IF YOU were out and about yesterday evening you won't fail to have spotted Venus, living up to the name Evening Star next to the moon.

Earth is at almost its closest to the sun at the moment, which means stellar bodies which reflect its light appear at their brightest.

So both the Moon and Venus - which reflects 70 per cent of the sunlight bouncing off it because of the thick clouds that cover its surface - are especially luminous.

But only the more eagle eyed would have spotted Mars, in direct diagonal alignment with the moon and Venus, above and to the left.

The red planet is much harder to see with the naked eye when the moon is so bright, but it's there if you know where to look.

Also visible in the early evening sky, below and diagonally right from the Mars-Moon-Venus alignment, is Mercury.

You'd need binoculars to see and it will disappear under the horizon shortly after sunset, but if the skies are clear you should be able to spot it.

And if you're up between midnight and dawn, you might catch a glimpse of the first meteor shower of the year - the Quadrantids.

Although the peak of the shower is much shorter than the Perseids or the Geminids, there can still be as many as 50-100 per hour. Watch for them coming from the Northern part of the sky, with the best chance likely to be an hour before dawn.

Did you get any photos last night of the beautiful sky? Send them in to newsdesk@countygazette.co.uk