Stars in your eyes

Venus is shining brilliantly in the west after sunset – it’s brighter than any star, and so bright that you can’t really miss it.

The next planet in from Earth towards the Sun, Venus, circled above, owes its brightness partly to the thick layer of sulphuric clouds that cover the planet’s surface.

With an average temperature of nearly 500C, it’s not a nice place, but it is beautiful in the sky.

If you have binoculars, Venus shows phases just like the Moon.

It’s probably more than half full at the minute, and will become more of a crescent over the next few weeks or so as it approaches Earth.

Anyone waking up early over the next few weeks could be rewarded by seeing Jupiter, Mars and Saturn — all of which rise a few hours before the Sun.

Jupiter is the brightest; if you face south-east just before 6am, it’s the bright “star”hugging the horizon.

Those with telescopes will be waiting a few months for it to get higher in the sky, providing the best views, but if you have binoculars you should be able to pick out the tiny pinpricks of light that are the four large moons discovered by Galileo.

Look back the next day, and you’ll find they’ve moved, continuing their dance around the planet.

We’re all behind shutters, but some of us are looking at the stars...

As the lockdown continues, a fall in light pollution and the recent dazzling pink moon have made stargazers of many of us. But what else can we look out for?

We asked Professor Chris Lintott (below), host of BBC4’s The Sky At Night, to talk us through it — and fortunately you don’t need a powerful telescope if you know where to look.

He says: “With the beautiful clear skies we’ve been enjoying, staring out of the window doesn’t have to be just a daytime activity.

“Even in a city, this is a great time to get to know the spring night sky. It’s not hard to learn what you’re looking at, and of course if you have access to a garden then the view is even better.

“You don’t need expensive equipment – the skies can be enjoyed with the naked eye, and even an old pair of binoculars will show remarkable detail on the Moon, for example.

“I’m getting many more questions about what to see in the sky.

“I think it’s because star-gazing is the perfect escape from the weirdness of life here on Earth at the moment. For a dose of cosmic perspective, just go ahead and look up.”

Here are highlights to look out for...