Three planets hover in our western sky in the weeks ahead. Venus, Mercury and Mars are the solar system’s closest neighbors, along with the Earth.

Venus is the brightest and unmistakable against a backdrop of a colored evening sky. Venus is gaining height in our west and it will be nicely placed for the upcoming holiday season. Look to the left of Venus, a short distance away, and the red planet Mars appears a bit higher in the southwest. Venus and Mars are in the zodiacal constellation Capricornus.

For a short time, the elusive planet Mercury appears to the right of Venus and closer to the horizon. Mercury is tricky. The planet is always close to the glare of the sun, whether it is in the evening or in the morning sky. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun; its orbit is only 88 days, compared to the Earth’s 365 days orbit.

Mercury is highest in the western sky on Dec. 10, but not much higher, and it is visible not much longer than an hour after sunset, as it is one of the first of the planets to set in the west.

Late next week the view gets even better when a thin crescent moon joins the planetary gathering.