Observers in both hemispheres have the opportunity to see an extremely thin crescent moon this evening and tomorrow. Such tiny lunar slivers are extraordinarily beautiful but often hard to locate. Although this one takes place in the constellation of Aquarius, the water bearer, which is notoriously devoid of bright stars to act as wayfinders, Venus, the brightest planet, is helpfully on hand to guide our view. From London, look south-west this evening. The chart shows the view at 18:00GMT. From Sydney, look due west. The moon will be lower than Venus and just 7% of its surface will be illuminated. If you do not manage to catch a glimpse of the moon tonight then don’t worry, tomorrow is also good. Over the next 24 hours, the moon will have drawn level with Venus in the sky, and 13% of its surface will now be illuminated. Given clear skies, this conjunction is really worth making the effort to see. It will be a picture perfect end to the first month of the year.
• This article was amended on 27 January 2020 to correct the direction in which observers in Sydney should look to due west, not due south as an earlier version said.
