On Saturday evening, February 1, a lovely crescent moon passes just to the left of Venus, which is now shining at the pinnacle of its brilliance.

This is the last chance to catch the pair in conjunction this year—with Venus set to be unusually bright in the night sky.

I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere).

A remarkable sight will appear in the southwestern sky an hour after sunset Saturday evening when Venus appears very close to a thin crescent moon. This celestial phenomenon is called a conjunction, which means two or more heavenly bodies appear very close to each other.