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BASIL August 2025

The front cover shows the dark matter distribution of a Milky Way mass halo in a Lambda-cold dark matter (LCDM) cosmological simulation (see p23 for more info).

Key topics for the month include:

• The Perseid meteor shower will be active from 17 July to 24 August, producing its peak rate of meteors around 12 August
• 12 August: Venus 0.9° from Jupiter (morning)
• 31 August: Ganymede's shadow transits Jupiter
• Observe Rupes Recta on the Moon with a small telescope
• 18 DSO observing targets are listed for the month
• Observe the well known Dumbbell Nebula (M27) during the month
• Constellation of the month is Vulpecula, which is well placed to observe

See the included links for the latest astronomy news topics:

• Michele Dougherty becomes first female Astronomer Royal
• Newly discovered interstellar object 'may be oldest comet ever seen'
• The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought (front cover)
• BAA Deep Sky Update – June 2025
• BAA Lunar Section Circular – July 2025
• ESA Webb traces details of complex planetary nebula
• ESA Week in images: 21-25 July 2025
• NASA Newsletter
• Webb Series: Finding the First Galaxies (Podcast)
• New long-period radio transient discovered
• AI uncovers subsurface entrances on the moon
• FAS August Newsletter

See pages 24-5 for images of Messier 3 and the Heron Galaxy, taken by BAS member Chris Lee.

Society News includes the programme of meeting and events up to the end of the year and an update on the Failand Observatory.

Finally, Albert Einstein said:

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day"