• Timothy Johnson

Moon and Outer Planets

On Sunday night the gibbous moon appears in an area of sky between the zodiacal constellations Aquarius and Pisces. If you had a large telescope and appropriate current planet chart you’d be able to find the distant planet Neptune nearby. Even with the most powerful telescope available on the market, Neptune looks tiny and nondescript. If you had a planetary guide and a pair of binoculars, on a moonless night Neptune appears in the night sky as a faint star.

On Wednesday and Thursday night, the Pumpkin Moon, the full moon appears near the distant and fainter planet Uranus. Both are near the zodiacal constellation Aries. Uranus can be picked out with a pair of binoculars on a moonless night, but a planetary chart will help. These two distant planets are viewable with the simplest of scopes, but the hardest part is knowing the difference between a star and a planet.
 

 

Sunrise and Sunset
Day Sunrise Sunset
Fri., Oct. 19 6:57 5:54
Sat., Oct. 20 6:59 5:53
Sun., Oct. 21 7:00 5:51
Mon., Oct. 22 7:01 5:50
Tues., Oct. 23 7:02 5:48
Wed., Oct. 24 7:03 5:47
Thurs., Oct. 25 7:04 5:46
Fri., Oct. 26 7:06 5:44
Temperatures and Precipitations
Day Max (Fº) Min (Fº) Inches
Oct. 12 77 60 3.42
Oct. 13 61 49 0.68
Oct. 14 53 39 0.05
Oct. 15 60 43 0.01
Oct. 16 68 46 0.15
Oct. 17 68 40 0.00
Oct. 18 62 39 0.00

 

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 59º F

Comments

Comment policy »

YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS

Subscribe or become a Friend of the Vineyard Gazette and receive our free newsletters and free and discounted tickets to Gazette events along with our award-winning news and photography.