Welcome
Discover why cosmic carnage is good news for astronomers
As you would expect for a subject that studies nature on the grandest of scales, there are many branches of astronomy, from planetary science to stellar physics, galactic astronomy and cosmology. But there’s one thing that unites scientists working across them all: their passion for things that go bang. We dig into some of the most cataclysmic explosions on page 28, with the UK Space Agency’s Head of Space Science, Dr Caroline Harper, who explains what we get from events like supernovae and gamma-ray bursts (quite apart from them making great cover images). We also take a look at something we cannot see at all – dark matter. On page 35, Colin Stuart puts the mysterious substance on the stand and asks: does it even exist? Since astronomers suspect that there’s five times more of it in the Universe than there is ordinary, visible matter, it’s a question of fundamental importance to our understanding of the cosmos.
Moving away from the invisible, there are plenty of exciting things to see in the night sky this month. At the time of writing, comet A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS has survived its close brush with the Sun and all indications are for a good show for Northern Hemisphere observers from mid-October into November. All the bright planets are reaching a decent altitude in evening skies too, and there’s even the chance to see spellbinding interactions between Saturn and its moons. Catch up with the month’s best observing in the Sky Guide from page 43.
Enjoy the issue!
Chris Bramley, Editor
PS Our next issue goes on sale on Thursday 14 November.
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Sky at Night – lots of ways to enjoy the night sky…
Television
Find out what The Sky at Night team have been exploring in recent and past episodes on page 18
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November 2024 BBC Sk y at Night Magazine
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