Join our search for these summer showstoppers
Spread from west to east across the southern half of the sky in August are six of the most alluring planetary nebulae. They include the Helix Nebula, our cover image, pictured in infrared by the Spitzer Space Telescope and ultraviolet by GALEX. These curious objects are the remnants of stars like our own Sun, which have thrown off their outer layers in the final stage of their lives. You can take Stuart Atkinson’s tour and discover them for yourself.
The 18th-century astronomers who named these objects ‘planetary’ nebula were mistaken by the objects’ appearance in the low-resolution telescopes of the time, but there’s no mistaking the planets to have made it into the Exoplanet Archive. This definitive list of worlds outside the Solar System reached a milestone recently, when the 5,000th entry was confirmed. Ezzy Pearson digs into the Archive to discover how representative it is of the overall population of planets in our Galaxy, and how the next milestone of 10,000 planets is set to arrive incredibly soon.
Turning to our Solar System’s planets, read how Saturn with its magnificent rings reaches opposition around mid-month, putting in its brightest appearance for the current period of visibility.
Some may bemoan its relatively low altitude (20º) and the bright Moon nearby when the planet reaches opposition on 14 August, but nevertheless, it still shines brightly all month and, with its ring angle still wide, this true wonder of nature is well worth taking a look at.
Enjoy the issue!
PS Our next issue goes on sale on Thursday 11 August.