Venus is on view again, and will be dominating the dusk sky until the New Year. Every clear night for the next couple of months you'll see it shining above the treetops in the south west after sunset, so brightly you'll understand why it is also known as ‘The Evening Star.’ It will be at its best in mid-December, when it will blaze like a lantern in the twilight, but it is still obvious to the naked eye right now.

There's a lovely meeting between the crescent Moon and Venus tonight (Thursday). After sunset on that evening look to the south west and you'll see the two snuggled up together. Binoculars will make Venus look even more sparkly, and will show you features on the Moon too.

Still not as bright as we'd hoped, Comet ISON is now visible through binoculars before dawn. To find it, look east at around 5am and locate the Sickle of Leo (a back to front question mark of stars). To the lower left of the Sickle you'll see Mars shining like a red star. Scan the sky to the lower left of Mars with binoculars, and if you see a star with a faint, fuzzy tail pointing up towards Mars, that's Comet ISON.

Stuart Atkinson

Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal