I HOPE some of you managed to see the northern lights last week. It was as beautiful as it was unexpected, with the northern sky painted green and violet on Wednesday night between sunset and midnight. If you missed it, please keep an eye on the northern sky after dark on any clear night, because the Sun is very active at the moment and another display could appear without much warning.
If you get up - or are already up - before dawn you can see a lovely gathering of planets in the eastern sky. By 05.30 Venus is blazing high, and to its lower left you will see blue-white Jupiter and orange Mars shining very close together, like a pair of stars. Before dawn on Sunday (October 18) to the naked eye they will appear to almost touch, and will be a stunning sight in binoculars.
Stuart Atkinson
Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal
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