Amid the colors of sunset, a thin crescent moon hangs low in the southwestern sky Friday night. The moon is moving through the zodiacal constellation Gemini, a constellation which was over our heads in early evening at the beginning of this New Year.

Gemini is a winter constellation and in a few weeks the brilliant Sun will pass through this constellation.

For those who have an unobstructed view of the western sky, a beach view is perfect, you may see the faint red planet Mars to the right of the Moon. The two aren’t that close. Mars is getting so close to the glare of twilight, it is getting harder to find. Mars is a challenging planet.

The month of June offers your last chance to see Mars as it passes behind the sun and shifts to a morning planet late in the summer.

In the coming week, we’ll see the moon higher and more completely lit by the sun. This weekend the moon passes through Gemini and into the zodiacal constellation Leo. The moon reaches first quarter phase Wednesday night, the last day of this month.

Venus

The bright planet hovering over the eastern sky an hour before sunrise is Venus. Venus is our morning summer planet. Anyone rising early in the morning and outside before 5 a.m. can’t help but notice this pretty beacon amid the reds, blue and purple of dawn.