Venus near moon in dramatic sky show tonight: How to watch it

Venus and the moon will meet up in a potentially dazzling celestial display on Saturday.

If you've been watching the evening twilight sky over the past few weeks, you will have seen the very young crescent moon will appear near Venus. It will be easier to spot than Thursday when it was barely visible to the naked eye.

After all, Venus is the brightest planet and the second-brightest celestial object in the night sky, after the moon.

The moon will appear higher in the sky each evening through the weekend. On Saturday, it will still be close to Venus. You should be able to catch a glimpse of Earth shine over the next few days.

From India, the pair will become visible at around 19:01 (IST) as the dusk sky fades, 33° above your western horizon. They will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 41 minutes after the Sun at 21:26.

The Moon will be at mag -10.3, and Venus at mag -4.0, both in the constellation Cancer.

How to watch it

• The pair will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars.
• At around the same time, the two objects will also share the same right ascension - called a conjunction.
• With the moon setting early, this will be a good night to view and photograph the Milky Way! Moonlight will be increasing in the coming nights, so get out there soon.