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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through October 3rd, 2019. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
As darkness falls, Jupiter is the brilliant object that gleams in the south-southwest, in the constellation Ophiuchus the Snake Bearer. The bright orange star to the lower right of Jupiter is Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion.
Saturn resembles a bright star and is located to the left of Jupiter, in Sagittarius the Archer. As darkness falls, it is near the meridian in the south. Saturn sets in the west-southwest at midnight, about two hours after Jupiter.
Saturn is well positioned for telescopic examination of its beautiful rings. It is currently one of the featured sights through Griffith Observatory’s public telescopes.
If you have clear weather and a view to the west-southwest, you might want to look for the brightest planet, Venus, very close to the horizon and slightly to the left of the sunset point for a few minutes after sunset. Binoculars will help. Venus has barely emerged into view after being hidden in the glare of the sun for several weeks. Because of the current poor viewing geometry from the northern hemisphere, however, Venus will quickly become nearly impossible to see again after the 28th, until the viewing circumstances start to improve at the end of October, and Venus starts to move higher into the sky after sunset.
The moon moves back into the evening sky as a waxing crescent. If you are able to see Venus on the 28th, you may also be able to make out the slender moon, only 12 hours past new, just to the upper left of the planet. If not, the moon will be easier to see on the 29th and on following evenings. The time of moonset advances from 7:09 p.m. on the 28th to 10:32 p.m. on October 3rd.
If you are outside at between 5 and 6 in the morning, you will be treated to the brilliant stars that are otherwise seen during evening hours in the winter. The brightest nighttime star, Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major the Large Dog, is then high in the south-southeast. To its upper right are the three stars, equally spaced, marking the distinctive Belt of Orion the Hunter. A line between Sirius and the belt of Orion, extended as far again to the Belt’s upper right, takes you to the bright orange star Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. Past Aldebaran, and also a part of Taurus, is the tiny dipper-shaped cluster of stars, the Pleiades. This region of the sky is full of interesting sights within the grasp of binoculars.
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, October 5 between 2:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Patrick So, on behalf of Anthony Cook, and he can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.