LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Here is what’s happening in the skies of Southern California:
The brightest planet, Venus, continues to blaze in the western sky starting at sunset. Nearly as far north in the sky as it ever journeys, Venus continues to set in the northwest shortly after 11:00 p.m. Before it sets, Venus is bright enough to cast ultra-sharp shadows when observed from wilderness areas free from moonlight or artificial light pollution. Through a telescope, Venus displays a crescent phase. The apparent size of the planet will continue to grow while its phase narrows as Venus approaches its solar conjunction and rare transit across the face of the sun on the afternoon of June 5. Venus can be seen in broad daylight with the unaided eye or with binoculars. This week is found slightly south of the overhead point at 3:45 p.m. The crescent moon will appear to the lower left of Venus on Tuesday, April 25th.
Planet Jupiter is becoming hard to find above the west-northwest horizon in the evening twilight. It is best seen at 8:00 p.m. when it is 10 degrees high. The slender crescent moon will be 4 degrees above Jupiter on Sunday, April 22–close enough for both to be seen together through binoculars.
The orange planet Mars outshines Leo the Lion’s brightest star, Regulus, and appears high in the south as the sky grows dark. With an apparent diameter of 11 arcseconds, Mars is still large enough for some of its detail to be seen through astronomical telescopes when the air is steady. Mars sets in the west at 4:00 a.m.
Saturn is well placed for observation nearly all night long, moving from the southeast at nightfall to the west-southwest at dawn. It outshines but trails behind Virgo the Maiden’s brightest star, Spica. The plane of the planet’s spectacular rings is tilted 14 degrees in our direction.
The moon is new on the morning of Saturday, April 21 and emerges into the western sky on the following evening in waxing crescent phase. By Tuesday, April 24, it will set at 10:50 p.m.
The Lyrid meteor shower reaches its peak on Saturday night and early Sunday morning-21/22 April. It is visible after 11:00 p.m. and is best at the start of dawn (4:44 a.m.), when the radiant (near Lyra the Lyre’s bright star Vega, is nearly at the zenith. At that time, expect to see one Lyrid meteor every three minutes from an ideal viewing location, free of urban light pollution. The date of its maximum this year coincides with the new moon. The Lyrids are the first major meteor shower in the last 15 months not to be hindered by moonlight.
Free public viewing of the sun during the day and of the moon, planets, and other celestial objects at night, is available in clear weather five days a week (Wednesday-Sunday) through Griffith Observatory’s telescopes before 9:30 p.m. Check our website for our schedule. The next public star party of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and the Sidewalk Astronomers is scheduled for Saturday, April 28.
From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook, and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.