All About Space

In June 2012, the very first issue of All About Space was launched – and I remember it like it was yesterday. At the time I was serving as a staff writer for UK magazine Astronomy Now, but I was immediately intrigued by its energy, vibrant design and

The Earth can offer some equally stunning sights by telescope, and this birds-eye view of Tromsø, Norway, is imaged here by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite. This colourful combination shows the mountains of the Scand

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a roughly Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of its host star, the zone of orbital distances where liquid water could be stable on a world’s surface. The newfound exoplanet, known a

NASA’s next flagship space telescope is still on track for a launch in March 2021 despite longstanding scheduling concerns, according to agency personnel. The James Webb Space Telescope has been notoriously prone to delays and cost overruns, but duri

Researchers released simulations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) – a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way – and found that cosmic rays from a starburst event are starting to rip it apart. One of the many by-products of starburst violence is the prod

Astronomers kicked off 2020 by welcoming the 30th anniversary of NASA’s venerable Hubble Space Telescope at their largest annual gathering. During the first full day of the 235th American Astronomical Society conference, a team of scientists affiliat

What happens inside a black hole? That is a question that has long plagued astronomers, with numerous theories put forward, and numerous problems. Black holes have a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. This leads to

A massive star is born in a cloud of dust and gas: a nebula. If the star is at least 10 to 20 times the mass of the Sun, it will have the chance of forming a black hole. As the giant star reaches the end of its life, it runs out of fuel. When this ha

Studies of Venus can be traced back to the ancient Babylonians in 1600 BCE. They tracked the movement of several planets and stars. The oldest astronomical document on record is a Babylonian diary of Venus appearances over a 21-year period. Venus pla

Researchers want to understand every planet in the Solar System. Efforts in the late-20th century showed that Venus is a difficult planet to observe remotely from the surface, but with new technologies and a better understanding comes innovative expl

First of all, congratulations on winning the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics. For those who don’t know the story already, could you please give us a brief recap of the discovery of 51 Pegasi b? What were your intentions going into the research? How did y

4 October 1957 became one of the most important dates in space exploration when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik. It was the day the Space Age officially began, but an otherwise glorious technological achievement brought with it an unfo

“When I was told we’d be launching a space magazine I was super excited, and I was thrilled to be asked to work on it! Getting it out of the door wasn’t easy though. It was a lot of late nights, and a lot of takeaways. But when we finally had issue 1

The Milky Way is home to billions of stars, and the universe is home to billions of galaxies. In the vast and infinite cosmos, our star – the Sun – has created a residential spot we call the Solar System. The Sun is the true centre of the Solar Syste

Sending missions to the Sun isn’t the same as sending a mission to another planet. The Sun’s radiation makes it near impossible to get up close and personal. There have been many satellites launched with the purpose of observing and understanding the

Hubble’s snap of a majestic, giant cosmic soap bubble was selected to mark Hubble’s 26th year in space. This seven-light-year-wide bubble, also known as NGC 7635, can be found some 8,000 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. Within the bu

Testing of the prototype focuses on how the explorer operates in the ice-water interface and makes sure it maintains buoyancy. The robotic explorer may need to survive for months underneath an ice sheet between ten and 19 kilometres (six and 12 miles

The universe is a gorgeous place, but some images have a greater power to stop you in your tracks than others. “Hoag’s Object is fascinating because of its aesthetic value; it’s just a beautiful thing,” Dr Noah Brosch tells All About Space about one

Not much chance at all. But a trip to a black hole – that is, to the vicinity of a black hole – is not a problem. If you go to the event horizon you will go inside and very probably perish, but if you go near the black hole and if the black hole is b

By looking at how the light from distant bright objects is bent, researchers have increased the discrepancy between different methods for calculating the expansion rate of the universe. “The measurements are consistent with indicating a crisis in cos

NGC 2936 is 326 million light years away and it resembles a penguin, porpoise or dolphin depending on whose opinion you seek. It’s actually a two-galaxy system, with an egg-shaped galaxy beneath called NGC 2937. NGC 4594 is known as the Sombrero bec

If you can observe from somewhere dark then the summertime Milky Way is one of the most stunning sights you will ever see in the night sky. The further south you go the better, because the brightest parts of the Milky Way are found in southern conste

It’s easy to forget the true beauty and splendour of the Milky Way galaxy. With acres of countryside being torn down in favour of cities, the change in our planet’s landscape can only really mean one thing: light pollution. This yellow-orange hue pla

Moving upwards away from the summer constellations of Cygnus and below, the Milky Way begins to lose some of its lustre as it starts to thin out compared to the densely star-packed region around the galaxy’s centre. It is still impressive to see thou

During this much colder time of the year, we can enjoy the longer hours of night for extended tours and observations of targets in the night sky. Sadly, winter isn’t the best time of year to observe the Milky Way as our planet only looks towards the

Powerful, portable, versatile: these are just some of the words used to describe the Celestron NexStar Evolution 8, which offers superb views of everything from the Moon and planets to deep-sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae. With the help of t

A conjunction is an alignment of objects at the same celestial longitude. The conjunction of the Moon and the planets is determined with reference to the Sun. A planet is in conjunction with the Sun when it and Earth are aligned on opposite sides of

This month’s tour destination is, in the opinion of many Moon enthusiasts, the most spectacular feature on the surface of Earth’s satellite. It resembles nothing less than an enormous archery target bullseye on the Moon – but frustratingly, we can’t

Mercury is our Planet of the Month this issue because it won’t appear as bright in the evening sky again for the rest of the year. Mercury is considered by many astronomy enthusiasts and professional planetary astronomers to be a ‘forgotten planet’,

This bright-orange star, marking the shoulder of Orion, the Hunter, is the ninth-brightest in the sky. It’s a supergiant star, so big that it would stretch halfway to Jupiter if it replaced our own much smaller Sun. It lies 500 light years away. The

Spring is just around the corner, but if you’re willing and able to stay up late on these still-chilly February evenings you can enjoy some of its deep-sky delights a little early. Throughout this month the eastern sky will be dominated by the Sphinx

For the price, the XLT 120 is of exceptional quality, especially if you are a keen observer of Solar System targets such as the planets and our Moon. Since you don’t need tools to set up the telescope, it takes a mere five to ten minutes to put it to

Cost: £25.00 / $26.99 (Hardback) From: Melville House This in-depth work of reportage dares to ask what’s at stake in privatising outer space. Earth is in trouble – so dramatically that we’re now scrambling to explore space for valuable resources and

If you happen to be looking up at the night sky this month and catch a glimpse of the International Space Station (ISS) hurtling through the stars, take a second to comprehend that there are six astronauts on there doing incomparable work. One of the