AS a county we have some of the best skies in the UK for stargazing.

As a planet, Saturn's stock has rarely ridden higher as it becomes the focus of international attention.

Over the coming weeks, a mission of epic proportions; of the sort which would once have only been possible in a science fiction movie, will unfold.

For a spacecraft which started its mission to the ringed planet some 20 years ago, will begin a series of dives which will ultimately end in a suicidal plunge in September.

The Cassini spacecraft, a Nasa probe which has been investigating Saturn and its moons since 2004 will send back a stream of unique date while doing so.

And while its missions will be far from visible to the naked eye, the planet which it is exploring will soon be at its viewable peak.

Within weeks, Saturn will be visible from dusk until dawn. As Earth moves around the sun, our planet’s change of position will cause Saturn to rise about four minutes earlier with each passing day, or about one-half hour earlier with each passing week.

After rising in the eastern part of the sky, Saturn will continue to climb upward throughout the evening hours soaring to its highest spot in the Cumbrian sky after the midnight hour.

It's rings are not visible to the naked eye, but can be seen clearly through a modest telescope or a powerful pair of binoculars.

Last week, lost in the vastness of space, Earth appeared as an insignificant pinprick of light between the mighty rings of Saturn in an image from the Cassini spacecraft.

A blown-up version of the image clearly shows the moon a short distance to the left of the planet.

Although far too small to be visible in the pictures, the part of the Earth facing towards Cassini at the time was the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Saturn's rings are made up of countless icy particles and boulders up to a metre across in size. The two main rings visible above and below the Earth are the "A" ring (top) and the "F" ring (bottom) - Saturn's outermost ring.