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Look up Monday for the crescent Moon and brilliant Venus
WRAL • • general
Key Points:
- On Monday shortly after sunset, observers can see a slender crescent moon near the bright planet Venus low in the western sky, though the two are millions of miles apart in space.
- Venus will continue to brighten, reaching its greatest brightness on Friday, September 18, at about magnitude -4.8, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky.
- The crescent moon will appear about 240,000 miles from Earth, while Venus is tens of millions of miles away, and both will be best viewed soon after sunset with a clear western horizon.
- Venus appears as a brilliant point of light to the naked eye but shows a crescent phase of about 25% illumination when viewed through binoculars or a telescope.
- Nearby stars to look for include Spica to the right of Venus and the faintly red star Antares in the constellation Scorpius to the left.
