Capricornus is one of the fainter constellations, but at the moment there are two bright planets pointing the wayThis is the best time of year to search out Capricornus, the goat. It is most often represented on sky maps as the mythical sea-goat, a half-goat half-fish creature. Capricornus is one of the 12 zodiacal constellations, occupying its station between Sagittarius and Aquarius. Continue...

Exclusive: John Dargavel says his professional body ‘damaged and demeaned’ all foresters by dismissing links between logging and bushfire risksA veteran Australian forestry scientist has launched a blistering attack on his professional association after it used the retraction of a scientific paper to dismiss links between logging and increased bushfire risks.In an open letter to the Institute...

Public toilets | National anthem | Local poo | Comfort blanket | OverkillThe closure of public toilets has caused a panic, not least for those travelling by car (The Shewee revolution: how 2020 has changed urination, 3 September). When our parish council decided to close the village centre toilets a splendid initiative took them over. Now, they are a pristine facility, funded and run by...

It was only when I started collapsing – violently, dangerously – for no apparent reason, that I began to understand the impact of being kidnapped 25 years earlierYou might say the first major fault lines made their appearance just as I arrived at the door of a hard-earned adult-made happiness. It was 1992 and my husband Thomas and I, newly married, were in Paris visiting his sister and her...

There is speculation that the age of those infected is playing a part, while social distancing is also having an impactCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government’s Covid-19 dashboard shows cases have risen steadily from their lowest point on 1 July when the rolling seven-day average was down to 574. By 30 August it had more than doubled, to 1,402 a day. Yet the...

To dream of imminent solutions is only human. But progress will come from controlled expectationsAt the end of any summer we brace ourselves – for back to school, returning to work and even for Christmas plans. But this year, the reality bump is like no other.As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to reverberate globally, there is no doubt that we must be ready to face a long road ahead, certainly...

Drugs now under development are unlikely to end the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust’s Jeremy Farrar warnsFinding a vaccine will take time and global cooperationVaccines will not be a silver bullet to end the Covid-19 pandemic and leaders must avoid creating false hope, a key government adviser has warned.Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, writes in today’s Observer that the first...