Friday night, if the skies are clear, you’ve got a lot to see in the west, an hour after sunset. There are three planets hovering close to the horizon plus the crescent moon is near one of them.

The thin crescent moon appears first as a thin sliver of light. It is near the bright planet Jupiter. The two alone are worth seeing, for they almost touch.

To the right of the pair you’ll see the fainter planet Mercury, one of the hardest visible planets to spot in the sky. But this time you’ve got some assistance from his neighbors. Look to the right of Mercury and closer to the horizon and you’ll see the brightest planet of them all, Venus. Venus is so bright it looks like a street light on the horizon.

Mercury is directly in between Jupiter and Venus. They are a threesome, a line of planets. If the sky is overcast and you are looking in the nights ahead, you’ll note that the crescent moon has moved on along the zodiac. But those three planets remain fairly much in the same place. Mercury will be fairly visible there for the next two weeks.

Venus is right next to the bright star Regulus, the principal star in the zodiacal constellation Leo. By comparison, Regulus looks like a faint star next to the brilliant planet. But don’t be mistaken, Regulus is one of the bright stars in our night sky. It is only dwarfed in brightness by our nearest planetary neighbor.