SOME people (obviously not you, or you wouldn’t be reading this) think that astronomy is boring because nothing ever “happens” in the night sky.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

On any clear night you can follow the slow, graceful rising and setting of the Moon, planets and stars and, if you’re lucky, see some shooting stars skip across the heavens too.

On other nights the northern lights can paint the sky with fluttering veils and streamers of ruby, jade and lavender-hued light.

There’s always something going on. And as January draws to a close the International Space Station (ISS) will be perfectly placed for skywatchers across the South Lakes – and across the whole of the UK - to enjoy viewing again.

If you’ve seen the ISS in the sky before you’ll know exactly what is in store.

If you haven’t, what’s all the fuss about? It’s just another satellite moving across the sky, isn’t it?

Wrong!

Unlike all the other satellites up there, ISS can appear spectacularly bright, and unless you have a heart of stone it’s impossible to see it skating through the constellations above Kendal on a clear night, in absolute silence, without feeling awed as you realise “Wow… there are people on that star!”

So, if you want to see it, what do you do?

Well, I’m going to list some dates and some times for you.

All you have to do is go outside on that date, maybe five minutes before the given time, look (roughly) to the west - and wait.

Eventually, after a few minutes you see - but be patient, ok?

These times are calculated by a fantastic website, Heavens Above.com, but they themselves say that they might ‘shift n drift’ a little.

You’ll see a ‘star’ rising up from behind the horizon.

It won’t look anything special at first, but as it climbs higher above the trees and rooftops you’ll see it start to get brighter, and brighter.

This ‘star’ is the ISS, nothing less than Mankind’s first permanently-manned outpost in space, a huge manned spacecraft orbiting high above the Earth.

As you keep watching you’ll see the ISS is tracing out a graceful, curving arc, approaching a highest point almost due south before starting to drop back towards the eastern horizon again.

Eventually the ISS will either - depending on the exact circumstances of the particular pass you’re watching - start to fade and grow dimmer, or simply vanish in a moment.

But long after it’s gone you’ll still feel a very strange, peculiar thrill that you’ve just watched people drifting across the sky above your own town or city or wherevere you live.

Trust me, you will.

The best thing about ‘ISS spotting’ is that you don’t need a telescope or binoculars. It’s best seen with just your naked eye, from your own garden.

However, if you can keep track of the ISS through your binoculars, you will be able to detect subtle changes in its brightness and colour as it races through the sky.

Here are the dates and times of the very best ISS viewing opportunities for the next 10 days: January 23: 17.59. January 24: 18.35. Januray 25: 17.19 and 18.52. January 26: 17.45 and 19.20.

January 27: 18.12.

Good luck – let me know if you see anything!