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the direction of sunset. People often miss the young moon and Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet, because they tend to hide behind houses, trees or mountains.

Do you have binoculars? They may help you to find tonight's thin waxing crescent moon, the planet Mercury and the Gemini stars, if you can't see them all with the eye alone. What's more, binoculars may help you to see what's known as earthshine on the nighttime side of the moon. Earthshine is sunlight that's reflected from Earth and back to the moon.

When can you see earthshine on a crescent moon?

Watch for the young moon, Mercury and the Gemini stars to fleetingly appear on the west-northwest stage of sky about 45 to 60 minutes after sunset, and then to follow the sun beneath the western horizon by the time that it gets good and dark.