Aurora and other sky glows
Sometimes, if you are lucky and live in the right part of the world, you will see the sky lit up by a natural glow called the aurora borealis.
Comets – ghostly wanderers
The changing appearance of planets in the sky is generally predictable. But occasional celestial visitors called comets can spring a surprise.
Nebulae, clusters and galaxies
As well as stars and planets, you can observe some of the brighter galaxies, star clusters and nebulae in the night sky.
The Moon – our close neighbour
The Moon is one of the easiest and most satisfying objects to observe. We are able to see more detail on its surface than any other body.
Meteors – see ‘shooting stars’
Meteors, commonly known as shooting stars, are a popular observing activity for beginners because you don’t need a telescope.
Celestial hide and seek
An occultation is the phenomenon where one celestial body passes in front of another to hide it – like a kind of cosmic hide-and-seek.
The planets
Some of the planets that orbit the Sun along with our own Earth are easy to spot in the night sky and make fine targets for a small telescope.
The Sun
Astronomy is often thought of as a nighttime activity, but there is one object you can observe during the day – the Sun.
Variable stars
Stars are not all unchanging points of light. Many vary in their brightness, for various reasons. They are known, unsurprisingly, as variable stars.