LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, September 18, 2013. Here is what’s happening in the skies of Southern California:
The brilliant planet Venus appears low in the southwestern sky after sunset and can be seen until 8:50 p.m. On the 11th, Venus appears in Libra the Scales, between Virgo the Maiden’s bright star Spica, 7 degrees away to the right of the planet, and the planet Saturn, 8 degrees to the left of Venus. On successive evenings, Spica will appear lower and farther to the right of Venus, while Saturn will move closer to Venus, passing 3 degrees north of Venus on the 18th. Venus shows a gibbous phase through a telescope.
The moon grows from crescent phase to first quarter on the 12th. It appears gibbous on following nights as it approaches full phase on the 19th. Moonset happens 66 minutes later on successive nights and changes from 11:22 p.m. on the 11th to 5:48 a.m. on the 18th. The moon appears above the bright orange star Antares of Scorpius the Scorpion on the 11th.
The second brightest planet, Jupiter, is in Gemini the Twins and rises above the east-northeast horizon before 1:30 a.m. Orange Mars, in Cancer the Crab, follows two hours later, and is located 25 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter.
The launch of a Canadian research satellite called Cassiope has been rescheduled to the tentative date of Sunday the 15th, between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., P.D.T. The satellite is to be carried into space with an enlarged and more powerful version of the Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 booster on its first launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 150 miles west of Los Angeles. Check the SpaceX website for links to live coverage of the launch, and head outside to see the rocket climb above the western horizon as soon as launch has occurred. Be on the lookout for the re-ignition of the first stage in an experimental attempt to softly land it on the ocean.
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 Tuesday-Sunday before 9:30 p.m. Check our website for our 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, September 14.
From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.