Features
18 The second bumbling beginner’s guide Karl Anthony Mercer
to looking at things in space, from Earth, with eyes
20 Starlink – the new vermin of the skies? Stuart Atkinson
27 Observing Mare Orientale Dave Eagle
Regulars
4 Editorial Robin Scagell
4 AstroNews Amber Hornsby
ExoMars lander mission delayed to 2022 Nisha Beerjeraz-Hoyle
Earth has a new (temporary) mini-moon Thom Shutt
A distant blazar and the very first supermassive Gayathri Eknath
black holes
Modelling the Universe with slime mould Amber Loren Hornsby
The shortest “year” for a hot jupiter yet discovered Greg Cooke
9 Citizen Science Alice Sheppard
DIY Radio Telescope
10 Telescope Topics Ian Morison
Newtonians and their derivatives part 2: their mounts
12 Amateur Scene Peter Wade
RAS Fellows celebrate / Liverpool’s bookshelf treasures /
Bristol’s wartime origins / Hampstead’s city observatory /
Loughton List challenge / Out and about
14 How to Matthew Barratt
observe variable stars
16 Book reviews
101 Facts You Didn’t Know About Space Katrin Raynor-Evans
Reflections on a Surprising Universe Martin Griffiths
23 Young Stargazers Osnat Katz
From the Chief Stargazer Lucie Green
A day in the life of an astronomer visiting Nikki Zabel
the IRAM 30-meter telescope
29 Space Exploration Nisha Beerjeraz-Hoyle
Voyager 2 back to normal operations following power
glitch but must fend for self until January 2021 /
China prepares for launch of Long March heavy rocket /
50 years since the ‘successful failure’ of Apollo 13 /
NASA halts work on its new SLS and Orion spacecraft /
New Horizons finds evidence supporting a gentler planet
formation theory / Will the JWST launch in March 2021?
32 What’s up? Robin Scagell
May and June 2020
Focus on Ursa Major
35 Section Reports
Solar Geoff Elston
Variable Star Matthew Barrett
Planetary Alan Clitherow
Deep Sky profiles: Steve Norrie Steve Norrie
Meteor Mark McIntyre
41 The Society Pages
Coronavirus pandemic / SPA meetings /
Heather Couper / How we can all become scientists Robin Scagell / Keith Moseley
How Tycho changed the Universe Robin Scagell
44 Sky Diary
Moon data Mandy Bailey
Occultation notes / Meteor notes Mell Jeffery / Mark McIntyre
Planets / Variable Star notes Alan Clitherow / Matthew Barrett
46 SPA contacts
47 Showcase