SOMETHING very rare is going to be happening in the sky after sunset on October 25, but seeing it will take a lot of preparation - and a lot of luck, too.

At 5pm Saturn will vanish behind the moon.

Astronomers call this an 'occultation', and if it was happening after dark it would be a stunning sight, and easy to see.

Unfortunately it will still be daylight at 5pm, so unless you have a telescope trained on the moon you won't see it begin.

But an hour later, when Saturn reappears from behind the moon, the sky will be darker so there's a much better chance.

You'll need to be somewhere with a low and uncluttered south-west horizon. You'll also need a pair of binoculars to watch out for Saturn reappearing from behind the moon at around the 5pm position on its disc, just near the bottom of its thin, silvery crescent.

Good luck!

Stuart Atkinson, Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal