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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through April 18th, 2019. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

The moon’s phase waxes from first quarter, on the 12th, to waxing gibbous on the evenings before it reaches full, on the 19th, when it will light the sky all night.

Because of the moon’s light, even wilderness locations don’t become fully dark, and as a result, observing conditions are less than ideal for viewing deep sky objects such as galaxies and star clusters through telescopes. The attention of amateur stargazers, and even of some professional observatories, turns toward brighter objects, including the moon itself and the planets during the period of bright moonlight.

As darkness falls, the planet Mars is visible above the western horizon in the constellation Taurus the bull, between the constellation’s bright star Aldebaran, to the left of Mars, and the tiny Pleiades star cluster, to the right of the planet. Mars slips below the east-northeast horizon at about 11:00 p.m.

A couple of hours later, at about 1:00 a.m., the brilliant planet Jupiter is eye-catching low in the sky above the southeast horizon. Jupiter, in the constellation Ophiuchus the Snake Bearer, is highest when it crosses the meridian at 5:00 a.m., shortly after the start of dawn. A telescope can reveal the famous giant oval storm of Jupiter, the Great Red Spot, when it faces west coast observers on the mornings of the 14th and 17th.

Saturn, with its beautiful system of rings, is another fantastic sight through nearly any telescope. At dawn, Saturn is in the south-southeast sky, to the lower left of Jupiter in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer.

By 5:45 a.m., the brightest planet, Venus, is visible low in the eastern sky. To the lower left of Venus, is the innermost planet, Mercury.

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. Because of construction around Griffith Obsevatory, the Observatory will be 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, April 13th 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.