Russian scientists expect humanity to encounter alien civilisations within the next twenty years. “The genesis of life is as inevitable as the formation of atoms…..Life exists on other planets and we will find it within 20 years,” said Andrei Finkelstein, director of the Russian Applied Astronomy Institute.

Finkelstein says that 10% of the known planets circling suns in our galaxy resemble Earth. If water can be found there, then so can life.

I hope the Russians are right. I have always believed that our galaxy is teeming with life, but that the size of the universe, and the enormous space between solar systems meant that contact is highly unlikely.

Everyone can make mistakes, even a genius like Einstein. The theories of relativity (Special and General) have been proven many times since they were first published over 100 years ago.

Gravity bending light has been observed by locating the position of a known star near our sun, then during an eclipse noting the change in apparent position. Light has bent towards our sun making the star apparently change it’s location.

Even time dilation has been proven. The atomic clocks on satellites are nano-seconds slower than the clocks on earth, because of the speed they are travelling and gravity being lighter in orbit.

Early March the evening sky is dominated by the planet Mars shining brightly in the constellation of Cancer.  Mars is named after the god of war because of it’s reddish colour, which can be clearly seen this month.

Mars is one of the ‘wandering stars’;  i.e a planet which moves in the night sky and sometimes appears to reverse direction and go backwards. This is an optical illusion caused by Mars having a much slower orbit of the sun.

A year on Mars takes 687 days, so when Earth ‘overtakes’ this planet, Mars seems to go backwards in the sky.

This ordinary, boring galaxy is just one of 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe. This galaxy is called NGC 2841, (there are just too many to give each a name,  like our own Milky way).

NGC 2841 is 45 million light years away (Just one light year equals 10 trillion kilometres) and contains 100 billion stars and probably 5 hundred billion planets (some just like Earth).

Astronomy and Astrology are often mixed up by people.

It’s understandable, they are similar looking words and are both concerned with the cosmos. If you are one of those people, here’s a handy little definition for you:

Astronomy is Science, Astrology is Superstition

So what is the science supporting astrology? Well, there isn’t any. There may be loads of pseudo-science nonsense that can impress the superstitious, but no cold hard facts.

I should perhaps apologise here to any astrology believers, because astrology REQUIRES belief before it makes any sense.

Last month parts of Australia and the USA had spectacular views of the Geminids meteor shower, but here in the UK it was cloudy and overcast, I didn’t see a sausage.

So I’m keeping my fingers crossed for clear skies tomorrow. Monday 3rd January is when the Quadrantid meteors arrive, and they could be one of the best displays of shooting stars for the whole of the New Year.

Look northwards anytime between 9pm on Monday 3rd January until 6am on Tuesday 4th January, and you should see some shooting stars. Stay out long enough and you will see a lot!  The Quadrantids are medium-speed meteors and they can peak at 120 or even up to 200 in an hour. The best viewing time will probably be around Midnight to 2am.

It’s amazing how many people don’t know what stars are.

My first argument with my older brother was on this subject. He said they were planets, I said they were mainly Suns. SOME stars are planets, but I was more correct than him.

The universe is a very dark place.  The only thing that illuminates it are HUGE nuclear fusion furnaces, that burn at unimaginably high temperatures and emit heat and light. These furnaces are called STARS.  

Luckily there is one near us, it’s ‘only’ 93 million miles away, and it’s called the SUN.

I run at 6.30am and for the past week I have been greeted by  a shining beacon in the sky. It’s always easy to spot Venus, it’s the brightest thing in  the night sky apart from the Moon.

On Friday morning however I noticed that there was another star in the sky. It wasn’t as bright as Venus but it was still visible in the morning sky, which meant it had to be one of the larger planets. After researching this I discovered it was Saturn.

When looking at the night sky it’s always best to get to the darkest place possible, away from street lights and other light pollution. Your eyes also need to adapt to the darkness, and this takes 10 to 20 minutes.

Pitch black surroundings are best, so you will need a small torch with you to see more earthly things.  Cover the torch up with some red cellophane, and this will keep your eyes in the correct night vision mode. (This is the same principal that traditional photographers use in their ‘Dark Room’).  

Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are all visible this month, but none of them are at their best, so I always concentrate on Galaxy spotting in May. First we need to find our night sky friend, the Plough constellation (‘Big Dipper’ in the USA).

The Plough is the easiest constellation to find, but this month it seems to be hiding? That’s because in May it’s right above your head!….Crane your neck back, and there it is, directly overhead. Looking at the Plough through binoculars or a telescope, you can peer outside the Milky Way at four of our Galaxy neighbours; M51, M81, M82 and M101.