Look to the southwestern horizon at sunset on Oct. 23 to see the slender form of the crescent moon shine close to Mercury and Mars in the evening sky.

The 6%-lit waxing crescent moon will be visible roughly 5 degrees above the horizon as the sun sets on Oct. 23, with Mercury appearing as an "evening star" to the upper right of its sickle-like form and the red light of Mars shining just beyond, to form a cosmic lineup in the evening sky.

All three worlds will lie within 10 degrees of each other — roughly the width of your clenched fist held at arm's length against the night sky — with Mercury and Mars close enough to comfortably share the field of view of a pair of 10x50 binoculars. But remember - even just glancing at the sun with a pair of binoculars can lead to permanent loss of vision

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