Look, up in the western sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a really bright UFO!

Actually, it is none of these. But people will be mesmerized by the very bright light in the sky this week which is none other than the planet Venus.

Tonight a thin lunar crescent moon possibly showing earthshine accompanies brilliant Venus and the star Spica in the southwest at sunset.

The sky scene will be worthy of taking an astropic with your smartphone using zoom and/or digital camera.

You will need a clear horizon view of the West to see them and to see Venus as the week progresses with the “Evening Star” moving lower in the sky each night.

Venus will be at its brightest, a whopping -4.8 magnitude, on the Sept. 18. Definitely worth taking an astropic with your smartphone using zoom and/or digital camera.

Get all of the scoop on Venus Week here.

Check out all of September’s sky sights here and enjoy the longer nights under the stars.

Follow Greg Redfern on his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.

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