I hope I'm wrong, but I think we might have passed the peak of the 2022 noctilucent cloud season, which is good news for those readers sick of me going on about them, but bad news for those readers who haven't seen any yet.

Why do I think this?

Because it's been a good week since the last display visible from our part of the world, and not for a change because of the weather: even on beautifully clear nights there have just been no NLC shining in our northern sky.

And although there was a big display seen from eastern Europe and Scandanavia late last week, for UK observers I think it's almost time to put the season behind us.

It wasn't a classic season by any means - the displays we saw were not particularly bright, didn't reach very high up into the sky and didn't feature any of the amazingly complicated and beautiful structure we've seen in previous years - but there were a few nice ones, so it wasn't a total bust.

There's still a chance of some more displays of these eerie "night shining clouds" before the season officially ends at the start of August, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye on the sky from the NW to the NE around midnight, just in case the season decides to go out with a bang.

The International Space Station is visible in our evening sky again, so if you want to see it here are the times for the week ahead.

Go out a few minutes early, look to the west, wait, and when you see a bright "star" rising up from the horizon, heading east (left as you watch) that's it, that's the space station.

  • 21st - 22.20 and 23.57
  • 22nd - 23.08
  • 23rd - 22.20 and 23.56
  • 24th - 23.08
  • 25th - 22.20 and 23.56
  • 26th - 23.07