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CONTENTS

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FeaturesFeatures

Features

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I M AG ES. T H

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J/N ASA /SAO

I M AG ES, JA X A /N AO

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28 Predicting the Sun’s solar cycle

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Just how do experts forecast the Sun’s activity in Solar Cycle 25?

34 Parliament’s plan to

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preserve dark skies

What a group of MPs proposes to tighten the laws on light pollution

36 20 years of WMAP

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The NASA mission mapped the early Universe in amazing detail

60 A beginner’s guide to

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planetary imaging

Capture the Solar System’s worlds

66 The people who process

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the cosmos

Re-editing space mission images

Regulars 6 Eye on the sky 10 Bulletin 16 Cutting edge 18 Inside The Sky at Night 20 Interactive 23 What’s on 25 Field of view 26 Subscribe to BBC Sky

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at Night Magazine 72 Explainer 74 DIY Astronomy 98 Q&A: an astronaut geneticist

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Astrophotography 76 Capture 78 Processing 80 Gallery

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Reviews 86 Altair Hypercam 115M

Mono TEC cooled CMOS camera 90 Omegon MightyMak 60

Mini Dobsonian telescope 94 Books 96 Gear

16-PAGE CENTRE PULLOUT

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The Sky Guide 44 Highlights 46 The big three 48 The planets 50 June’s all-sky chart 52 Moonwatch 53 Comets and asteroids 53 Star of the month 54 Binocular tour 55 The Sky Guide challenge 56 Deep-sky tour 58 June at a glance

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4 BBC Sky at Night Magazine June 2021