The wonders of the night sky in your hands (BBC Sky At Night Magazine)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	BBC Sky At Night Magazine
Date:	06/04/09 (125 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well written, monthly guide to the world of astronomy

Disadvantages: None.

Sky at Night magazine is a companion publication to the very successful BBC 2 series hosted by Sir Patrick Moore and Dr Chris Lintott. The TV programme is the longest running series in the world, and Sir Patrick has only missed one episode of the programme since it launched in 1957. The magazine was launched four years ago and has been quite successful in further promoting astronomy as a hobby.

Part of the reason for the magazine's success is that both Sir Patrick and Chris Lintott, both successful authors as well as presenters, make significant contributions to each issue. In my opinion, the other main reason for the success is that, as a BBC publication, the magazine is able to draw upon the programmes archives. Each magazine is accompanied by a CD-ROM that contains recent full episodes from the series, and sometimes historical ones, too.

The magazine is aimed at the beginner to intermediate level, amateur astronomer. For the beginner, there's articles on the basics of astronomy (such as how to set up a telescope), together with guides on how to observe. For more advanced amateurs, there are in-depth articles on topics such as astrophotography.

For me, the most impressive thing about the magazine is the photography. The BBC is able to get hold of the best images from the world's largest telescopes (such as Hubble). These can be shown as a full or even two page image and are incredibly impressive. Each issue of the magazine has stunning images like these.

The magazine itself is divided into three sections, regulars, features, and a guide to the night sky. Regular topics include articles by Sir Patrick and Chris, a very comprehensive news section with full coverage of recent events, as well as monthly reviews of astronomical kit. These can include side by side comparisons of binoculars or telescopes, for example. There's also a glossary of astronomical terms for the beginner to refer to (I find it annoying when an article assumes I know what a word or phrase means).

The features section presents more in-depth articles. These are, of course, lavishly illustrated with diagrams explaining the text, and more of those wonderful photographs.

Quite advanced and up to date topics are tackled here. Recently, a four page article detailed Stephen Hawking's latest theory on the evolution of the universe. Luckily, despite the mathematical nature of the theory, the article was written in a readable, non-mathematical way, that anyone could understand. The feature articles are a real asset for the magazine. I find I can sit down and read all of them in one sitting (of about an hour).

The guide to the night sky has maps showing what the sky will look like over the coming month (as the Earth moves around the sun, the constellation visible during the night changes over the course of the year).

This section shows where all the planets can be found, and features different astronomical objects to look for using naked eye, binoculars, as well as small and large telescopes. It can be quite satisfying using the sky maps and tracking down the object shown in the magazine. This is a great resource for the amateur.

There are many different objects that can be viewed from your back garden. Whilst you won't see them in the detail shown by the Hubble Space Telescope, it can be awe inspiring to realise that the fuzzy oval you're looking at through binoculars, is over 2 million light years away (the Andromeda galaxy), and that the light you're seeing left Andromeda before the human race began!

Hopefully, you will have realised from my review that I'm seriously impressed with the Sky at Night Magazine. I think it balances the needs of the beginner and the more advanced amateur perfectly. The wonders of the night sky are showcased by some brilliant writers and awesome photographs.

Anyone with an interest in the night sky should consider a subscription. Anyone else picking up the magazine will probably find something of interest in here even if they're not keen on astronomy. Highly recommended.

The magazine costs £4.25 per issue; a typical magazine price. Buying on subscription, however, can bring the price down significantly. Currently there's an offer of 12 issues for £40.80, giving an issue price of £3.40.

Summary: If you want to know more about astronomy, this is a great resource.