AFTER spending early September gliding across the morning sky, the International Space Station (ISS) returns to the evening sky this week, so if you want to see it you can enjoy it without having to get up at ridiculous o'clock!

If you're a seasoned ISS-spotter (and I know lots of Gazette readers are now, thanks to this column) you already know what to do and can just jump ahead to the dates and times at the end there. If you're a newcomer to this and don't know what to do, or look for, then read on.

You need to be going outside around five minutes before the times given below, on the appropriate date, and face the west (if you're not sure which direction is west just look in roughly the direction where the Sun went down earlier) then wait. Soon you'll see a star rising up from the skyline - this is the space station. It must be moving though; a light in the sky that's standing still is just a star. The space station will then arc across the sky from west to east, or right to left as you look at it, before fading away in the east. Note: some 'passes' of the ISS are higher and much brighter than others, but all are bright enough to see with just your naked eye.

Dates and times are September 24, 20:20 and 21:55; Sep 25, 21:08; Sept 26, 20:19 and 21:54; Sept 27, 19:30 and 21:07; Sept 28, 20:18 and 21:52; Sept 29, 19:29 and 21:05; Sept 30, 20:16 and 21:59; October 1, 19:27 and 21:04; Oct 2, 20:15 and 21:49.