LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, February 19, 2014. Here is what’s happening in the skies of Southern California:
The Moon lights the sky this week. Its phase changes from waxing gibbous to full on Valentine’s Day. The Farmer’s Almanac reports that the traditional name for a February full moon is the “snow moon.” After the 14th it is waning gibbous for the remainder of this week.
The planet Jupiter, in Gemini the Twins, is high in the east during evening twilight and is nearly overhead at about 9 p.m. Jupiter sinks in the west-northwest, setting before dawn. It is currently placed ideally for viewing through Griffith Observatory’s public telescopes. This week, Jupiter’s famous oval storm–the Great Red Spot–is visible from the west coast at 9:00 p.m. on February 13th and 18th.
The planet Mars, is in Virgo the Maiden. It outshines Virgo’s brightest star, Spica, and rises in the east-southeast at 10:15 p.m. It is best observed when it crosses the southern meridian at about 4 a.m. Drawing toward its closest approach to earth in April, Mars now appears large enough for the planet’s dark markings and shrinking northern polar cap to be seen through most astronomical telescopes. Northern hemisphere summer on Mars starts on the 15th.
Golden Saturn shines from Libra the Scales and crosses the southern meridian at dawn. The northern face of Saturn’s ring system, visible through astronomical telescopes, is titled toward us 23 degrees from edge-on.
Brilliant planet Venus is eye-catching in the southeast in the dawn. Venus is at its very brightest on the 15th. Look for it during the daytime when it is due south and 40 degrees above the horizon at 9:23 a.m. Through a telescope, Venus shows a crescent phase.
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, March 8. That occasion will also be used to honor the memory of John Dobson.
From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.