Sunsets in the last few nights have been several notches more dramatic, more spectacular than we’ve seen in a while.

A thin crescent moon appears close to the western horizon on Thursday night, just after sunset. The moon is under the bright planet Venus.

Great news for all those backyard astronomers who love to look at distant planets.

The brightest planet in the eastern sky, Jupiter appears close to the gibbous moon on Monday night.

There is no mistaking Venus now high in the western sky after sunset.

A thin crescent moon appears close to the planet Venus Thursday evening.