HERE is the latest Skywatch column from Stuart Atkinson. 

After being absent for a while - it didn't actually go anywhere, its orbit just hasn't been bringing it over the UK during the hours of darkness recently, that's all - the International Space Station (ISS) is visible in our sky again.

The last time we saw it, at the end of September, the ISS was crossing our evening sky.

Now it is crossing the sky in the hours before sunrise, so if you want to see it you'll have to either get up very early or stay up very late.

If you've seen the ISS before you can skip this next bit and go straight to the dates and times below, but if you haven't seen it before then you are looking for a bright "star" that rises in the west, arcs across the sky - from right to left as you're standing there looking at the sky - and then sets or fades from view over in the east.

The movement is the key: if you're looking at a bright light standing still in the sky that's a star, not the ISS.

There are no bright planets on view in the morning sky at the moment to confuse with the ISS, so that's a real help.

So, to see the ISS, go out on the following dates, just before the times given, and face the west. Eventually you'll see a "star" rising up from the horizon, heading left.

This will be the ISS. Some "passes" are higher and brighter than others, but even the faint, low passes are fascinating to watch when you realise you're looking at a real life spaceship, with a crew of astronauts onboard, flying through the constellations at 17,000 mph.

  • DATE: October 23: TIMES: 06:39
  • DATE: October 24: TIMES: 05:51
  • DATE: October 25: TIMES: 05:03 and 06:38
  • DATE: October 26: TIMES: 05:50
  • DATE: October 27: TIMES: 05:02 and 06:37