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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through December 12th, 2019. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
The brilliant planet Venus blazes in the southwest sky and is easy to spot starting at sunset and until it slips below the horizon, at 6:45 p.m. The planet Jupiter is below and to the right of Venus, and it can be first be found about half an hour after sunset until the 8th, after which it is situated too low in the bright twilit sky to see easily.
The planet Saturn is the bright object visible to the upper left of Jupiter on the evenings before the 10th. On the 10th, Jupiter and Saturn are at conjunction, meaning that they appear close together and aligned north to south. In this conjunction, Saturn appears two degrees north of Jupiter. On following evenings, Saturn will appear at an increasing distance below and to the right of Venus.
The moon’s phase waxes from gibbous to first quarter on the 3rd. It is waxing gibbous on the 4th and full on the 11th. On the 12th it will be waning gibbous and it then rises at 5:27 p.m., 43 minutes after sunset.
The International Space Station will make two brilliant early evening passes above Los Angeles. On the 9th, the ISS will move from the northwest to the east-northeast sky between 5:59 and 6:02 p.m. It will be at its highest, 46 degrees above the northeast horizon at 6:02, and it will vanish less than a minute later when it meets the Earth’s shadow while it is still 39 degrees high. On the 11th, the ISS will be visible as it moves from the west-northwest horizon to the south-southeast horizon between 5:58 p.m. and 6:04 p.m. The satellite will be highest at 6:01 p.m. when it is 48 degrees above the southwest 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 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, December 7th 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.