The Moon and the planet Venus – the brilliant “evening star” – put on a spectacular display tonight. They’ll be separated by the width of a couple of fingers held at arm’s length. They’ll be easy to spot not long after sunset, and they’ll remain in good view for more than two hours.

Venus and the Moon are in almost opposite “phases” tonight.

The Moon is a thin crescent – the Sun lights up only about 14 percent of the hemisphere that faces our way. It’s nighttime across the rest of that hemisphere.

That tells us that the Moon is lining up only a little way to the side of the line between Earth and the Sun. Over the next week and a half, the Moon will move farther from the Sun as it travels along its orbit. Eventually, it will line up opposite the Sun. The Sun will shine on the entire Earth-facing hemisphere, so the Moon will be full.

Venus, on the other hand, is in a “gibbous” phase – the Sun lights up two-thirds of its Earth-facing hemisphere. That tells us that Venus is on the far side of the Sun. But it’s looping over to our side, and will pass between Earth and the Sun in March. As the planet slides our way, the Sun will light up less and less of the portion we can see. Before Venus disappears in the Sun’s glare, it’ll be a thin crescent. Yet for most of that time, Venus will grow brighter, because it’ll be getting closer – setting up more beautiful encounters with the crescent Moon.

Script by Damond Benningfield