When you look to the western sky tonight, you'll see two bright points of light among the stars. They are hard to miss and a great opportunity to take the family out for some brief observing, even ...

The orientation will create the illusion of a smiley face, and the luster of Venus, the third brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon, will make all of this easy to see by the naked eye.

Telescopic observers, move next to Venus, sitting to the Moon’s right. It’s the brightest point of light in the morning sky, shining at magnitude –4.5. The disk spans an impressive 26” and ...