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The Griffith Observatory Sky Report
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through April 22, 2015. Here’s what is happening in the skies of southern California.
First, an important announcement–if you’re planning a visit, please note that Griffith Observatory and its telescopes will not be open to the public on Thursday, April 16 due to a special event. The closure includes the building, grounds, parking, roads, and trailheads surrounding the Observatory.
Venus, the brightest planet, shines in the western sky after sunset and appears close to the orange star, Aldebaran, of Taurus the Bull. Between the 15th and 22nd, Venus moves from the lower right to the upper right of Aldebaran. A telescope can show you the gibbous phase of Venus.
The second brightest planet, Jupiter, is in Cancer the Crab. Jupiter appears high in the south as the sky grows dark, and can be observed until it sets at 3:00 a.m. A telescope can be used to observe Jupiter’s giant oval storm, the Great Red Spot, when it is facing observers on the West Coast. The best times to see it this week are 8:41 p.m., PDT on the 16th, 10:20 p.m., PDT on the 18th and 7:50 p.m. on the 21st. Jupiter is currently featured through Griffith Observatory’s public telescopes.
Saturn, in Scorpius the Scorpion, appears over the southeast horizon at 10:30 p.m. It is highest in the sky and directly south at 3:00 a.m. A telescope can be used to observe Saturn’s ring system.
The moon appears as a waning crescent at dawn before the new moon on the 18th. Look for its waxing crescent close the west-northwest horizon after sunset on the 19th and next to Venus on the 21st.
The International Space Station will make a brief appearance over Los Angeles on Monday night, April 20. Appearing as bright as Jupiter, the ISS will appear at 9:17 p.m., PDT, over the northwest horizon. Three minutes later, it will vanish into Earth’s shadow 53 degrees high in the same direction, between the Big Dipper and the bright star, Capella, of the constellation Auriga the Charioteer.
Griffith Observatory’s telescopes will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday to view the sun and stars before 9:30 p.m. As noted earlier, Griffith Observatory will not be open on Thursday, April 16. Please check our website for the 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, April 25. The star party falls on second day of Griffith Observatory’s four-day celebration that honors the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Check the Griffith Observatory web site for details.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.