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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through March 12, 2020. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
Daylight Saving Time returns in the wee hours of Sunday, March 8, when the clocks are set ahead one hour, so that 1:59 a.m., PST will be followed by 3:00 a.m., PDT. Will we switch back to Standard Time in November? That will depend on if California Proposition 7 from 2018 is enacted, which would make Daylight Time in effect year-round. Stay tuned!
Setting the clock ahead has the initial effect of delaying sunrise by an hour. The sun is highest in the sky at about 1:00 p.m., not 12 noon. The time change also provides an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day.
The brightest planet, Venus, is eye-catching in the west from sunset until its own setting in the west-northwest 3½ hours later. A telescope can show the gibbous phase of Venus narrow from 61-percent to 57-percent illuminated on successive evenings through the 12th.
The brilliance of the moon dominates the night sky through the 12th as its phase changes from waxing to waning gibbous. The moon is full on the 9th. The exact time that it is full (10:48 a.m., PDT), and the moment that the centers of Earth and Moon are at their closest (11:36 p.m.) make this a perigee full moon, more informally called a “supermoon.” The distance between the two bodies is then 221,902 miles at the near point (perigee) of the Moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth. This is 14-percent closer than the moon’s average distance of 238,857 miles, although careful observation is required to notice that it looks 14-percent larger than average.
The time of full moon rise on the 9th is 7:13 p.m. After that, the moon’s appearance happens nearly an hour later on each night following. By the 12th moonrise is at 10:46 p.m.
The brightest planets beyond Earth’s orbit, are available for observation in the southeast sky by 5:30 a.m., PST, or 6:30 a.m., PDT. The brightest is Jupiter, flanked on its lower left by golden Saturn, and to its upper right by orange Mars. Because of the shifting orbital positions of the planets, the angular distance between Mars and Jupiter shrinks from eight degrees to less than five degrees between the mornings of the 5th and 12th.
By Autumn, these outer planets will be conveniently located in the evening sky for observation.
The International Space Station will make a spectacular passage through the dawn sky above Los Angeles on the Wednesday the 11th. The ISS will cross the sky from northwest to southeast between 6:41 a.m. and 6:48 a.m., PDT. Its highest point is 77 degrees above the northeast horizon, at 6:45 a.m.
For the schedule of free public viewing of the Sun during the day and of the moon, planets, and other celestial objects at night through Griffith Observatory’s telescopes, please check our website. 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, March 28 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.