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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through June 13, 2018. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
As the sky darkens after sunset, the brightest planet, Venus, blazes above the west-northwest horizon, while Jupiter, the second brightest planet, is nearly as easy to see in the east-southeast. Venus slips below the horizon at about 10:40 p.m. At the same time, Jupiter reaches its highest point, and crosses the meridian in the south. After that, it descends toward the west-southwest horizon and sets at about 4:00 a.m.
By 11:00 p.m., the planets Mars and Saturn are visible above the southeast horizon. Mars, gleaming orange from its position in the constellation Capricornus the Sea Goat, is the brightest of these planets, and it is nearly as bright as Jupiter. Saturn, to the upper right of Mars and currently in the adjacent constellation Sagittarius the Archer, is fainter than Mars, and it has pale-yellow cast. Saturn transits the south meridian at 2:00 a.m., where it is at its highest. Mars trails after Saturn and transits the meridian at 4:30 a.m.
The waning moon is last quarter on the 6th. It is visible at dawn as a waning crescent until the 11th, when it becomes lost in the sun’s glare before the new moon on the 13th.
All of these objects are fascinating to observe with telescopes. Venus currently shows a gibbous phase. It will gradually become crescent in the late summer.
Mars is close enough to see its polar caps and major markings, and it will continue to appear to grow until its relatively close passage to Earth at the end of July.
The details of Jupiter’s stormy cover of clouds, including the colorful Great Red Spot, present a quickly shifting view thanks to the planet’s 9 hour 55 minute rotation. On the west coast, the Great Red Spot will be visible at 9:00 p.m. on the 7th, 10th, and 12th. Jupiter and Venus are currently featured through Griffith Observatory’s public telescopes.
The magnificent rings of Saturn are exciting to see through nearly any telescope. They will appear to brighten compared to the planet over the next three weeks as Saturn approaches its opposition, when it is located directly opposite to the sun in the sky.
The International Space Station will pass 252 miles above Los Angeles on Friday the 8th. On that evening, the ISS will first appear above the southwest horizon, and to the right of Venus, at 7:26 p.m. It will pass directly overhead at 7:28 p.m. A minute later, while it is still high in the southeast sky, the ISS will vanish as it is eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow.
Free views of the Sun during the day and of the moon, planets, and interesting 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, June 23rd.
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.