The birth of the Universe

Astronomer Tom Killestein reveals how the public can help him on his mission to find stellar explosions via the Kilonova Seekers project, and reveals its first major discovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We reveal how to see the ‘blood Moon’ total lunar eclipse in September 2025, and explain the best dates and times to see the planets of the Solar System in the sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Vera C Rubin Observatory is set to be a game-changer in our understanding of key ideas such as the expansion of the Universe and the distribution of matter in distant galaxies. But how will it do all this? We spoke to astronomer Dani Leonard, who is working with the Rubin Observatory, to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The best things to see in the night sky this month, including Venus and Jupiter’s close approach, Uranus’s meeting with the Pleiades, Saturn and Neptune’s nightly tango and the low-down full Moon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal how to observe Saturn, Venus and the rest of the planets, the Moon's meeting with the Pleiades and Antares, the Southern Aquarid meteor shower and the best deep-sky objects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astronomer Hidde Jense has seen cosmic light from just after the Big Bang. He reveals what it tells us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find out how to see bright planet Venus in the early morning before sunrise, and track the Red Planet Mars as it passes near Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Our new monthly version of Star Diary is hosted by Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astronomer Martin Guerrero reveals the mysterious x-ray signals coming from the Eye of God Nebula, that could indicate a planet is being torn apart by a dying star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, a partial solar eclipse will be visible across the UK. Find out how you can safely see the momentous occasion for yourself by listening to the latest episode of Star Diary, the podcast from the makers of Sky at Night Magazine. Transcript Learn to observe our nearest star, the Sun, in our upcoming online masterclass series   Subscribe to BBC Sky at Night Magazine and submit your astrophotography images over on our website: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are we alone? It’s one of the humanity’s fundamental questions. Could one of the 6,000 known exoplanets beyond our Solar System host an alien species? Lisa Kaltenegger has spent her career trying to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices