BBC Sky at Night September 2023

Later this month, OSIRIS-REx will return to Earth and complete the final stage of its seven-year-long mission by sending a small circular capsule down from orbit to land in the deserts of Utah. Inside is an important payload: pristine sample material collected from its target in deep space, asteroid Bennu. In our feature on page 66, features editor Ezzy Pearson looks at what will happen to these samples from another world once they're back on Earth and the secrets that planetary scientists expect the space rocks to reveal about the early Solar System. If the OSIRIS-REx capsule's fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere was to happen at night and in a less remote location, it may well have made it into our feature on page 34 too. Here, astronomer and writer…

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Television Find out what The Sky at Night team have been exploring in recent and past episodes on page 18 Visit our website for competitions, astrophoto galleries, observing guides and more Social media Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for space news, astro images and website updates Podcasts Discover the best things to see in the night sky every week by listening to our Star Diary podcast Tablet/phone Get each month's issue on your Apple or Android device, now with bonus image galleries eNewsletter The best targets to observe each week, delivered to your inbox. Visit bit.ly/skynewsletter Online Find out more at: www.skyatnightmagazine.com…

Katrin Raynor Astronomy writer “Darker skies are on their way and there's a lot to look forward to, including a comet, a partial lunar eclipse and the return of every stargazer's favourite, Orion”. Discover autumn's unmissable sights on page 28 Ezzy Pearson Features editor “OSIRIS-REx is the latest mission to bring back pieces of space rock, but it won't be the last. With missions heading to the Moon and Mars, it's an exciting time for sample returns!” Read all about the rock hunters on page 66 Steve Tonkin Binocular astronomer “Starhopping not only helps you navigate the night sky with ease, it also helps you learn how constellations relate to each other. You'll quickly build up a familiarity with the night sky.” Learn how to do it on page 72…

SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS Interview: Pulsars and spacetime ripples Dr Michael Keith explains how changes in spinning stars called pulsars help us detect gravitational waves. Is There Anybody Out There? Watch this episode of The Sky at Night which explores how we might communicate with extraterrestrial life. Interview: Echo of the Big Bang Cosmologist Erminia Calabrese reveals how the cosmic microwave background can be used to study the Universe. The Virtual Planetarium Is There Anybody Out There?…

VLT SURVEY TELESCOPE, 27 JUNE 2023 Contrary to popular myth, not all ginger cats are toms. Some are female – and some, like Sh2-284, are huge swirling clouds of gas and dust located some 15,000 lightyears from Earth in the constellation of Monoceros. Pictured here in sharper detail than ever before, thanks to the efforts of scientists working at the VLT Survey Telescope on Cerro Paranal, Chile, the stellar nursery known as Sh2-284 has been nicknamed the Smiling Cat Nebula thanks to its (admittedly somewhat tenuous) resemblance to a feline face. At its heart – or just below the cat's nose, if you will – lies a cluster of young stars called Dolidze 25. Hydrogen in the surrounding gas and dust clouds is ionised by the radiation coming from powerful,…