Currently shining at its greatest brilliance for this current apparition, this dazzling evening "star" currently appears as a distinct crescent shape in small telescopes, which is growing progressively larger in size as it approaches our Earth.

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).

The Moon meets the Red Planet’s rival in Scorpius, skims close to Saturn, and reaches New phase in the sky this week.

The new moon of January will be at 7:36 a.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 29, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, and two days later a young moon will pass near Saturn and near Venus as they cluster together in the evening sky.