What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what’s on view in our monthly stargazing guide. <\/p>
What’s in the night sky tonight?<\/p>
Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can’t always plan when and where we’re going to get the chance to gaze upwards.<\/p>
Busy schedules, light pollution<\/a>, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.<\/p> So when you do find the time, you’ll need to know what’s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.<\/p> Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners<\/a> and astronomy for beginners<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> Here’s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.<\/p> Our guide is centred around what’s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.<\/p> In our guide, we useUniversal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT<\/p> We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).<\/p> These coordinates are the night sky\u2019s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial \u2018globe\u2019.<\/p> For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates<\/a>.<\/p> For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze<\/a> or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> If you’re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>