Next Wednesday's full moon, the Snow Moon, will be in the zodiacal constellation Leo. Leo is a constellation we associate more with spring than winter. The brightest star in the constellation is Regulus, one of a few bright stars in that area of the sky.

A team of workers digging near Five Corners this week discovered a patch of toxic, contaminated soil that may force a major environmental cleanup of the Beach Road extension area.

Contractors hired by the Massachusetts Highway Department found soil contaminated with gasoline and oil while digging on Beach Road extension next to the Wintertide Coffeehouse. The contractors were working on a drainage pipe project from Beach Road to Vineyard Haven harbor when they made the discovery.

A thin waxing crescent moon will be visible so close to the horizon, you may miss it. The moon is a thin sliver. But right next to it you'll find a faint looking "star." It is the planet Saturn. The two are close together.

Easier to spot is the bright planet Venus above the two.

Look again tomorrow, Saturday night, and the show is even better. The moon is higher and right next to the planet Venus. The two are so close, so impressively close. The two are in the zodiacal constellation Pisces.

The brightest planet in the western sky, Venus is very close to the planet Saturn. The two are in planetary conjunction. It is easy to tell which of the two is Venus, but make sure you can see the considerably fainter Saturn nearby.

This weekend the two will separate, as though going their own way. Saturn is sinking lower and lower in the western sky in the nights ahead, while Venus appears to be stationary.

There are so many visible planets in our night sky. Step out into the early evening sky and you can get a view of most of them. Venus is low in the southwestern sky, next to it is the bright planet Saturn.

Look higher in the sky for Jupiter, unmistakable, the brightest visible planet other than Venus. Look to the east for the bright red planet Mars, now closer to the Earth than at any time in the last two years.

Monday night's full moon will be the highest of the year. The moon, also called the Ice Moon, will be in the zodiacal constellation Gemini. It rises in the southeast at around the time of sunset. Look outside around midnight and be dazzled by how high it is in our sky, almost near the zenith. The moon will be in the same constellation where our noontime summer sun appears in June.

Tonight a thin waxing crescent moon appears low in the southwestern sky, right above the bright planet Venus. Both are in the zodical constellation Capricornus.

Tomorrow night, Saturday night, the moon has advanced along the zodiac and will appear close to the bright planet Saturn. Both are in Aquarius. The two are particularly close, and hard to notice. Earlier in the evening, in Europe, people will have watched the moon occult Saturn. They'll see the moon actually pass over Saturn. But for us on the Vineyard, that will already have happened.

Tomorrow morning, well before sunrise, you have an opportunity to see the planet Mercury close to the horizon. And you are being helped by a thin crescent moon, nearby.

The scene is made up of three celestial objects. The thin moon displays only a sliver of sunlight, a slender arc of sunlight. The shaded part of the moon might have a slight glow, called earth shine.

Closest to the moon and to the left is the bright red star Antares, the brightest star in the southernmost zodiacal constellation Scorpius.

There is a small but convenient meteor shower late on Saturday night. The center of the Ursid meteor shower is right up near the Little Dipper and the best time is before the moon rises later in the evening.

The brilliant moon passes near the bright planet Jupiter tonight and passes by it tomorrow nith. The moon is almost full tomorrow, or to be more precise it will be full Sunday at 4 o'clock in the morning. Having these two celestial objects rising in the eastern sky well after sunset will be an astronomical spectacle. The two are near the constellations Taurus and Gemini, the bright stars of the zodiac.