Sunrise Sunset

Fri., May 18 5:19 7:56

Sat., May 19 5:18 7:57

Sun., May 20 5:17 7:58

Mon., May 21 5:16 7:59

Tues., May 22 5:16 8:00

Wed., May 23 5:15 8:01

Thurs., May 24 5:14 8:02

Fri., May 25 5:13 8:03

Say goodbye to Venus. Each night this month, the brightest planet appears lower in the western sky after sunset. By June, Venus will be gone from view for skywatchers on the Vineyard.

Next Tuesday night a thin crescent moon and Venus will make a special appearance together overhead. This is their finale for at least a year. Next month Venus shifts to being a morning planet and will remain that way for the rest of the year.

Both the moon and Venus are in the zodiacal constellation Taurus which appears in an area of the sky lit by twilight. Look slightly to the south of the moon and you will see the red star Betelgeuse, one of the principal stars in the constellation Orion. Already well past being visible, Orion will not reappear for evening viewing until autumn.

The ringed-planet Saturn appears in our southeastern sky tonight and for the weeks ahead, not far from the bright star Spica, in the zodiacal constellation Virgo. A slow-moving planet, it takes Saturn two years to pass from one constellation to the next along the zodiac. By contrast, it takes Jupiter one year to move through a zodiacal constellation; Mars goes through several constellations in a year and Venus changes constellations almost monthly. Mercury , which is very close to the sun, also changes constellations monthly.

M.A.L.