There will be a pretty scene in the western sky after sunset on Sunday. The moon, Venus and Mars appear fairly close together for the first two evenings. The first evening of the New Year offers a thin crescent moon appearing near the bright planet Venus. The two are close and an impressive scene in the western sky.

Sunset is at 4:21 p.m. and within the hour the thin crescent moon appears amid the light of twilight. Soon to become obvious, the brilliant planet Venus appears nearby, above and to the left of the moon. These two celestial objects reside between the two zodiacal constellations Aquarius and Pisces. Look again up and farther to the left of Venus and the dull red planet Mars is nearby.

The crescent moon appears right next to Mars on Monday night.

The evening sky offers a show in the west that continues through January. In the nights ahead the moon continues its trek across the sky, heading east, farther and farther away from Mars and Venus. But keep an eye on these two planets as change is ahead. While Venus continues to appear higher and higher in the western sky, the red planet appears to descend. By the end of January, Venus and Mars appear as a handsome pair, close enough to have a conversation.