The sun is at its closest to the Earth at this time of year, so the season from midwinter solstice to spring equinox is the shortest as the Earth moves faster when close to the sun.

It is always worth looking north after dark to see what aurora may be about. Keep up to date at www.spaceweather.com

The full moon appears on February 12 and is called the Snow Moon. A full moon always looks large as it clears the horizon, but this is an optical illusion - just hold a kitchen roll to the eye and watch it drop back to its normal size!

Venus can be seen furthest from the setting sun on February 7. Mars is even further away from the sun and is visible all night. To its left is Jupiter, with a standstill on February 4; Saturn is in the western sky and in Aquarius.

In meteor showers, the Geminids are but a memory. However, they are unique in that the particles we see as meteors come not from an ancient comet but from an asteroid - one of the Amor group orbiting between Earth and Mars. This was only established a few years ago.

Three near misses:

· The double star T Cor Bor ignites about every 80 years or so, and is currently dithering about whether it should go bang or not. If it blows in the near future, we will not see it as it will be close to the sun.

· A big comet is also likely to miss us, but you should be able to see it in Australia.

· Mars goes behind the Moon on February 9, but again will not be visible from the UK.

Brian Sheen runs the Roseland Observatory in the grounds of Truro High School for Girls.

Visit www.roselandobservatory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/roselandobservatory