See the light with pair of binoculars; Stargazing.

I HOPE you all enjoyed the Stargazing Live shows that aired this week.

We have been very busy up here at the observatory, with people seemingly energised by the programmes to get outside and enjoy the beauties of the night sky.

We ran a series of three open nights alongside the TV shows and, while the weather didn't really play ball, our visitors were keen to find out more about astronomy.

They asked how to start in the hobby, which equipment to get and - as always - we had lots of questions about black holes and time travel.

I still think the best advice I can give is to not rush into a telescope purchase but to just spend time outside, especially if you can travel to a dark location with something as simple as a pair of compact binoculars.

Even relatively cheap ones will let you see craters on the moon, the satellites of Jupiter and even catch a glimpse of the brightest nearby galaxies.

It is an old truism to say that the best telescope is the one you use the most, meaning something simple and portable will get the most use - and you don't get much more portable than best compact binoculars.

The theme of the TV show was the Northern Lights (or the aurora borealis) and by chance this week we had a major eruption from the Sun.

It was expected to cause widespread auroras on Thursday night with the possibility that the storm would be strong enough to be seen from latitudes normally too far south to be visible.

Unfortunately the auroras that arrived were much weaker than expected and only resulted in bright shows at high latitudes in places like Norway and Iceland.

But there are still chances for better shows in the coming weeks.

It has been a bit like that for the last few months - with us astronomers spreading the word about potential bright comets and auroras with neither actually delivering.

I'm sure you remember the hype about Comet ISON before Christmas and how we hoped it would put on a lovely naked-eye show.

However, in actual fact, it wasn't even visible in large telescopes as it evaporated when it got close to the Sun. I sometimes call this hobby "frustronomy" as, if it isn't clouds, it is long daylight hours or a bright full Moon or some such thing spoiling our chances of seeing a rare event.

However, every now and then I get to see something magical and all the frustration evaporates - like a comet passing too close to the Sun - and I remember again why this hobby has captivated me for 40 years.

Last night it was the look in a child's eye as I showed them around the observatory, even while it rained outside.

Maybe that child will go on to be another Professor Brian Cox and inspire another generation of youngsters - you never know.

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