ASTRONOMER Chris Baddiley, of Mathon, near Malvern, captured this image of Comet Jacques, currently crossing the night skies.

The comet was only discovered in March, and since then it has been round the sun and is now heading outward again, and today (Friday, August 29) it is due to make its closest approach to the Earth - though not that close, at 52 million miles.

"It was closest to the sun a few weeks ago and is fading," said Dr Baddiley, a retired QinetiQ scientist. "But it's only just recently been visible from the UK, as previously it was low in the sky in the evening and drowned out by moonlight."