
Instagram
Lost in translation
Skylab next?
SOCIETY IN FOCUS
Hello halo
Tweet
CORRECTION
Forget Instagram – embrace the moment
Smart scopes: from backyard to big science
Smart scopes: from backyard to big science
Other ways to get involved
10 years of reusable rockets
The downside of reusable rockets
Reusability by the numbers
Why do stars twinkle?
How telescopes beat the blink Twinkling is distortion – and that’s a problem for astronomers. Here’s how they fix it
GEMINIDS 2025
CHASING SHADOWS
HEAD HUNTER
About the writers
Also on view this month…
Red light friendly
Get the Sky Guide weekly
Steve Tonkin is a binocular observer. Find his tour of the best sights for both eyes on
DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
NEED TO KNOW
Family stargazing
GETTING STARTED IN ASTRONOMY
Callisto events
Geminids 2025
Comet 24P/Schaumasse brightens
PICK OF THE MONTH
The planets in December
JUPITER’S MOONS: DECEMBER
THE NIGHT SKY – DECEMBER
THE NIGHT SKY – DECEMBER
MOONWATCH
Scheiner
COMETS AND ASTEROIDS
STAR OF THE MONTH
BINOCULAR TOUR Game on! Find a hockey stick, a home plate and end with a blue knockout
THE SKY GUIDE CHALLENGE
DEEP-SKY TOUR
This Deep-Sky Tour has been automated
AT A GLANCE
10 Christmas crackers for your new telescope
TIME FOR A BREAK
First-night frustration
Did asteroids bring life to Earth?
Scooping up spacedust for clues of life
“The case for panspermia is building”
ASTRONOMER’S GIFT GUIDE
Take great photos of the Milky Way
What you’ll need
Step by step
How to photograph the Geminids
Step by step
Make your dark nebulae shots shine
3 QUICK TIPS
Emission nebula NGC 6164
The Andromeda Galaxy
The Garlic Nebula, Abell 85
Lunar eclipse
Fleming’s Triangular Wisp
Five years of Saturn
CSS lunar transit
The Eastern Veil Nebula
Zodiacal Light
The Moon’s orbit in starlight
ENTER YOUR IMAGE
QHY miniCAM8 monochrome camera bundle
Built-in filter wheel
Mono sensor
Dual-stage cooling
Plenty of accessories
Compact design
Dew protection
KIT TO ADD
Sky-Watcher StarQuest DX130P Newtonian reflector set
Beginner’s mount, pro feel
Sub-aperture mask
Focuser
Collimatable mirrors
Red dot finder
Smartphone adaptor
KIT TO ADD
GEAR
On a Mission
Interview with the author
First Contact: The Story of Our Obsession with Aliens
Facing Infinity
Q&A WITH A PLANETARY LIFE EXPERT
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Chart key
When to use this chart
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
at PressDisplay
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