Hopefully the skies in your area are clear tonight (July 19), because there will be an excellent grouping of celestial bodies shortly after sunset.
While smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to create hazy skies in many parts of North America, the moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars are forging ahead with their planned night sky party tonight. Just after sunset, the faintest sliver of a two-day-old crescent moon will be low in the western sky. Joining it will be three of the solar system's inner planets, not far from one another in the sky in the Leo constellation, the Lion.
