This month's issue celebrates Mars at opposition with a number of red planet-themed articles. In our bumper night sky section you can learn how to observe, image and even sketch the red planet, while two feature articles tackle the origin of Martian gullies, and whether life on Mars could exist underground.

From Mars’ mysteries to the controversies of the wider Universe, our Focus section looks at some of the greatest unanswered questions, from gas planet formation and planetary nebulae, to dark matter and the Pioneer Anomaly. Elsewhere in the March issue you can learn how to image the Rosette Nebula with astrophotographer Nik Szymanek’s step-by-step guide and read how Steve Ringwood transformed his garden shed into a run-off roof observatory. Meanwhile Keith Cooper explains the reasoning behind astronomical objects’ sometimes bewildering names.