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CONTENTS = on the cover C : I T E R J U P , N A S A /J P LC A LT E C H/S E T I I N S T I T U T E : E U R O PA , R A E L A R R Y N : PA G E I S T H T I . F E LT Ó & P É T E R T H T Ó B E N C E : I M A G E C O V E R E S A / , E S A , I O T O S T U D @ T H E S H E D _ P H O , J H A . E S A /H U B B L E & N A S A /S , N A S A /J P LC A LT E C H E : C L I P P E R , I S T O C K /G E T T Y I E P R O/ S C & E S A S O H O/ N A S A I T Y ) , I V E R S U N I F F ( C A R D E S S O N W . I S T ) R ( A C R C O X . ( U C L ) N B A R L O W . E B B/ N A S A /C S A /M W Features 26 Astronomy photographer C of the year 2024 Feast your eyes as we reveal this year’s stunning winning images 34 Europa Clipper: searching C for life at Jupiter’s icy moon Read about the new frontier in the hunt for life: Europa’s buried ocean 40 Particle physics 101 Dark matter, the mysterious stuff holding the Universe together 60 Maggie’s top 10 JWST images C The Sky at Night presenter picks her incredible Webb favourites 66 Crash scene investigator C Hera, the mission to help stop asteroids before they hit us Regulars 6 Eye on the sky 10 Bulletin 14 Cutting edge 16 Inside The Sky at Night 19 Interactive 23 Field of view 24 Subscribe to BBC Sky C at Night Magazine 72 Explainer 74 Skills for stargazers: How to use setting circles 98 Q&A: a lunar cave explorer Astrophotography 76 Capture 78 Processing 80 Gallery 4 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine October 2024 26 Reviews 86 Altair Starwave Ascent C 70ED bundle 90 ZWO AM5N harmonic drive mount and TC40 tripod 95 Gear 96 Books C 16 -PAGE CENTRE PULLOUT C The Sky Guide 44 Highlights 46 The big three 48 The planets 50 October’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 October at a glance
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New to astronomy? To get started, check out our guides and glossary at www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astronomy-for-beginners 34 FREE BONUS CONTENT Find it at www.skyatnightmagazine. com/bonus-content OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS Inter view: Science of the solar cycle Solar scientist Lucie Green reveals why solar activity is ramping up and what this means for aurora displays. 40 86 66 60 This month’s contributors Gover t Schilling Astronomy author “Dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in science, touching upon both astronomy and particle physics, so it’s a fitting topic for the last part of our Particle Physics 101 course.” Govert talks dark matter on page 40 Maggie AderinPocock Presenter “J W S T has taken some truly spectacular images in the last two years, revealing a previously secret side to our Universe in incredible detail.” Maggie shares her favourite JWST images on page 60 Jenny Winder Science author “My love of forensic science is second only to my love for astronomy. This mission is the ultimate mix of both – a celestial crime scene investigation.” Jenny looks at the Hera mission to combat killer asteroids on page 66 Download and print observing forms Keep track of your observations of the Sun and the planets through the eyepiece with our printable forms. Messier Catalogue deep-sk y wall char t Download our chart detailing every object in the catalogue, including coordinates to find them with your scope. The Vir tual Planetarium Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through the best sights to see in the night sky this month. October 2024 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine 5

CONTENTS

= on the cover C

:

I T E R

J U P

,

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

:

E U R O PA

,

R A E

L A R R Y N

:

PA G E

I S

T H

T I .

F E LT Ó

& P É T E R

T H

T Ó

B E N C E

:

I M A G E

C O V E R

E S A /

,

E S A

,

I O

T O S T U D

@ T H E S H E D _ P H O

,

J H A

.

E S A /H U B B L E & N A S A /S

,

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

:

C L I P P E R

,

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

I E P R O/

S C

& E S A

S O H O/ N A S A

I T Y ) ,

I V E R S

U N

I F F

( C A R D

E S S O N

W

.

I S T ) R

( A C R

C O X

.

( U C L ) N

B A R L O W

.

E B B/ N A S A /C S A /M

W

Features

26 Astronomy photographer

C

of the year 2024

Feast your eyes as we reveal this year’s stunning winning images

34 Europa Clipper: searching

C

for life at Jupiter’s icy moon

Read about the new frontier in the hunt for life: Europa’s buried ocean

40 Particle physics 101

Dark matter, the mysterious stuff holding the Universe together

60 Maggie’s top 10 JWST images

C

The Sky at Night presenter picks her incredible Webb favourites

66 Crash scene investigator

C

Hera, the mission to help stop asteroids before they hit us

Regulars 6 Eye on the sky 10 Bulletin 14 Cutting edge 16 Inside The Sky at Night 19 Interactive 23 Field of view 24 Subscribe to BBC Sky

C

at Night Magazine 72 Explainer 74 Skills for stargazers: How to use setting circles 98 Q&A: a lunar cave explorer

Astrophotography 76 Capture 78 Processing 80 Gallery

4 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine October 2024

26

Reviews 86 Altair Starwave Ascent

C

70ED bundle 90 ZWO AM5N harmonic drive mount and TC40 tripod 95 Gear 96 Books

C

16 -PAGE CENTRE PULLOUT

C

The Sky Guide 44 Highlights 46 The big three 48 The planets 50 October’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 October at a glance

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