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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through March 9th, 2016. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
The giant planet Jupiter, in the constellation Leo the Lion, is visible all night long. It is at opposition, the point in the sky directly opposite to the sun, on the night of the 7th. Jupiter’s distance of 4.4 astronomical units (1 astronomical unit is the average distance between the sun and the earth), or 409 million miles, is at its minimum for the year. At opposition, Jupiter appears at its largest through a telescope, 44 arcseconds in diameter. To the eye, it appears at its brightest, gleaming at magnitude -2.5. Jupiter’s most famous telescopic feature, the Great Red Spot, will be visible through telescopes at 9:00 p.m., PST on March 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 9th. Jupiter’s four largest moons, first seen by Galileo in 1610, can be seen through steadily held binoculars. Jupiter is currently featured through Griffith Observatory’s public telescopes.
Orange planet Mars, in the constellation Libra the Scales, appears in the east-southeast around midnight, but is best placed for observation when dawn starts, as it crosses the southern meridian. Through a telescope, Mars appears only 9 arcseconds across. This is only half as large as it will appear when it reaches its opposition at the end of May. It is large enough, however, to already glimpse some of the features of Mars, including the dusky markings of its deserts and the planet’s white polar caps and clouds.
At dawn, the golden planet Saturn is in the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, and is located 15 degrees to the east of Mars. Through a telescope the spectacular rings of Saturn encircle the 17 arcsecond-wide globe of the planet.
The waning crescent moon appears close to Saturn on the 3rd, and appears close to the brightest planet, Venus, shortly before sunrise on the 6th and 7th. The moon is new on the 8th.
The International Space Station will outshine Jupiter when it passes over Los Angeles before dawn on Sunday the 6th. The ISS will emerge from the earth’s shadow at an angle of 37 degrees above the southwest horizon at 4:57 a.m. A little over a minute later, the ISS is overhead. It then remains visible until 5:01 a.m. as it descends toward the northeast horizon.
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, March 12th.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com