Table Of ContentHOW SPUTNIK LAUNCHED THE SPACE AGE
Sky at Night
THE UK’S BIGGEST SELLING
ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE
#149 OCTOBER 2017
Chasing the
AURORA
Track down the Northern Lights
with our traveller’s guide
2017’s winning pictures inside
Part 1: sunspots & solar mapping
Relive the American
ON TEST
ECLIPSE
Celestron’s new heavyweight
Our epic journey across the US mount and 1100 EdgeHD setup
VIDEO WATCH THE IAPY 2017
EXTRA
INTERVIEW SKY AT NIGHT
See more winning
BepiColombo project The team images from the
ONLINE scientist Johannes Benkhoff explores the world’s premier
on the ESA/JAXA mission to mysteries of astrophoto
explore the planet Mercury meteors competition
TECHNOLOGICALLYSUPERIOR
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iPAD and iPHONE SHOWN
Upgrade your NexStar Evolution for longer NOT INCLUDED.
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Celestron is distributed in the UK & Ireland by David Hinds Limited. Trade enquiries welcomed.
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Celestron® and NexStar® are registered trademarks of Celestron Acquisition, LLC in the United States and in dozens of other countries around the world. All rights reserved.
David Hinds Ltd is an authorised distributor and reseller of Celestron products. The iPhone® and iPad® are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOROCTOBER03
Welcome
This month’s
contributors
include...
Pippa Goldschmidt
Astronomy writer Revel in exciting astro imagery – then use it for science
Pippa reviews
Universes:
We open this month’s
Exploring the How to contact us
issue with a rather special
Astronomical
World – a Eye on the Sky, featuring Subscriptions, binders and back issues
03330 162119
reminder of how humans the winners of the 2017
Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm; Sat 9am to 1pm for orders
have been inspired by Insight Astronomy Calls from landlines will cost up to 9p per minute. Call charges from
the night sky. Page 102 Photographer of the Year mobile phones will cost between 3p and 55p per minute but are
included in free call packages.
competition. They
Pete Lawrence Editorial enquiries
Sky at Night presenter represent some of the 0117 314 7411
9.30am to 5.30pm, Mon to Fri
Pete most beautiful and innovative astro images
Advertising enquiries
kickstarts that I and the other judges have seen this year. 0117 300 8276
our new
See them for yourself on page 6, and find Print subscription enquiries
multi-part
[email protected]
the runner-up images online in the Bonus
series on Digital subscription enquiries
taking scientifically useful Content section – turn to page 5 for the code. [email protected]
images with a close-up The aurora category was particularly strong Editorial enquiries
look at the Sun. Page 73 this year, and the winning image is one of [email protected]
Subscription enquiries
my favourites from the competition. If you’re
Steve Richards UK enquiries: FREEPOST IMMEDIATE MEDIA (please
inspired to see the awe and magnificence of write in capitals)
Equipment expert
Overseas enquiries: PO Box 3320, 3 Queensbridge,
Steve reveals the Northern Lights yourself, Melanie
Northampton, NN4 7BF, UK
how you Windridge outlines the myriad ways you
Editorial enquiries
can make an can travel and stay in the auroral zone on BBC Sky at Night Magazine, Immediate Media Co
autofocuser Bristol Ltd, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol, BS1 3BN
page 44. Some are not for the faint-hearted!
for a DSLR
As well as undoubted aesthetic appeal,
to take the pain out
And 60 years ago this month, the world
of wide-field astro astrophotos have a second string: they can
learned of the launch of Sputnik. On page 32
imaging. Page 81 be added to the scientific record of our
Michael Lachmann remembers the small
night skies. By annotating some extra info,
Melanie Windridge Soviet probe that made the first orbit of
images of meteors, variable stars or aurorae,
Plasma scientist Earth and launched the Space Age.
become a valuable resource for astronomers
Melanie
Enjoy the issue!
explains to conduct research with. This month on
your options page 73 we start the first in a new series,
when it comes Imaging for Science, in which Sky at Night
to hunting
presenter Pete Lawrence looks at areas of
the aurora – whether
astronomy where your images can make a
you want to go by road,
real difference to science, starting this Chris Bramley Editor
sea or air. Page 44
month with the Sun. PS Our next issue goes on sale 19 October.
Sky at Night
Lots of ways to enjoy the night sky...
TELEVISION ONLINE FACEBOOK PODCAST iPad/iPhone TWITTER
Find out what The Sky Visit our website for All the details of our The BBC Sky at Night Get each month’s Follow @skyatnightmag
at Night team will be reviews, competitions, latest issue, plus news Magazine team discuss issue on your iPad or to keep up with the
exploring in this month’s astrophotos, observing from the magazine and the latest astro news iPhone, now with bonus latest space stories and
episode on page 19 guides and our forum updates to our website in our podcast video and images tell us what you think
skyatnightmagazine.com2017
04
CONTENTS
Regulars
NEW TO ASTRONOMY?
Get started with The Guide on
page 78 and our online glossary at
C = on the cover www.skyatnightmagazine.com/dictionary
06 EYE ON THE SKY SPECIAL
C Featuring the winners of the 2017 Insight
Features 32
Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
12 BULLETIN
32 SPUTNIK: SPARK OF
19 WHAT’S ON
C THE SPACE AGE
The story behind the simple silver orb that lifted
21 A PASSION FOR SPACE
off 60 years ago and launched the Space Race.
39 THE WONDER OF 23 JON CULSHAW
SATELLITES 67 Jon’s off-world travelogue continues.
