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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through July 29, 2015. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

The brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter continue to appear in the western sky after sunset but set earlier and in a brighter sky each successive evening. Venus, the more dazzling of the two, appears below and to the left of Jupiter. The pair is above the horizon until 9:22 p.m. on the 22nd and until 8:47 p.m. on the 29th. The narrow crescent phase of Venus is spectacular through telescopes and can even be seen with binoculars if they are held steady.

The moon lights the night sky for a longer period each night as its phase waxes from crescent on the 22nd to gibbous on the 29th and reaches first quarter on the night of Thursday the 23rd. The time of moonset changes from 11:50 p.m. to 4:14 a.m. over the same period.

Saturn, in the constellation Libra the Scales, is the only planet visible when the sky grows dark. From Libra, Saturn gleams as a bright golden star in the south- southwest and moves westward from that direction until it sets in the west-southwest at about 1:30 a.m. The moon is close to Saturn on Tuesday the 25th. Saturn’s spectacular rings and several of the planet’s numerous moons are visible through telescopes. On clear nights, Saturn is featured in Griffith Observatory’s public telescopes.

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 from Tuesday through Sunday before 9:30 p.m. 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, July 25.

Follow the Sky Report on Twitter for updates of astronomy and space-related events.

From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com