Bring along your family and friends, and watch for the young crescent moon, the planet Mercury and the Gemini stars to beautify the evening twilight on June 21. Who will be the first to spot the lunar crescent and Mercury in the west after the sun goes down? Mercury shines a little more brightly than Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Try looking 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.

The moon turned new on June 19, 2012. We don't see a new moon because, at this lunar phase, the moon's night side faces Earth, while all of its daytime side is turned away. Plus, at new moon, the moon travels across the

sky with the sun during the day. A day or two after new moon, the moon returns to the evening sky. However, most of the moon's night side and only a tiny sliver of its day side are facing Earth during the moon's first few days on the evening stage.

What's the youngest moon you can see?

As seen from North America, only about 6% of the lunar disk will be illuminated by sunshine this evening. From the eastern part of the globe - Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand - the daylight side will cover even less of the lunar disk.

Wherever you may be, it's to your advantage to have an unobstructed horizon in

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