THE south-eastern sky before dawn is still where all the action is for anyone who likes looking at planets, writes STUART ATKINSON. Go out at around 5am on any clear morning over the next week and you'll see Jupiter shining high in the south, looking like a bright blue-white star. To its lower left, looking quite a lot fainter but glowing with a more orange hue, you'll see Mars. In the summer Mars will be a striking sight in the evening sky, but at the moment it looks just like a reasonably bright star.

To the lower left of Mars, now low in the sky before sunrise, is Saturn, the famous Ringed Planet. You need a telescope to see the rings, unfortunately, and we'll get a good view of those in a few months' time when Saturn will shine in the evening sky from sunset to sunrise.

If you have a very open view to the west, with no buildings, trees or hills in the way, you 'might' be able to see Venus very low in the sky after sunset. You'll probably need a pair of binoculars to pick it out from the bright twilight at the moment, but only look for it after the Sun has set. There's a very, very slim chance you might also see Mercury too, below and to the right of Venus, but anything on the horizon will hide it. It will be easier to see in a couple of weeks time.