A thin crescent moon appears low in the southwestern sky next week. The New Moon phase is Saturday, so it is likely some viewers will see the thin crescent moon hovering above the western horizon just after sunset on Monday night. Those watching the sunset at Menemsha on that night have a better chance than the rest of us. There is an unencumbered view of the western sky. The moon will appear above the Elizabeth Islands, amid the glow of twilight, not too far from where the sun set previously.

More Vineyarders will see the moon on Tuesday night when it is a good deal higher in the southwestern sky.

The moon moves through the zodiacal constellation Virgo in the coming week. Next weekend, the view gets even more interesting, as the moon moves next to the two planets Mars and Saturn. All three will be in the zodiacal constellation Libra.

Planets

The two visible evening planets Mars and Saturn are close together in the southwestern sky early in the evening. Mars is the reddish colored planet, distinctly different in appearance than the yellowish Saturn. Both are of similar brightness and are fairly high above the horizon early in the evening.

There are three planets you can’t see — Pluto, Neptune and Uranus reside in the zodiac but are too dim to spot. Only Uranus is visible with the naked eye, but you’ll still need a detailed star chart and probably a pair of binoculars. Uranus is in the zodiacal constellation Pisces, Neptune is in Capricornus, and Pluto is in Sagittarius.