HERE is the weekly Skywatch column from Stuart Atkinson.

On the next clear night look to the east around 10pm and you'll see a bright orange star shining low in the sky.

That's the planet Mars, and although it's now very striking to the naked eye, by this time next month it will be a lot brighter.

The International Space Station (ISS) has been visible from Cumbria and from across the UK again recently, and it's still going to be visible for another week before we lose it from our sky for a while. 

But it will be crossing the sky in the hours before sunrise, so if you want to see it you'll have to either get up very early or stay up very late.

If you've seen the ISS before you can skip this next bit and go straight to the dates and times below, but if you haven't  seen it before then you are looking for a bright "star" that rises in the west, arcs across the sky - from right to left as you're standing there looking at the sky - and then sets or fades from view over in the east.

The movement is the key: if you're looking at a bright light standing still in the sky that's a star, not the ISS. There are no bright planets on view in the morning sky at the moment to confuse with the ISS, so that's a real help.

So, to see the ISS, go out on the following dates, just before the times given, and face the west.

Eventually you'll see a "star" rising up from the horizon, heading left.

This will be the ISS.

Some "passes" are higher and brighter than others, but even the faint, low passes are fascinating to watch when you realise you're looking at a real life spaceship, with a crew of astronauts onboard, flying through the constellations at 17,000 mph.

DATE: Nov 3rd: TIMES: 04:58 and 06:34

DATE: Nov 4th: TIMES: 04:13 and 05:46

DATE: Nov 5th: TIMES: 05:00

DATE: Nov 6th: TIMES: 04:13 and 05:46

DATE: Nov 7th: TIMES: 05:00