LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, November 13, 2013. Here is what’s happening in the skies of Southern California:
The planet Venus blazes in the southwest for 2½ hours after sunset. On Wednesday the 6th, the crescent moon appears 7 degrees above Venus. Have your cameras ready! Venus shows a crescent phase through a telescope.
The moon waxes from crescent to first quarter on the 9th, and then is gibbous before becoming full on November 17. It lights the sky for a longer time night after night, setting at 9:34 p.m. on the 6th and at 2:32 a.m. on the 13th.
The second brightest planet, Jupiter is visible in the east-northeast by 9:00 p.m. Located in Gemini the Twins, Jupiter is a little southwest of overhead at the start of dawn. Binoculars are enough to reveal Jupiter’s four largest moons, while a telescope will reveal the planet’s clouds, arranged in bright zones and dark belts.
When dawn starts, orange Mars is in Leo the Lion, midway between the zenith and the southeast horizon. An 8-inch or larger telescope can show the white northern polar cap of Mars, still too small and far away to reveal much else to observers.
Comet ISON, C/2012 S1, is now in Virgo the Maiden and stays close to the ecliptic this week. Reports over the last three days show signs of increased activity in the comet. While it is far below the brightness that many observers were hoping for, it has been reported as becoming easier to see in 10X50 binoculars from dark sky locations. On the morning of the 13th, comet ISON will be less than 4 degrees (about half a binocular field-of-view) south of Porrima, a beautiful double star visible through binoculars in Virgo. See our special comet ISON web page for more information.
The International Space Station will join the morning sky show above Los Angeles on Friday the 8th. The ISS is scheduled to appear above the southwest horizon at 4:35 a.m. It will reach its highest point at 4:37 a.m., 64 degrees high in the northwest, and will sink to the north-northeast horizon at 4:41 a.m. The ISS will briefly be the home to a crew of 9 with the arrival of TMA 11M and its crew from the U.S., Russia, and Japan. The TMA-11M Soyuz is scheduled to launch at 8:14 p.m., P.S.T. on Wednesday, November 6. A live webcast will be provided by NASA TV.
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 on Saturday, November 9.
From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.