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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through December 19th, 2019. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
The bright waning gibbous moon, just past full, will be present throughout the peak of the Geminid meteor shower that happens on the night of the 12th and runs through dawn on the 13th. If the weather is clear, however, there are enough bright Geminid meteors to make it worth keeping a watch on the eastern sky at about midnight, even from suburban locations and in spite of the moonlight. Recent Geminid showers viewed under similar conditions have produced at least one bright meteor every ten minutes or so.
The Geminid shower gets its name because the meteors seem to stream from a point in the sky–called the radiant of the meteor shower– near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Geminid means “of Gemini.” A meteor shower is usually named for a constellation or star that appears closest to the shower radiant.
The phase of the moon wanes from gibbous to last quarter on the 18th, and is crescent on the following mornings. The time of moonrise changes from 5:27 p.m. the 12th to 11:53 p.m. on the 18th.
The planet Venus is bright and eye-catching in the southwest sky by sunset. As the sky darkens on the 12th, the planet Saturn is the bright object to the right of Venus. After that, Saturn appears lower in the sky and farther to the right of Venus on successive evenings.
The International Space Station will pass directly above Los Angeles on Thursday evening, the 12th. The ISS will rival Venus in brilliance as it crosses the sky from northwest to southeast between 5:10 and 5:17 p.m. It passes directly overhead a few seconds before 5:14 p.m. when it is 262 miles above the city.
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 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, January 4th 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.