WELCOME

ISSUE 138

Future

FOUR DIGITAL EDITIONS OF HISTORY OF WAR

Early days of star formation

© NASA The newest space telescope on the

New view of the Cone Nebula

© ESO A dramatic new image of the

Turbulent times in a stellar nursery

Two puffs of star-making material exude mystical glows

Cosmic leftovers reveal that galactic cannibal Andromeda feasts on smaller galaxies

The Andromeda Galaxy has likely been growing by

NASA awards Texas company $57 million for a lunar construction system

A nascent off-Earth construction system just got a

A lab -grown black hole may prove Stephen Hawking’s most challenging theory right

An illustration of a black hole Scientists have

China completes the world’s largest solar telescope array, with a whopping 313 dishes

China has completed construction of what is now

Futureplc

futureplc.com

UNMISSABLE SPACE EVENTS 2023

There are many astronomy events and space missions to look forward to over the next 12 months

ASTEROID NETS

A space fishing trip could capture an asteroid and bring it closer to Earth to study

“All missions are unique and interesting”

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing for its first-ever mission to Jupiter’s moons. All About Space speaks to the mission’s project scientist, Olivier Witasse, to find out why the Galilean satellites are so appealing

NASA’S PERSEVERANCE ROVER OPENS A WINDOW TO MARS’ WATERY PAST

The Perseverance rover is approaching its one-year anniversary since landing on 18 February 2021

DARK ENERGY?

The universe’s expansion is accelerating under the influence of a mysterious force, but could this emerge from multiple sources?

LIVES OF THE ANIMAL ASTRONAUTS

These creatures boldly went where few humans had gone before

X-RAY VIEW SHOWS HOW SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES SPEED UP PARTICLES IN JETS

Blazars are powered by immensely active galatic centres that fire beams of particles into space

UNRAVELLING ANCIENT SOL AR SYSTEMS

The discovery of a white dwarf with high levels of lithium and potassium has provided fresh insights into early planet formation

Do smaller stars generally host smaller planets?

Planets form from the constant accumulation of material

What Earth-like features does Titan have?

The Huygens lander reached Titan’s surface in 2005

How do we know the universe’s age?

The expansion of the universe reveals its

How close would a supernova have to be to destroy life?

If a supernova were to go off within

Why are there no gas moons?

Of all the moons in our Solar System,

What exists outside our observable cosmos?

There are some questions that science just can’t

What do radio observations reveal about the centre of the Milky Way?

© NASA/JPL; ESO ; Getty; Virgin Galactic Radio

ASTROPHOT FOR BEGINNERS TOGRAPHY

Learn the art of photographing the night sky with All About Space

KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT

Here’s a guide to the kit you’ll need for your astrophotography adventures

PLAN YOUR SHOOT

Check the weather Keep a close eye on

GET A STAR-PACKED IMAGE

Easy steps for great results

CAPTURE STUNNING NIGHTSCAPES

Shoot incredible night-sky shots with minimal equipment

How you can image the majesty of the Milky Way

Without question, the Milky Way is one of

CREATE A STAR TRAIL

Capture the world in motion with these easy steps

PICK THE BEST SPOT

You might already have a location in mind

NIGHTSCAPES AT A GLANCE

Constellations Exposure: 15 to 40 seconds Aperture: f/2

SHOOT CELESTIAL BODIES

Whether the Moon or planets are your target, here are the essentials you need to get the best outcome

THE BASICS OF NIGHT-SKY SHOOTS

If you don’t have a DSLR camera, don’t

BRING THE DEEP SKY TO YOU

Further afield there are galaxies and nebulae galore

DOES THE SUN STAY STILL IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?

We tend to think of our star as the stationary centre of our system, but the planets do make it wobble

GAIA

For nine years, this Milky Way mapper has pinpointed over a billion stars to create an expansive dataset

A LOPSIDED STAR CLUSTER MAY DISPROVE NEWTON AND EINSTEIN’S THEORIES

An uneven distribution of stars in several nearby clusters may offer evidence of MOND – acontroversial theory of gravity that rejects the existence of dark matter

In this issue...

What’s in the sky? 78 Ring in the

WHAT’S IN THE SKY?

What to look out for during this observing period

Jargon buster

Conjunction An alignment of objects at the same

PLANETARIUM

MOON CALENDAR The Moon does not pass the

THIS MONTH’S PLANETS

Venus takes pride of place in the evening sky as we head into the New Year

WOLF

Finding this lunar crater won’t leave you howling with frustration on cold January nights

NAKED EYE AND BINOCULAR TARGETS

How to see sparkling stars and distant misty galaxies this month

OBSERVE THE UNICORN’S SPARKLING TREASURES

Winter skies are rich in deep-sky objects for your telescope to hunt down and enjoy. Here are just a select few

THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

The New Year has arrived, with some of the very best night-sky targets

ASTROSHOTS OF THE MONTH

BASUDEB CHAKRABARTI Location: Yousmarg, Kashmir “Deep-scape images line

SKY-WATCHER EXPLORER 130

A Newtonian reflector that’s versatile, affordable and optically impressive with an equatorial mount to view Solar System objects, double stars and deep-sky targets

IN THE SHOPS: DEEP-SPACE TELESCOPES

Use one of the best telescopes for deep space to tour the universe

WERNHER VON BRAUN

The father of rocket science went from working for the Nazis to becoming an American space hero