Watch Tim Peake’s spacewalk live

On the night of 12-13 December, the waxing gibbous Moon glides in front of the loose open star cluster known as the Hyades in the constellation of Taurus, culminating in the occultation of bright star Aldebaran around 5:24am GMT for observers in the British Isles. In North America, the event occurs at a more sociable hour late into the evening of 12 December.

Tim Peake sees the city lights of his capital city burning bright from the International Space Station last night. He tweeted: “London midnight Saturday – I’d rather be up here…but only just!!”

Using a wide-angle lens, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured a dramatic near-cloudless view of north Africa and the Middle East.