THERE was quite a lot of fuss among astronomers and skywatchers last week when a new rocket company, based in New Zealand, announced they had sneaked a satellite into space onboard their first rocket, writes STUART ATKINSON. Their Humanity Star is basically a huge disco glitter ball which will flash as it crosses the sky, and is meant to 'inspire' and 'unite' people by making them gaze towards the heavens.

Apart from the light pollution this will cause, it is also totally unnecessary because we already have something up there that has been inspiring people for many years - the International Space Station, and it is visible again in our evening sky this coming week.

If you're a seasoned ISS-spotter you'll already know what to do: just use the times and dates listed below. If you've never seen the ISS before then go outside on the dates and at the times listed, look to the west, and when you see a bright star-like object rising in the west that's the International Space Station. It will then cross the sky silently, arcing from west to east (right to left as you look at it). During some of the passes listed the space station will be high and very bright, for others it will be lower and fainter, but all are worth looking for. To look up and see a real spaceship crossing the sky, with people living onboard, is much more inspiring than a faint blinking disco ball.

February 1: 17.30 and 19.06; Feb 2: 18.14 and 19.49; Feb 3: 18.58; Feb 4: 18.05 and 19.44; Feb 5: 18.49 and 20.23; Feb 6: 17.57 and 19.33; Feb 7: 18.41 and 20.15;

Feb 8: 17.48 and 19.24.