Once the signposts for ancient sea farers, the stars can be a window into a new world for us all.

Instead of watching the telly, spend an evening watching the night's sky from your garden or window. Here's some expert tips on how to do it:

The National Trust has tips to help you start stargazing.

1. Stargazing is best done before the moon is full, so check the phase of the moon before you start and turn off the lights in your home to reduce light pollution.

2. Download an app like Star Walk (iPhone) or Google Sky (android) to your mobile device, and they will tell you what stars you can see from where you are.

3. You'll need: Something to lie on - a blanket or camping mat will do; food, drink and warm clothes to keep everyone happy and warm as you wait for the stars to come out.

4. How about uploading a playlist of space-themed songs to your phone?

5. A star spotter guide and a compass to help you find a particular constellation or star.

6. Your camera to capture the wonder on the faces of stargazers or the stars above.

What to look out for

The sun - It's our nearest star, and if you hollowed out the Sun you could fit almost one million Earths inside it.

The moon - All of the world’s oceans are controlled by the moon; it's the reason we have high and low tides. Only 12 people have ever set foot there.

Stars - When you see the stars you are looking into the past. Because light takes time to travel and stars are many light years away from us you could be seeing a star that doesn’t even exist any more.

Venus is currently the third brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon and, until the end of May, the planet will be a bright feature of the western sky after sunset and well into the night as its orbit brings it closer to Earth.

Ian Hargraves, chairman of Mid-Kent Astronomical Society, says once you have a good star map from the internet or app switch your phone to “night view” before going outside and spend half an hour getting used to the darkness.

Look for a bright star and other fainter ones around it and check with the star maps, to find which constellation it is in. Try tracing the imaginary constellation outline in the sky. Then use that to find other ones.

During the night, the stars move from East to West, due to the Earth rotating on its axis. There is also a gradual change in the visible constellations from month to month too, caused by the Earth’s annual orbit of the Sun.

"Watch the gradual progression of the moon from night to night as it starts off in the Western sky, as a thin crescent and gradually builds to a full moon. This is caused by the orbit of the moon around the Earth.

"One very recognisable star pattern is the Plough or Big Dipper (Ladle) which will look upside down in the North, at 10pm in Mid-April. Follow the arc of the handle down towards the East to find the bright star Arcturus which is in the constellation of Bootes (the herdsman). Then continue on down lower to the horizon to another bright star Spica in Virgo. Follow the front two stars of the Plough (Merak to Dubhe) downwards in the Northern sky to a reasonably bright star about 50 degrees up off the horizon, that is the Pole Star Polaris.

At 10pm virtually due south at 50 degrees elevation, will be the star Regulus which forms part of Leo, the lion. The front of Leo looks like a backwards question mark with Regulus forming the full stop. Do not look for something small, Leo spans over 15 degrees by 30 degrees in the sky. This also applies when looking for the Plough."

And he says: "To see more, do not rush to buy a cheap telescope, but instead, invest in a good pair of 10 x 50 binoculars from a reputable astronomy or photographic website. These will reveal many more stars, craters on the moon and faint misty patches, some of which are giant galaxies of more than a billion stars located outside our own Milky Way galaxy. Binoculars can also be used for other things during the daytime like bird watching in your own garden. But never look at the sun through binoculars or a telescope."

He also recommends joining a local friendly astronomy club like Mid-Kent Astronomical Society midkentastro.org.uk based at Bredhurst, and after lockdown popping along to the meetings.

See your pictures of this week's meteor show by clicking here.

For more ideas of things to do during lockdown, click here.