The hottest astronomy news stories from recent years, a round-up of the best new products and a complete night-sky observing guide for 2003.

This 132-page special issue, put together by the staff of Astronomy Now magazine, chronicles the latest developments in some of the most facinating fields of astronomy and astrophysics – including the search for planets orbiting other stars, the origin of the Universe, and the prospects for life on Mars and beyond.

We've gathered together some of the UK's leading amateur observers, to bring you 32 pages of observing notes for 2003.

There's in-depth coverage of the night sky from month to month, illustrated with lavish star charts by Mark McLellan. And AN's product reviewers round up the best new hardware for practical astronomers and make their predictions of the most promising pieces of kit for the year ahead.

All this, plus a raft of special features, covering astronomy history, technology, pictures and human interest. Discover NASA's next wave of planet explorer robots – space probes that can dig, hop, float and fly. And browse some of the most stunning space imagery returned by our most powerful telescopes, both on the ground and in orbit.