Two astronomical events will coincide this coming week to give the Vineyard tides that are above and below normal. It all reaches the extreme at the end of next week. Blame it on the moon. The moon will be both close to us and in close proximity in the sky to the sun.

Our tides are created by the gravitational pull of both the sun and moon together. While the sun and moon each have their gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans, next week will be different. The two will be pulling together from the same part of the sky. The moon will be in the New Moon phase on Friday, June 3. The moon will be in perigee on Sunday, June 5, closer to the Earth than at any time in its 28-day orbit, or 224,403 miles away.

There will be plenty of pulling, especially with both the moon and the sun at the zenith over the equator. At high tide, the wrackline gets higher along the shoreline. At low tide, you can expect to see sand bars that are normally hidden below the surface. Boat enthusiasts should be leery of the bottom at low tide.

The red planet Mars is closest to the Earth on Monday. Mars is in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. It appears low in the southeastern sky right after sunset and it is the brightest celestial object in that area of the sky.

The ringed planet Saturn, not far away, will be in opposition next week. The planet is closer to the Earth than it has been in at least a year. Saturn is bright and appears below and to the east of Mars.