THE Leonid meteor shower last weekend was very poor to be honest, one of its most inactive displays for years, although a few bright shooting stars were seen, writes STUART ATKINSON.

In the middle of next month there will be a much better shower, the Geminids, which can be relied upon to delight us with lots of bright meteors during its peak, all shooting out of an area of sky above and to the left of Orion. More on that nearer the time.

Meanwhile, if you want to see planets at the moment you have to get up good and early, because all the planetary action is taking place in the east before dawn. Mars rises shortly before 4am, and looks like a reasonably bright red star to the naked eye. Bright Jupiter rises at around 6am, followed by Venus shortly before 7am, but with the Sun rising not too far behind it, spotting the 'morning star' will be a challenge.

If you want to see something interesting in the evening sky then you'll have a great opportunity this coming Saturday (November 25) when the Eddington Astronomical Society holds another of its very popular MoonWatch events at Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre, weather permitting of course.

From 6.30pm members of the society will have telescopes set up in the Brewery garden, ready to show people the Moon in amazing detail. If you come along you'll be able to enjoy stunning views of the Moon's craters, jagged mountains and ancient seas of frozen lava. EAS members will also be happy to answer questions about astronomy and space.

The event is totally free and suitable for Moon gazers of any age.