A GWENT astronomer will be sharing his tips and tricks to spot the best the night’s sky has to offer as he takes up a new role as a monthly columnist with the Argus.

Jonathan Powell will be revealing upcoming astronomical events and sharing his knowledge on spotting stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids and comets.

He said: “I’ll be digging out what’s noticeable, any meteor showers, any comets that come out.

“There’ll be a bit about different topics, every month we will work through the planets, the constellations.

“I’m a strong believer in that you can actually do a hell of a lot of astronomy without the need of a telescope or binoculars.

“With a telescope you became a little bit more specialised but with the naked eye alone you can do an awful lot.”

Mr Powell, of Beaufort, said astronomy is “very infectious” and first found an interest after finding a book lying around the house in the late 1970s.

“You need to watch the seasons and the stars to see how the sky changes,” he said. “It takes quite a while and all of a sudden, you can see summer constellations back again and it’s like seeing an old friend.”

After joining various astronomy societies, Mr Powell put himself forward to do some work for BBC Gwent in the mid 1980s and had a regular slot.

He later worked on BBC Wales Radio, has written various astronomy articles and given lectures.

“My passion has always been for meteor showers – it really is celestial fireworks,” he added.

“Also the moon interests me, I love its phases. It’s our only companion really and with both meteors and the moon, there is no telescope needed to see them.

“When I started all I had was a pair of my dad’s old binoculars.”

You can read Mr Powell’s column on the first Wednesday of each month in the South Wales Argus, starting Wednesday, June 3.