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

21 April 2025: New images of Messier 82 and Sextans A by David Davies

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

Our Annual Meeting

Our Annual Meeting for 2025 will be held on Saturday the 28th of June 2025 at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge.

We have finalised all of the details of this year's Annual Meeting with a schedule for the talks and price of entry.

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 added a Volume 2 to his Galaxy of the Month book series. We have a special price for those that choose to buy both volumes.

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: Star-forming nebula CB130-3

An image of the star-forming nebula CB130-3 in Serpens Cauda courtesy of ESA/Hubble, NASA & STScI, C. Britt, T. Huard, A. Pagan
Image credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA & STScI, C. Britt, T. Huard, A. Pagan

I really was going to bring you an amateur image this month, but I couldn't get permission in time. The professional substitute isn't bad though, and I've stuck with star formation and clouds of dust.

Galaxy of the Month: NGC 4278 in Coma Berenices

Image credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
Image credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)

A tight group of galaxies that will provide a test for observers using a range of telescope apertures from Owen. The bright skies are arriving for northern astronomers, so have a go while you can.

Nebula or Cluster of the Month: NGC 188 in Cepheus

Open cluster NGC 188 in Cepheus by Patrick Maloney
Image credit: Patrick Maloney

Patrick's struggling for objects again, but he's broken his own rules for this unusual open cluster. Accessible to small telescopes, it's well worth closer study, and more aperture if you have it.

Double Stars of the Month: STF 1843 and φ Vir

Tiny finder chart for the double star phi Virginis in Virgo
Image credit: created with Cartes du Ciel

Bob has a bright and even double for small telescopes in Boötes this month, whilst his choice in Virgo is distinctly unequal. There's a serious challenge for large telescopes too.

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.