Starwatch: Saturn’s yellowish hue will stand out during close encounter with moon
Moon passing close by will coincide with Saturn’s retrograde motion
May 2024
Six planets to appear in alignment next week in rare celestial parade
Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus will be visible but viewers may need some equipment to see them clearly
February 2024
Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon has hidden ocean under its crust, say scientists
Calculations suggest a 45-mile-deep internal body of water lurks beneath Mimas’s 15-mile-thick icy shell
January 2024
Starwatch
Starwatch: Saturn is the crescent moon’s planetary companion
Look for the distant giant shortly after the sun sets and light starts to drain from the sky
November 2023
Starwatch
Starwatch: Saturn and moon to star in beautiful conjunction
Giant gas planet will appear as pale yellow dot of light in nice contrast to silvery moon
June 2023
Starwatch
Starwatch: the last-quarter moon rises close to Saturn
Moon and planet will climb into the sky in early hours of 10 June until dawn washes Saturn from view
May 2023
Astronomers see 6,000-mile water vapour plume blasting from Saturn moon
Saturn regains status as planet with most moons in solar system
March 2023
‘It’s like finding needles in a haystack’: the mission to discover if Jupiter’s moons support life
The European Space Agency’s Juice mission launches next month, flying closer to icy moons – including Ganymede, the solar system’s largest – than ever before
January 2023
Starwatch
Starwatch: Venus outshines Saturn in twilight conjunction
Planetary pairing will be visible to naked eye from across the globe
September 2022
Saturn’s rings could be remains of moon that strayed too close, say scientists
Theory of inner satellite ripped apart by gas giant’s gravity 100-200m years ago also explains rings’ relative youth
Starwatch
Starwatch: it is a great time to search the skies for Capricorn
This week the brightest objects in the constellation are the planet Saturn and the star Deneb Algedi
Starwatch
Starwatch: a pleasing view of Jupiter and the moon to greet the new season
The nights are drawing in to help stargazers, and this pair will be brilliantly bright
August 2022
Starwatch
Starwatch: Saturn makes its closest approach to Earth of the year
Earth undertakes the ringed planet every 378 days, passing directly between it and the sun
June 2022
Rare sight for amateur astronomers as five planets align
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible in order of their distance from the sun from Friday
April 2022
Jupiter and Venus will seem to nearly collide in rare celestial spectacle
Starwatch
Starwatch: Saturn and Mars are skulking low in the sky
December 2021
Starwatch
Starwatch: Jupiter, Saturn and Venus chart the moon’s movement
Jupiter and Saturn will showcase the moon’s phases with Venus providing additional markers along the way
July 2021
Starwatch
Starwatch: another moon cruise past Jupiter and Saturn
Low in the south, the planets are slowly moving apart following December’s great conjunction
June 2021
Scotland’s first female astronomer royal looks to open the universe to all
Renowned astrophysicist Prof Catherine Heymans hopes to broaden the appeal of her white male-dominated field
