Tonight the crescent moon appears under the bright red planet Mars. Both are in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. The moon appears above Mars tomorrow night.

Looking ahead you might get a glimpse of the brilliant planet Venus now low in the southwestern sky after sunset. Venus is tough to see right now. But if you are at Menemsha Beach or standing at the West Chop overlook after sunset you have a pretty good chance.

So much has changed overhead at night. The transition from winter to spring is complete overhead.

Mornings offer the best time to look for planets and the moon in the coming week.

Three visible planets have lined up in the southeastern sky in the morning.

The crescent moon appears high in the southwestern sky tonight

The best of starry night skies takes place this weekend.

On Tuesday morning, well before sunrise, look to the southeastern sky.

Three visible planets have lined up in the southeastern sky in the morning. The challenge is seeing them all, as they are close to the rising sun. All are in the zodiacal constellation Capricornus.

Jupiter is the brightest and almost the lowest of the group. If you can find that, you’ll see the much fainter Mercury right next to it. The two are together for the week ahead.

Higher and to the right the ringed planet Saturn.

In the week ahead Mercury will appear to move away from Jupiter and closer to the rising sun.

Vineyard Skies for Friday, February 19, 2021.

It may be the toughest but most worthy sight in the morning.