Astrophotography is often described as a mix of art and science, and nowhere is that more true than when you're diving into the technical numbers behind your imaging session. While the beauty of a final image might capture hearts, it’s the data behind the scenes that determines its quality. These numbers are the silent narrators of your night under the stars. Understanding and monitoring them can make or break your imaging session. These seven numbers are: HFR, RMS, Mean ADU, SQM, Star Count, Eccentricity and SNR.

On February 28, 2025, spave enthusiasts are in for a rare celestial treat: a "planetary parade" featuring seven planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, visible in the night sky simultaneously. This extraordinary alignment won't occur again until 2040, making it a must-see event for astronomy enthusiasts.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the largest and most powerful space telescope built to date. Since it was launched in December 2021 it has provided groundbreaking insights. These include discovering the earliest and most distant known galaxies, which existed just 300 million years after the Big Bang.

Humans are naturally afraid of the dark. We sometimes imagine monsters under the bed and walk faster down unlit streets at night. To conquer our fears, we may leave a night light on to scare away the monsters and a light over the porch to deter break-ins.

In recent decades, we’ve learnt huge amounts about the universe and its history. The rapidly developing technology of telescopes – both on Earth and in space – has been a key part of this process, and those that are due to start operating over the next two decades should push the boundaries of our understanding of cosmology much further.