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34 CONTENTS = on the cover C Features @ T H E S H E D _ , L AW R E N C E P E T E , I M A G E S I S T O C K /G E T T Y O V E R S N A P/ : PA G E I S T H . G A R L I C K M A R K : I M A G E C O V E R I M A G E S/J A X A / I S T O C K /G E T T Y C O B A LT 8 8/ , L I B R A R Y/A L A M Y T O P H O I E N C E G A R L I C K /S C M A R K , I O T O S T U D P H O I M A G E S I S T O C K /G E T T Y WA C K E R H A U S E N / J A C O B , I Z O N A O F A R I T Y I V E R S N A S A /J P LC A LT E C H/U N 28 The planets return C They’re back! All the planetary events you won’t want to miss 34 Season of the supermoon C Everything you ever wanted to know about our Moon 40 Particle physics 101 Supersymmetry – what is it and does it solve everything? 60 10 strangest things in our Solar System Weird and wonderful phenomena on our cosmic doorstep 66 Bringing back pieces of a Mars moon C Read how Japan aims to land on and sample the moon Phobos Regulars 6 Eye on the sky 10 Bulletin 16 Cutting edge 18 Inside The Sky at Night 20 Interactive 25 Field of view 26 Subscribe to BBC Sky C C at Night Magazine 72 Explainer 74 Skills for stargazers: How to C ‘discover’ a comet or asteroid 98 Q&A: a black hole detective Astrophotography 76 Capture 78 Processing 80 Gallery Reviews 86 Ursa Major multicoated flatfield eyepieces 90 Vaonis Hestia smartphone- based telescope 95 Gear 96 Books C C 16 -PAGE CENTRE PULLOUT The Sky Guide 44 Highlights 46 The big three 48 The planets 50 September’s all-sky chart 52 Moonwatch 53 Comets and asteroids 53 Star of the month 54 Binocular tour 55 The Sky Guide challenge 56 Deep-sky tour 58 September at a glance 4 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine September 2024
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New to astronomy? To get started, check out our guides and glossary at www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astronomy-for-beginners 28 FREE BONUS CONTENT Find it at www.skyatnightmagazine. com/bonus-content SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS Inter view: A histor y of flying saucers Historian Greg Eghigian takes a factual look at global accounts reporting strange objects in the sky 86 60 40 66 This month’s contributors Nicky Fox NASA head of science Pete Lawrence Astronomy exper t Steve Tonkin Binocular astronomer “I really enjoy being in and around space missions. The technology is really inspiring and when you hear about the science the missions are going to do, it’s just incredible.” NASA’s head of science talks about her role at the agency on page 18 “Been missing the planets? I know I have. But now they’re back and with some rare planetary events too. The remainder of 2024 is about to get very exciting!” Pete gives you the highlights ahead on page 28 “For this article I was guided by the question: ‘What are the tips and tricks that I wish I’d been given when I started out using binoculars?’” Read Steve’s expert advice on stargazing with binoculars on page 72 Download and print observing forms Keep track of your observations of the Sun and the planets through the eyepiece with our printable forms The planets return in autumn 2024 Tables showing times and dates for the planets for the rest of the year, including conjunctions and occultations The Vir tual Planetarium Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through the best sights to see in the night sky this month September 2024 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine 5

34

CONTENTS

= on the cover C

Features

@ T H E S H E D _

,

L AW R E N C E

P E T E

,

I M A G E S

I S T O C K /G E T T Y

O V E R S N A P/

:

PA G E

I S

T H

.

G A R L I C K

M A R K

:

I M A G E

C O V E R

I M A G E S/J A X A /

I S T O C K /G E T T Y

C O B A LT 8 8/

,

L I B R A R Y/A L A M Y

T O

P H O

I E N C E

G A R L I C K /S C

M A R K

,

I O

T O S T U D

P H O

I M A G E S

I S T O C K /G E T T Y

WA C K E R H A U S E N /

J A C O B

,

I Z O N A

O F A R

I T Y

I V E R S

N A S A /J P LC A LT E C H/U N

28 The planets return

C

They’re back! All the planetary events you won’t want to miss

34 Season of the supermoon

C

Everything you ever wanted to know about our Moon

40 Particle physics 101

Supersymmetry – what is it and does it solve everything?

60 10 strangest things in our Solar System

Weird and wonderful phenomena on our cosmic doorstep

66 Bringing back pieces of a Mars moon

C

Read how Japan aims to land on and sample the moon Phobos

Regulars 6 Eye on the sky 10 Bulletin 16 Cutting edge 18 Inside The Sky at Night 20 Interactive 25 Field of view 26 Subscribe to BBC Sky

C

C

at Night Magazine 72 Explainer 74 Skills for stargazers: How to

C

‘discover’ a comet or asteroid 98 Q&A: a black hole detective

Astrophotography 76 Capture 78 Processing 80 Gallery

Reviews 86 Ursa Major multicoated flatfield eyepieces 90 Vaonis Hestia smartphone-

based telescope 95 Gear 96 Books

C

C

16 -PAGE CENTRE PULLOUT

The Sky Guide 44 Highlights 46 The big three 48 The planets 50 September’s all-sky chart 52 Moonwatch 53 Comets and asteroids 53 Star of the month 54 Binocular tour 55 The Sky Guide challenge 56 Deep-sky tour 58 September at a glance

4 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine September 2024

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