Here’s what you’ll find in the April 2020 issue of Australian Sky & Telescope magazine — on sale now at your local newsagent, or you can subscribe to the print or digital edition.
Features:
- Happy birthday Hubble! — The world’s most famous telescope will have racked up three decades of continuous service in orbit this April. We showcase some of its most memorable images.
- Constellation close-up: Argo Navis — This ancient southern stellar grouping was split up to produce some of every stargazer’s favourite constellations.
- Binary worlds — The discovery of a wide variety of binary objects in the Solar System not only surprised astronomers but is now also helping us understand the birth of planetary systems.
- Captain Cook’s astronomy — The celebrated explorer was also a remarkably proficient and prolific astronomer.
- Kepler’s dream, today’s reality — The great astronomer Johannes Kepler played a central role in the eventual evolution of spaceflight.
- Eclipse imaging — Learn this innovative technique to pull out stunning detail in the solar corona.
Observing & exploring:
- Binocular highlight — Collinder 121 — is it one star cluster or two?
- Under the stars — Remembering the Great Comet of 1970.
- Planets — The planetary action is mostly in the morning this month.
- Meteors — How moonlight affects meteor shower observing.
- Comets — How the Queensland town called ‘Comet’ got its name.
- Variable stars — It’s red alert for Betelgeuse.
- The Moon — Will lunar helium one day power the Earth?
- Deep sky — Dive into the Coma galaxy cluster.
- Celestial calendar — It’s Venus versus the Pleiades.
Regular features:
- Astrophotography — We show you how to capture amazing photos of deep sky objects with foreground landscapes in a single exposure.
- Test report — We check out Sky-Watcher’s Esprit 150-mm APO refractor.
- Astronomer’s workbench — How to build a fibreglass telescope.
- Night life — Events and activities for astronomy enthusiasts
Next issue
And here’s what’s coming up in the May/June 2020 issue of Australian Sky & Telescope — on sale on April 16.
- Liquid telescopes — Forget lenses and aluminising; scientists are turning to spinning mirrors made of mercury to study the universe.
- The classic Dobsonian — A long-neglected relic of the 1970s finally sees the light, complete with psychedelic colour scheme.
- Rugged worlds — Spacecraft sent to asteroids Ryugu and Bennu have unveiled bodies with formidable surfaces and mysterious histories.
- Test report — We check out Canon’s EOS R mirrorless cameras, including the new ‘Ra’ model made for astrophotography.
Available from your local newsagent, or subscribe today to the print or digital edition.
