Ah, Venus. The evening star has been getting brighter this month as it moves closer to Earth (and it will continue to do so until reaching its closest point to us around February 16, 2025), becoming unmistakably vivid in the evening sky. And on Wednesday night, fans of naked eye astronomy will be able to take in a beautiful sight as Venus pairs up with a young crescent moon. Unlike a full moon event, however, this one requires a bit more forethought, as it won’t be visible all night.

When To See It

According to NASA, the best time to see this pairing will be just after sunset. Look to the southwest, and you should be able to see the slim crescent moon sitting directly below Venus.

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What About The Weather?

December skies can be wonderful for stargazing. That’s because Night skies change with the season and cold air holds less moisture, meaning fewer clouds to block your views. Of course, there’s a big old caveat when winter storms are in the mix. According to weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman, “It looks like most of Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia and parts of the West from west Texas to the Great Basin, Washington, Oregon and California have the best chance of clear skies” around sunset on Wednesday, while “areas from Kansas to the lower Ohio Valley may also see some clear skies, but that's a little more uncertain given the Alberta Clipper just to their north.”

‘The Old Moon In The New Moon’s Arms’

If the thought of the moon and Venus appearing within about 2 degrees of each other wasn’t enough, here’s one more thing that will make this astronomical moment particularly cool to watch: the dark part of the moon will glow with earthshine. That’s the effect created when light from the sun reflecting off of Earth’s surface illuminates the dark part of the moon. The strange phenomenon makes the dark face of the moon appear slightly illuminated in the night sky. Earthshine is also called “Da Vinci glow” because artist Leonardo Da Vinci is credited with being the first person to actually work out what was causing it.

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Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s weekday newsletter.