1 January 2025: A new Galaxy, Double Stars, Cluster and Picture of the Month. Scroll down to take a look.

27 December 2024: Double Star Section Circular (DSSC) 32 is available to download as a PDF.

14 November 2024: Issue 194 of The Deep-Sky Observer (DSO) is now available for subscribers to download

14 November 2024: We have a new Object of the Season for Winter 2024.

Our Annual Meeting

A slight change to the date of our Annual Meeting for 2025 which we hope to hold on Saturday the 28th of June 2025 at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge.

Please note that this date is still provisional and subject to approval by the Institute of Astronomy. We'll add more details here as they become available.

Where to Meet Us

It's going to be a while before the next shows, but we intend to be at Practical Astronomy Show 2025 on Saturday 15th March 2025 and possibly at Kelling Heath Spring Star Party with our stand on Saturday 29th March 2025.

Our Publications

The Webb Deep-Sky Society has a wide range of publications on offer.

Mike Swan's excellent Atlas of Open Star Clusters is now available as a single spiral-bound volume. This has a few additions over his earlier volumes 1 and 2.

Owen has a book out based on his Galaxy of the Month column which adds new information and detailed finder charts.

Issue 194 of The Deep-Sky Observer (DSO) is now available.

Why not join us?

You can now join the Webb Deep-Sky Society online using PayPal. Options include Paper and PDF versions of the Deep-Sky Observer journal, or PDF alone for a reduced price.

Perhaps you'd like to join our groups.io mailing group? Access is limited to members, but you're all welcome.

You can subscribe to our mailing list to receive emailed updates when a new issue is released.

Picture of the Month: IC 342 in Camelopardalis

Spiral Galaxy IC 342 in Camelopardalis courtesy of Josef Pöpsel, Frank Sackenheim and Stefan Binnewies (Capella Observatory)
Image credit: Capella Observatory

A fabulously detailed image of the Hidden Galaxy to start the year. A terrific target for the astrophotographer, possible for the visual observer with good skies and popular with professional astronomers too.

Galaxy of the Month: NGC 1407 in Eridanus

Image credit: Pan-STARRS1 Surveys
Image credit: Pan-STARRS1 Surveys

Owen's selections to start the year are going to be a challenge for UK observers because of their low altitude. Bright enough for even medium size scopes, with a good southern horizon, why not give them a try?

Nebula or Cluster of the Month: NGC 2419 in Lynx

Globular cluster NGC 2419 in Lynx provided by Adam Block
Image credit: Adam Block

A surprisingly distant object to start the year from Patrick. A relative easy target for modest telescopes, but resolving this globular will need a big scope, or a camera, as you can see.

Double Stars of the Month: STTA 66 and HJ 3945

Tiny finder chart for the double star STTA 66 in Taurus
Image credit: created with Cartes du Ciel

A couple of wide pairings from Bob to start 2025. Both are bright and accessible to small telescopes, and the southern pair has some colour to offer. Another pair in Taurus provides a touch of mystery.

Object of the Season: NGC 4038 and NGC 4039

Galaxy Pair NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 in Corvus - Credit: W4sm astro via Wikimedia Commons
Image credit: W4sm astro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wolfgang Steinicke would appreciate your observations of the NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 galaxy pair in Corvus for his Object of the Season column in the Deep-Sky Observer.

The Deep-Sky Observer

The cover of The Deep-Sky Observer 194

Profusely illustrated, The Deep-Sky Observer is printed on art paper. Its magazine format encourages all amateurs to make a contribution to the Society's work.

Double Star Section Circulars

The contents page of Double Star Section Circular 28

Double Star Section Circulars (DSSC) feature the latest techniques and measurements from double star observers around the World. They are available as PDFs for free download.

Observations

M61 in Virgo by David Davies
M61 in Virgo by David Davies

Some observations and images provided by amateur astronomers around the globe. We're happy to receive your images, sketches and observations of the deep-sky made in pursuit of your projects.