LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through January 23, 2019. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
A total lunar eclipse will be visible in its entirety from the all of North and South America, including the West Coast, on the night of Sunday, January 20. The moon moves into the fuzzy, outer part of Earth’s shadow––called the penumbra––at 6:36 p.m., but the first evidence of this may not appear until about 7:00 p.m. as a slight fading of the lower left edge of the full moon.
There will, however, be no question about the start of the umbral eclipse, when the moon encounters the deep inner shadow of the Earth. Then, a dark “bite” will appear out of the moon’s lower left edge at 7:33 p.m. By about 8:15 p.m., enough of the moon will be immersed in the shadow that it should be obvious that the moon in the umbra appears to softly glow with a coppery hue. This glow is caused by the atmosphere of the Earth, which acts as a natural lens that bends the red rays of the sun to the shadowed moon, softly bathing its disk in the hues created by all the sunrises and sunsets occurring on our planet. At 8:41 p.m., the eclipse reaches totality-and the moon will be completely immersed in the coppery colors of the umbra for more than an hour. Then, at 9:43 p.m., the moon will begin the move out of the umbra, gradually returning to its normal full moon brightness in reverse sequence. It leaves the umbra at 10:50 p.m. It is out of Earth’s penumbral shadow, ending the eclipse, at 11:48 p.m., but the last hint of the eclipse will probably vanish at about 11:10 p.m.
No optical aid is needed to view the eclipse–just look up! If you have binoculars, use them to get the best view of the eclipse’s progress and the details of the umbra’s colors and shadings. The details vary from eclipse to eclipse.
The orange planet Mars, gleaming against the dim background of stars provided by the constellation Pisces the Fishes, is the only bright planet visible in the evening this month. It appears highest in the south-southwest sky when darkness falls.
Two bright planets are visible low in the southeast sky at dawn. The brightest planet, Venus, and the second brightest planet, Jupiter, make a triangle with the bright orange star Antares, in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion.
The several-times-delayed launch of a Delta-IV Heavy rocket with a classified payload, NROL71, from Vandenberg Air Force Base is now scheduled to take place at 11:05 a.m., PST on Saturday the 19th. The rocket may be visible as it crosses the western sky, although viewing may be hampered by the bright daylight. Binoculars may help you! Follow the launch on the United Launch Alliance live webcast.
A brilliant passage of the International Space Station will be visible over Los Angeles on Sunday morning, the 20th. The ISS will cross the sky from the northwest to the south-southeast between 5:13 and 5:19 a.m. It will be highest in the sky, 76 degrees above the southwest horizon, at 5:15 a.m.
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. On Sunday the 20th, weather permitting, telescopes provided by Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and the Planetary Society will be on hand to show the total lunar eclipse. Be aware that parking is limited and the event is likely to be congested. Please see our eclipse event webpage for full information. Keep in mind the eclipse can be seen in its entirety from anywhere in North or South America, should you prefer to skip the traffic.
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.