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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through October 19th, 2016. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
As the evening twilight deepens, golden Saturn, the ringed planet, is visible in the south-southwest between the brightest planet, Venus, located low in the southwest, and orange planet Mars, high in the south. Saturn is several degrees above the bright orange star Antares of the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Experienced amateur astronomers are keeping watch for an expected outbreak of a major dust storm on Mars, just in time for the arrival of the European Space Agency’s EuroMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander. Touchdown on Mars by Schiaparelli is set for 7:48 a.m., PDT on Wedensday the 19th, and will be streamed live by ESA. Venus sets at 7:57 p.m., followed Saturn at about 9:00 p.m. and Mars at 11:00 p.m.
A telescope is needed to see the outermost planet, Neptune, when it crosses the meridian in the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer at 10:00 p.m. Planet Uranus, in Pisces the Fishes, is at opposition and is therefore above the horizon all night on the 15th. Opposition is the term used when an outer planet is at the point of its orbit that is opposite in our sky from the sun and closest to us. Uranus is bright enough to see easily through binoculars. The Sky and Telescope magazine Website has the charts needed to identify these faint outer worlds.
The moon’s phase changes from waxing to waning gibbous, and is full at 9:23 p.m. on the 15th. The moon will begin to rise after sunset on the following evening, and by Tuesday the 18th, moonrise will occur at 9:47 p.m.
On Tuesday night, October 18th, at about 10:20 p.m., a brief but spectacular event called a grazing occultation awaits observers armed with powerful binoculars or telescopes and who are situated along a half-mile wide path stretching across the Los Angeles region from Marina del Rey to Monrovia– and continuing all the way to Europe. North of the path, the northern edge, or limb, of the moon will just miss the brilliant star Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. South of the line the star will be occulted–the astronomical term for being blocked– by the moon. Along the path, however, orange-hued Aldebaran will flash on and off over a period of up to several minutes as the irregular peaks and valleys along the moon’s limb alternately hide and uncover the star. Full information about the occultation, including detailed local maps of the grazing occultation path, is available online from the International Occultation Timing Association.
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 free 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 5th.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com