• Timothy Johnson

In Vineyard Skies: Planets Abound

There are three visible planets in the night sky. Two are visible easily in the early evening. The third planet rises in the east an hour before sunrise.

The planets Jupiter and Saturn own the southwestern sky early in the evening. Jupiter is the brightest and easiest planet to see. Jupiter is in the zodiacal constellation Virgo and remains high for a couple of hours before setting in the west.

The ringed planet Saturn is more southerly. It resides in between the two zodiacal constellation Sagittarius and Scorpius. Saturn is about as far south as any of the celestial objects in our solar system. Saturn outshines all the stars in vicinity, even Antares, the red principal star in the constellation Scorpius.

You can’t miss Venus if you are an early riser. Venus rises about an hour before sunrise and appears high and brilliant. Venus is so much brighter than Jupiter, which is in the evening sky.

Saturday night’s gibbous moon rises late in the evening, around 11 o’clock. The moon is moving through the zodiacal constellation Pisces, a constellation we associate with autumn and early winter.

 

 

Sunrise and Sunset
Day Sunrise Sunset
Fri., August 11 5:45 7:47
Sat., August 12 5:46 7:46
Sun., August 13 5:47 7:44
Mon., August 14 5:48 7:43
Tues., August 15 5:49 7:41
Wed., August 16 5:50 7:40
Thurs., August 17 5:51 7:38
Fri., August 18 5:52 7:37
Temperatures and Precipitation
Day Max (Fº) Min (Fº) Inches
August 4 79 66 0.00
August 5 80 67 T
August 6 76 60 0.00
August 7 78 59 0.00
August 8 79 61 0.64
August 9 71 61 0.00
August 10 80 64 0.00

 

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 75º F

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