The night sky is teeming with satellites, and if
24 INTERACTIVE
you’re clever they make great photo targets.
44 AURORA HUNTING: 26 S UBSCRIBE
C A TRAVELLER’S GUIDE
28 HOTSHOTS
All you need to plan a trip to see the aurora, from
comfy lodge stays to boat trips and DIY tours.
49 THE SKY GUIDE
67 CHASING THE 73
50Highlights
MOON’S SHADOW
52The Big Three
Our incredible 3,000km road trip to the US total The top three sights for this month.
solar eclipse, the most photographed of all time. 54TheNorthern Hemisphere
All-Sky Chart
73 IMAGING FOR SCIENCE 56The Planets
58Moonwatch
3$57�����7+(681
C
59Comets and Asteroids
Learn how to take scientifically useful images, Asteroid 2012 TC4.
starting with sunspot counting and solar mapping. 59Star of the Month
60Stephen Tonkin’s Binocular Tour
44
61The Sky Guide Challenge
How well can you plot meteor trails?
62Deep-Sky Tour
64Astrophotography
Catching a near-Earth asteroid.
78 SKILLS
78The Guide
Getting to grips with Dobsonians.
81How To...
Make an autofocuser for your camera lens.
84Image Processing
Perfect your planetary pics with PIPP.
87Scope Doctor
89 REVIEWS
FIRST LIGHT
90Celestron CGX-L EQ 1100 EdgeHD
Schmidt-Cassegrain C
94Altair Astro GPCAM2 290C colour camera
98Deep Sky Planner 7
102Books
104Gear
106 WHAT I REALLY
WANT TO KNOW IS…
How do stars form out of clouds of gas and dust?
skyatnightmagazine.com2017
CONTENTSOCTOBER05
OCTOBER’S BONUS CONTENT
ACCESS THE CONTENT ONLINE AT
www.skyatnightmagazine.com/bonuscontent
ACCESS CODE: CL8TKM2
Highlights and much more…
Z Hotshots gallery
The Sky at Night ZEye on the sky
Z ([WUD(402'��OHV
Forty thousand tonnes of space rocks
and dust falls to Earth every year. Z Binocular tour
In the August episode of The Sky at Z Equipment review guide
Night, the team turn their attention
Z Desktop wallpaper
to this cosmic debris. Maggie looks
for micrometeorites on the roof of ZObserving forms
the Norman Lockyer Observatory,
ZDeep-sky tour chart
while Chris explores the threat of a
massive meteorite impact on Earth.
Meanwhile, Pete Lawrence reveals
the best way to observe the Perseids.
EVERY MONTH
Virtual
Interview: The new Pale Blue Dot: IAPY 2017: An Planetarium
mission to Mercury Audiobook download astrophoto gallery
A year before BepiColombo The late Carl Sagan reads View the winners, runners With Paul Abel and Pete Lawrence
launches for Mercury, we the first chapter of his 1994 up and highly commended Explore October’s night-sky
speak to project scientist book, examining Earth’s images from this year’s
highlights with Paul and Pete.
Johannes Benkhoff. place in the Universe. astro imaging competition.
Production Coordinator Derrick Andrews Publishing Coordinator Eva Abramik CK
Ad Services Manager Paul Thornton ([email protected]) O
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skyatnightmagazine.com2017
06
Eye on the sky
SPECIAL
BBC Sky at Night Magazine reveals
the 2017 winners of the world’s biggest
astrophotography competition
Every year, the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year
competition sees top astrophotographers submit incredible
images in a range of categories, from the Sun and Moon,
planets of the Solar System and aurorae, to deep-sky nebulae
and galaxies. The 2017 competition received entries from
photographers in more than 90 countries across the world.
This year’s winning images are now on display in a free
exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. If you
find yourself inspired and would like to enter next year’s
competition, visit www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory/insight-
astronomy-photographer-year for more information.
YOUR BONUS CONTENT
View a gallery of the winners, runners up and the highly
commended images from this year’s competition
Overall winner/
X
Stars & Nebulae
The Rho Ophiuchi Clouds
ARTEM MIRONOV (RUSSIA)
Hakos Farm, Windhoek, Namibia, 6 August 2016
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mk II DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher 200P
reflector, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan mount.
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Budapest, Hungary, 12 December 2016
Equipment: ZWO ASI290MM camera, Sony Alpha SLT-A99 DSLR
camera, 10-inch reflector, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Go-To mount.
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Xinglong, Hebei Province, China, 9 April 2016 Stokksnes, Iceland, 5 October 2016
Equipment: Sony _7s ILCE-7s camera, 85mm lens. Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mk III DSLR camera, 24mm lens.
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OLEG BRYZGALOV
(UKRAINE)
Rozhen Observatory,
Smolyan Province,
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10-inch homemade
reflector, White
Swan 180 mount.
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El Chaltén, Santa
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camera, iOptron
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18mm lens.
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GERALD RHEMANN (AUSTRIA)
Tivoli Farm, Khomas, Namibia, 5 June 2016
Equipment: FLI Microline ML 16200 CCD camera, ASA 12-inch
Astrograph Newtonian reflector, ASA DDM85 mount.
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London, UK, 25 March 2017 Preston, Lancashire, UK, 9 May 2016
Equipment: ZWO ASI174MM camera, Celestron C11 EdgeHD Schmidt- Equipment: Point Grey Grasshopper3 CCD camera, TEC 140 refractor,
Cassegrain, Celestron CGE Pro mount. Sky-Watcher EQ6 Go-To mount, Solarscope DSF-100 hydrogen-alpha filter.
skyatnightmagazine.com2017
