There is an exquisite gathering of celestial objects to look out for this week when a beautifully slender crescent moon forms a triangle with the planets Jupiter and Venus, close to the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
The chart shows the view looking east-north-east from London at 04:00 BST on the morning of 20 August. The celestial grouping will take place in the constellation of Gemini, the twins. Adding to the splendour, the majestic constellation of Orion, the hunter, will be rising to the east.
The moon will be well through its cycle with an age of 26.3 days old. This makes it a waning crescent with just about 11% of its surface still illuminated. In order of brightness, Venus will be the brightest object, followed by Jupiter, the Pollux and finally Castor.
The adventurous among you can try observing again the night after, when just 5% of the moon will be illuminated, and it will appear much closer to the horizon.
On both mornings, if you hang around until 05:00 BST, you may also catch a glimpse of Mercury rising as the Sun lights the eastern horizon.
From the southern hemisphere, the view will present itself in the north-east.
