A pairing-off of the brightest planet and a slender crescent moon will be the chief celestial attraction in the dawn sky early on Sunday morning.

If you look low toward the eastern horizon about 60 to 75 minutes before sunrise (make sure there aren't any trees or buildings to obstruct your view) you should readily catch sight of the very narrow (4 percent illuminated) crescent moon. And situated only 4 degrees to its left will blaze Venus. Of course, what you will be seeing is merely an illusion of perspective. The moon — our nearest neighbor in space — will be situated about 247,000 miles (398,000 km) from Earth, while Venus is nearly 600 times more distant at 147 million miles (236 million km) away.

October provides our last chance to get a good view of it against a reasonably dark sky

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