Bad news, everyone. Comet Ison will not be putting on a beautiful display in the sky as we had all hoped. During its fly around of the Sun last Thursday it basically disintegrated, and all that emerged from the Sun's glare was a cloud of dust that is thinning and spreading apart as I write this. There'll be nothing to see with the naked eye at all now, and even a telescope will only show a faint, ghostly blur.

But there are still some lovely sights in the sky. Another comet, Lovejoy, is now getting brighter, and may be a naked eye object by next week. More about that then. Meanwhile, Venus is shining brilliantly in the south west after sunset, getting a little brighter every day. If you have a really good pair of binoculars, or a small telescope, you'll be able to see Venus as a crescent, looking like a miniature version of a young Moon.

Looking to the east after 6pm you'll see Jupiter climbing up into the sky. To its upper left are two bright stars - Castor and Pollux, the Twins of Gemini.

Stuart Akinson

Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal