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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Here is what’s happening in the skies of Southern California:
Spring began at 4:02 a.m., P.D.T. on Wednesday, March 20. This was the moment that the sun appeared to cross the celestial equator, moving from south to north. Spring will end with the start of summer on June 20. A special observance marking the season will take place at sunset on the 20th. This will occur at the inscribed seasonal sunset lines on the walkway outside the western side of the Observatory.
Comet PANSTARRS C/2011 L4 is now at its best in the northwest evening sky. The best time to view the comet starts about 30 minutes after sunset and continues until about 8:20 p.m. Comet PANSTARRS is visible through binoculars, appearing as a hazy star with a softly glowing tail that streams to the upper left. The tail becomes most visible shortly before the comet sets, when the sky is nearly dark. From mountain locations, far from city lights, up to 1 ½˚ of the tail (equal to the length spanned by three full moons, side-by side) can be seen, and the comet is visible to the unaided eye. Finder charts and position information is available on our special web page. The comet is featured between 7:30 and 8:15 p.m. through the public telescopes at Griffith Observatory when weather permits.
The moon’s phase changes from waxing gibbous to full on the morning of Wednesday, the 27th. The traditional name for a full moon in April is the Full Pink Moon.
Jupiter, in Taurus the Bull, remains the brightest evening planet, and is high in the western sky when darkness falls. The bright orange star to the lower left (or south) of Jupiter is Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus. Jupiter sets in the west-northwest at 12:25 a.m.
The ringed planet Saturn, in Libra the Scales, is visible as a bright golden object in the southeast sky after it rises at 10:00 p.m. Saturn transits 43 degrees above the southern horizon at 3:25 a.m. The planet will become an evening object in about a month.
Experienced telescope users might want to observe when the dark limb of the moon crosses over the rich–but faint–open star cluster M67 in Cancer the Crab on Friday night, March 22. The moon will take an hour to cover the cluster between 9:52 and 10:53 p.m., P.D.T. Clear weather, large aperture, clean optics, and high power will be key to provide a chance to see this event, called an occultation. The right conditions and equipment could lead to an interesting view of dozens of stars blinking out of view as the moon covers (or occults) them, but the faintness of the individual cluster stars and the brilliance of the sunlit portion of the moon may make this event all but impossible to see.
Free views of the sun during the day and of the moon, planets, and other celestial objects at night, are available to the public in clear weather through Griffith Observatory’s telescopes Tuesday-Sunday before 9:30 p.m. Check our website for our schedule. The next public star party on the grounds of Griffith Observatory, hosted by the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, the Sidewalk Astronomers, and the Planetary Society, will take place between 2:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 20th.
From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.