Sunrise Sunset

Fri., Oct. 28 7:08 5:41

Sat., Oct. 29 7:09 5:40

Sun., Oct. 30 7:10 5:39

Mon., Oct. 31 7:12 5:38

Tues., Nov. 1 7:13 5:36

Wed., Nov. 2 7:14 5:35

Thurs., Nov. 3 7:15 5:34

Fri., Nov. 4 7:16 5:33

Venus, the brightest planet, hovers over the southwestern sky just after sunset. In the month ahead, Venus gets higher in the west and more visible. Tonight and for the coming week, the planet Mercury will also be visible, hovering right beneath Venus.

Nearly always a tough planet to spot, Mercury appears as a dim star, but having Venus nearby makes the search easier.

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and always near or amid its glare, but several times a year the planet is far enough away from the sun to be visible. It only takes Mercury 88 days to complete its orbit around the sun. For the sake of comparison, the earth takes a full year to complete its orbit around the sun.

Tonight a thin crescent moon appears above and to the east of Venus and Mercury. All three are in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. The bright star Antares appears just east of the moon.

The moon will be more visible from the Island tomorrow night when it is higher in the west and sets later. The moon will dominate our western sky in the week ahead. It reaches first quarter phase on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

M.A.L.