Australian Sky and Telescope Magazine July/August 2020

Here’s what you’ll find in the Jul/Aug 2020 issue of Australian Sky & Telescope magazine — on sale now!

FEATURES:

• A midwinter night’s dream — Dark sky campaigners are gearing up for a world-record attempt at measuring light pollution.
• SWAN hunting — Aussie amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo has claimed his eighth comet discovery using SOHO space mission data.
• Stellar archaeology — Astronomers are illuminating the universe’s early days by studying chemical patterns in the oldest stars.
• Finding Jupiter’s moons — Learn how the discovery of the Jovian satellites changed the course of history.
• Treasures of the Sharpless Catalogue — Sample some of the delights of the first major catalogue of nebulae.
• A curious straight ray — Join Howard Banich on his endeavour to observe and sketch the relativistic jet in galaxy Messier 87.
• Deep sky video — With just a little technology, you can see farther and share the view.

OBSERVING & EXPLORING:

• Binocular highlight — Spot the ‘Spindle Galaxy’.
• Under the stars — Ophiuchus and other sky oddities.
• Planets — When and where to see the planets.
• Meteors — Winter targets for meteor observers.
• Comets — Some old and new comets to see.
• Variable stars — U Scorpii is due to blow its top soon.
• Exploring the Moon — Learn how to see normally hidden farside features.
• Deep sky — Technology can help you see through cosmic dust.
• Solar System — Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto all reach opposition in July.
• Celestial calendar — One of the best showings of Mars in decades begins now.

REGULAR FEATURES:

• Test report #1 — The Optolong L-eNhance filter permits imaging of nebulae with colour cameras even under lightpolluted conditions.
• Test report #2 — The QHY600M 60-megapixel camera is giving us a taste of the future today.
• Astronomer’s workbench — See why pipe-fitting mounts are an old idea that is still going strong.
• Night life — Events and activities for astronomy enthusiasts

…and much more.