The Cayman Islands, sited south of the Tropic of Cancer, offer a view of nearly 80 per cent of the visible sky. For people who come from the higher latitudes, this is an opportunity to observe constellations that they have never seen.

While light pollution is an issue here, as it is around the world, it is still possible to enjoy the night sky. Just find somewhere dark.

Looking out to sea on Seven Mile Beach is wonderful on a clear night, especially if you have been lucky enough to see the famous "green flash" as our nearest star, the sun, sets. Green flashes are real phenomena seen at sunrise and sunset, when some part of the Sun briefly changes colour.

From June to December the five naked-eye planets, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and even elusive Mercury roam around the evening sky. In ancient times, astronomers noted how certain lights moved across the sky in relation to the other stars. Ancient Greeks called these lights planetes asteres: wandering stars or simply planētoi: wanderers, from which the today's word "planet" was derived.

In June only Saturn and Mars are visible, and the year ends with only Jupiter and Venus can be seen in the early evening darkness. However, looking west shortly after sunset, these distinctive, bright objects will offer a number of conjunctions throughout the year.

A conjunction is a term that means that two celestial bodies appear near one another in the sky.

On July 10, Saturn and Mars are close together in the constellation Leo. Yellowish white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so should be easy to see. Venus will be visible at sunset, and Jupiter will be rising in the east.

The following month, on August 13, Venus and Saturn will be in the same constellation, Leo and less than one degree apart. Mars will be near by, and Jupiter will be in the south east.

Keep watching for the next night, 14th, for a triple conjunction of Venus, Mercury, and Saturn. A little later in August, on 19-21, Venus and Mercury will be about one degree apart for three days.

On September 11, look for Venus and Mars. Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one degree apart, at 18 arc minutes. Venus is magnitude - 3.91 and Mars magnitude 1.69, with Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining at magnitude 0.21, brighter than Mars. The whole group will set just one hour after sunset. Jupiter, in the constellation Sagittarius, will be high in the south.

In July, for people in the habit of looking up, something special is supplied by our tropical location. This is the opportunity to observe Ursa Major, a constellation familiar to people who live in the northern latitudes, and at the same time, Crux, a constellation equally familiar to people from the higher, southern latitudes.

Ursa Major contains the Plough, or the Big Dipper, which many people can identify, and Crux is the Southern Cross.

The Cayman Islands Astronomical Society tries to meet once a month for a viewing session. Check the media for details, or call Nick Kelly at 947 3065. http://caymanastronews.blogspot.com