Early Sunday morning, when most are still asleep, a thin crescent moon appears near the planet Jupiter. The two are low in the southeastern sky, an hour before sunrise. The red planet Mars can also be seen just underneath.

If you miss the scene on Sunday, try again Monday morning. The moon will be lower, just under Mars.

There is a third planet low in the eastern sky, but don’t get your hopes up. Mercury is so low and so close to the horizon, it is almost invisible.

But if you look Tuesday morning at the same time, you’ll see an even thinner crescent moon appearing right under Mercury. Visibility has to be perfect, though, because both are so close to the horizon. 

The three planets, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury, nearly form a line. Mars is in the middle, Mercury is underneath Mars and to the left and Jupiter is to the right.

Saturn and Venus

The ringed-planet Saturn and Venus are our evening planets. Venus is low in the southwestern sky after sunset. Saturn appears high above it. These two planets will get closer together in the weeks ahead.

A thin crescent moon appears near Venus on the evening of Saturday, August 10.