• Ray Ewing

Anchored by Venus

The moon has left our evening sky and is more favorably placed for viewing early in the morning. Our nights now are particularly dark, so there is an opportunity to enjoy seeing a possible shooting star. Without the moon in the sky, the faintest of stars, even the Milky Way, are available for viewing.

It is hard to imagine, but early Tuesday morning the thin crescent moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, a constellation we associate more with late autumn and winter.

Then on Thursday morning, if you are up around 3 a.m., the moon appears near the bright planet Venus. The two are close to the zodiacal constellation Gemini.

Venus is beautiful, prior to sunrise, hanging just above the horizon. We’ve seen it an hour before sunrise, outshining all the celestial objects in the sky. On the waterfront, it looks like an anchor light at the top of a distant mast.

We have about two more months of Venus before it slips from a morning planet to an evening planet. The best viewing is now and into August.
 

Sunrise and Sunset
Day Sunrise Sunset
Fri., July 18 5:22 8:12
Sat., July 19 5:23 8:11
Sun., July 20 5:24 8:11
Mon., July 21 5:24 8:10
Tues., July 22 5:25 8:09
Wed., July 23 5:26 8:08
Thurs., July 24 5:27 8:07
Fri., July 25 5:28 8:06
Temperatures and Precipitations
Day Max (Fº) Min (Fº) Inches
July 11 79 67 0.02
July 12 80 58 0.00
July 13 80 65 0.00
July 14 79 68 0.00
July 15 79 70 0.01
July 16 76 70 0.04
July 17 74 67 1.06

 

 

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 74º F

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