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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through the period ending September 18^th, 2020. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

As evening twilight fades, the brightest objects that may attract your attention are the planets Jupiter and Saturn. They gleam side by side in the south-southeast sky. Saturn is the fainter member of the pair and it follows eight degrees behind Jupiter as they arc through the sky each night. They are highest when they reach the meridian, due south, at about 8:45 p.m. Jupiter is the first to set in the west-southwest at about 1:20 a.m.

Also, in the early evening, look in the southwest sky, to the right of Jupiter and Saturn, for the orange star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion.

At the same time, you should see an even brighter orange star, Arcturus. It is to the west, far to the right of Antares, but at about the same elevation. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman.

High overhead, look for the bright white glow of the star Vega, in Lyra the Lyre. To the east of Vega is another bright star, Deneb, in Cygnus the Swan, and to the south of Deneb is a third bright star, Altair, in Aquila the Eagle. Together these make a handy group called the Summer Triangle. An imaginary line extended from Altair and past the midpoint between Vega and Deneb will eventually lead you to the North Star, or Polaris.

The Summer Triangle is considered to be handy because the Big Dipper, usually the recommended guide to the North Star, is now hard to see because it is close to the northern horizon in the summer and early fall, and thus the Summer Triangle provides an alternate way of finding the north star and the direction, north.

The brilliant coppery glow of the planet Mars is obvious above the eastern horizon after 9:30 p.m. Earth’s rotation places it high in the south by 3:00 a.m., making that the best time to examine it with a telescope.

The waning crescent moon rises at 1:10 a.m. on the 12^th and at 5:34 a.m. on the 16^th, the day before new moon. The moon’s eastward motion brings it close to the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini on the 13^th, the planet Venus on the 14^th, and the star Regulus in Leo the Lion on the 15^th. The moon returns to visibility as a waxing crescent after sunset on the 18^th.

Venus blazes in the east before sunrise, near the bright stars of Orion the Hunter, Taurus the Bull, and Gemini the Twins. This week, when Venus is visible, the yellow star Capella gleams high in the northern sky.

The International Space Station, that rivals Venus in brightness, will make two morning and two evening passes high over Los Angeles. On the 11^th, watch the ISS cross the sky from the northwest to the southeast between 5:57 and 6:04 a.m. It will be 81 degrees high in the northeast at 6:00 a.m.

On the 14^th, the ISS will suddenly appear when it moves out of the Earth’s shade already 51 degrees above the southwest horizon, and very close to the position of Mars in the sky, at 5:14 a.m. The ISS will descend from that point to the horizon in the south-southeast over the following three minutes.

On the 16^th, the ISS can be seen between 8:16 and 8:21 p.m. as it crosses the sky from the southwest to the northeast. It is 69 degrees above the northwest horizon at 8:19 p.m.

On the next evening, the 17^th, the ISS moves from the southwest to the northeast between 7:28 and 7:35 p.m. It will appear highest at 7:31 p.m. when it is 59 degrees high in the southeast.

Because of measures in place that are intended to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 Corona virus, Griffith Observatory remains closed until further notice. Consequently, all public telescopes are closed, and all public events have been cancelled. Please check the Griffith Observatory homepage for current information and continued updates of the situation.

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 Anthony.Cook@lacity.org.