LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report

This is a special, extended, Griffith Observatory Sky Report through May 9th, 2019. Griffith Observatory will be closed for grounds and building work from April 22nd to May 6th, and, as a result, updating the Sky Report will not be possible over the next two weeks.

Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

The moon is full on April 19th, last quarter on April 26th, and it is new on May 4th.

The bright waning gibbous moon will nearly wipe out this year’s Lyrid meteor shower when it reaches its peak on the morning of April 21st.

Two weeks later, when the moon is close to new, conditions will be ideal for the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. This meteor shower will be close to its peak strength before dawn May 5th, 6th, and 7th. Each morning, the shower gains strength between 2:30 and 4:30 a.m. when up to 16 meteors per hour can be seen from a dark wilderness location, far from urban light pollution. The meteors appear to stream from the constellation Aquarius the Water Carrier, located low in the east-southeast sky at dawn. Eta Aquariid meteors are seen when Earth is close to the orbital path of Halley’s comet. Fragments that were shed by the comet’s nucleus long ago, that that have scattered far from the comet over the centuries, become meteors when they hit Earth’s atmosphere.

Mars is visible in the west as the sky grows dark. It is in the constellation Taurus the Bull, above Taurus’ brightest star, Aldebaran.

The brilliant planet Jupiter, in Ophiuchus the Snake Bearer, rises above the east-southeast horizon close to midnight, and it is highest in the south at 4:00 a.m. The moon will appear less than a degree from Jupiter on the morning of April 23rd.

Saturn is to the east of Jupiter in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. It is highest in the southern sky at dawn. The rings of Saturn are visible though nearly any telescope. The moon will be 2˚ to the lower right of Saturn on April 25th.

The brightest planet, Venus, is visible about 30 minutes before sunrise, when it is barely above the eastern horizon. The slender crescent moon will be to the right of Venus on April 30th.

Free views of the Sun during the day and of the moon, planets, and other celestial objects at night are normally available to the public in clear weather through Griffith Observatory’s telescopes from Tuesday through Sunday, before 9:30 p.m. Because of construction around Griffith Observatory, however, the Observatory is closed to the public between April 22nd, and May 6th. 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, May 18th between 2:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Follow The Sky Report, All Space Considered, and Griffith Observatory on Twitter for updates on astronomy and space-related events.

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