ALTHOUGH the spring sky is a bit short of bright stars, and the Milky Way won't be at its best until late summer, there's plenty to see 'up there' on a clear night. By now I'm sure you've all seen Jupiter blazing in the east after sunset. It's impossible to miss, looking like a big bright star that is visible from dusk until dawn. Two other planets, Mars and Saturn, wander up into the sky in the wee small hours of the morning too, and Mars is getting really bright now, shining with a distinctive orange-yellow light.

But if you want to see something a little more exciting, look to the west an hour after sunset. Shining just above the treetops, probably a little hard to pick out from the post sunset-glow at first, you'll see a tiny silvery spark of light. This is actually the planet Mercury, and this is one of the best times to see it during 2016. Once you've found it your eye will be drawn back to it, but you might have to sweep the western sky with binoculars to find it in the first place. If you have a small telescope it will make Mercury look brighter but it is so small and so far away that there's no chance of seeing features in its disc.

On May 9 we'll be able to see Mercury crossing the face of the Sun, an event called a Transit. For most of the day it will look like a black spot silhouetted against the bright solar disc - very hard to observe, so we will be holding a special public observing event to help you all see it safely. I'll give you more details nearer the time.

Stuart Atkinson

Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal