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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through January 20, 2016. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
The moon lights the night sky for a longer period night after night as it waxes from crescent to gibbous. First quarter phase occurs on Saturday the 16th. On Sunday night, the 17th, use a telescope or binoculars to see the 57-mile wide crater Copernicus while it is dramatically side-lit by the rising sun on the moon’s terminator, the border of the moon’s day and night sides.
On the 19th, the moon will pass in front of, or occult, the bright orange star Aldebaran. Aldebaran marks the fiery eye of the constellation Taurus the Bull. From Los Angeles, binoculars or a telescope will help you to see Aldebaran suddenly wink out when the dark limb of the moon covers it shortly after sunset on Tuesday, at 5:04 p.m., PST. The star will re-appear just as suddenly from behind the bright limb of the moon at 6:14 p.m. This occultation is visible from Hawaii (where it occurs in the early afternoon), across nearly all of North America, to the extreme west coast of Europe, where it occurs before dawn. More information is available from the United States Naval Observatory website.
The planets Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus rise between 9:44 p.m. and 4:39 a.m., and form a line of bright points in the sky that is best seen at about 6:00 a.m. through the 20th. At 6 a.m., the second brightest planet, Jupiter, in the constellation Leo the Lion, is located about 60 degrees high in the southwest, while Venus, in Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, is 14 degrees above the southeast horizon. Orange Mars is between them and about 40 degrees high in the south. The blue-hued star to the right of Mars is Virgo’s brightest star, Spica. Mars moves from Virgo the Maiden to Libra the Scales on the 17th. Golden Saturn appears to the upper right of Venus, also in Ophiuchus. Between the 14th and 20th, the angle between Venus and Saturn grows from 6 degrees to 13 degrees.
The launch of the Jason-3 ocean-altimetry-climate-research satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California is scheduled to take place at 10:42 a.m., PST on Sunday the 17th. The ascent of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite may be visible in the western sky from Los Angeles if the weather is clear. It is unknown if the re-ignition of the rocket’s first stage may also be visible a few minutes later, in the southwest sky, as SpaceX attempts to land the booster on a SpaceX drone barge located in the Pacific ocean, 186 miles south of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Binoculars are recommended if you attempt to observe the launch and landing maneuvers. Live Web coverage and launch status updates are available on NASA-TV and on the SpaceX Webpage.
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, January 16.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com