That’s not its scientific name. But assuming weather conditions co-operate, if you check out the western sky tonight you’ll be treated to a moderately special astronomical sight in the form of the planet Venus (magnitude minus 4.5) and the crescent moon (magnitude minus 10.4) hanging out within half a degree of each other for two hours after sunset.
And to get everybody pumped to learn more about astronomy in general, and Venus in particular, here’s the trailer to the 1958 Hollywood Sci-Fi classic Queen of Outer Space which, subsequent Russian and American space missions have confirmed, was remarkably prescient in its depiction of conditions on our sister planet.