A bright moon in our southern sky will dominate the week ahead. The moon is gibbous, a term that describes the moon days before it is full. It lies inbetween that time when the moon is first quarter and full. Or, at the other end of the moon's orbit, it describes that time between the full moon and the last quarter moon. It is also a waxing moon, which describes the moon when it is somewhere between New Moon and Full Moon.

A waning moon is when it is somewhere between Full Moon and New Moon.

The Lyrid meteor shower will take place in the wee hours of Sunday morning. The shower will take place through Saturday night into Sunday morning, but the best time, the time of the radiant, will be after 2 a.m. and until 4:30 a.m. Observers can expect to see a couple of meteors an hour into the evening. This is not a big shower but it is dependable as a small shower.

The nights ahead are moonless, making deep sky stargazing easy and full of wonder. So much has changed in the last month.

The two closest planets to the sun appear in our western sky in the evenings ahead. Venus is the easiest to spot, the brightest of all celestial objects in our night sky. Mercury is not far below, but nowhere as near as bright. Mercury reaches greatest elongation from the sun on Tuesday night. That means the planet is as far away from the sun as will get this spring. This is an opportune time to hunt for the wandering planet.

There is a treat for those with a good unencumbered view of the western sky after sunset. The brightest planet in our sky, Venus is hanging fairly high in the west. The planet is well poised for seeing by those who even have a limited view. Venus resides now in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, a constellation we normally associate with late autumn and winter.

Tonight's crescent moon has a feature we all associate with spring. The cusps are evenly placed in distance from the horizon. It looks like the moon is a bowl and it can hold water. An artist, an illustrator, can draw a picture of the moon holding water. This only happens in the evening at spring time here on Martha's Vineyard.

Tonight's crescent moon appears above the brilliant planet Venus. Both are in the zodiacal constellation Aries. The moon is moving into the zodiacal constellation Taurus where it will be for the rest of the weekend.

A thin crescent moon will appear low on the horizon at sunset on Wednesday, March 22. The moon will appear right next to the planet Jupiter. You'll need an unobscured view of the southwestern sky at sunset.

More folks will see the moon the following evening, when the moon is higher and closer to the bright planet Venus. All three celestial objects are in the zodiacal constellation Aries.

The night sky has shifted gradually. The winter constellations are departing, hanging low in the western sky.

The favorite constellation Orion, the hunter, is now hanging high in the southwestern sky. Remember when it was due South. Even the zodiacal constellation Taurus has eased more westward. The constellation has shifted from overhead now to high in the western sky.

Rising in the east is the zodiacal constellation Leo, always presaging warmer weather ahead.

The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, continue to dance low in the southwestern sky after sunset. Take a look. The two were closest together on Wednesday. They are separating. Jupiter is now appearing under Venus. In the weeks ahead Jupiter will noticeably sink lower into the evening twilight. Venus will continue to grow in height and set later in the evening. Venus will be at its highest in mid-June. Right now the two planets are in the zodiacal constellation Pisces. Jupiter will be in Pisces for a while.

The two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, appear close together on the evening of Wednesday, March 1. You'll see the two low in the southwestern sky right after sunset. In this conjunction the two are only a half a degree apart. To most observers the two will look as one bright object, as bright as an airplane approaching the runway with its landing lights on.

Moon and Mars