The spectacularly bright object in the evening sky that Gordon Ryder spotted (Your Letters, April 30) is neither a star or a satellite.

It is much more exciting than either, for, coincidentally, it is the destination of the spacecraft QinetiQ is helping ESA to build, which feature don the front page of same issue, the brilliant planet Venus.

Venus, also known as the Morning and Evening Star, has been particularly bright and high in the western sky this spring, and is the brightest object (bar the Moon) in our night sky.

If you manage to view it through a small telescope, you'll see it currently revealed as a beautiful white crescent.

Incidentally, if you do have a small telescope, it's also a good time to see Jupiter with four of its moons and Saturn with its stunning rings as both are prominent in the evening sky right now.

If you're not sure where to look, check out websites such as skymaps.com for free monthly starcharts. Happy stargazing.

Jonny Lewis, Pump Street, Malvern.