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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through April 16th, 2020. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

The planet Venus is at its highest in the evening sky on the 9th. At sunset, look due west and up 48 degrees from the horizon (just over half-way from the horizon to the zenith, the point directly overhead). If the air is clear, Venus should be easy to find against the blue sky. It will get easier to see and is the brightest object in the sky until moonrise. Use a telescope to see the crescent phase now displayed by Venus.

The moon, in gibbous phase on the 9th, now rises after sunset and quickly moves out of the evening sky. Between the 9th and the 16th, the time of moonrise changes from 9:34 p.m. to 3:20 a.m. Its phase is last quarter on the 14th, and on following mornings it is waning crescent before the new moon on the 22nd.

The trio of bright outer planets, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible in a line above the southeast horizon from the start of dawn until about 5:30 a.m. when the sky brightens too much to see them. From lower left to upper right they are Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. Jupiter, in Sagittarius the Archer, and to the left of the constellation’s distinctive “Teapot” shaped pattern of stars, is the brightest of the three planets. Orange-hued Mars and golden Saturn now appear equal in brightness, and they both occupy the faint constellation Capricornus the Sea Goat.

The moon will join the morning planets starting on the 13th, when it appears to join the line-up, to the right of Jupiter. On the 14th, the moon is to the lower right of Jupiter, on the 15th, it slides to the lower left of Saturn, and it appears below Mars on the 16th. On the 17th, the crescent moon is to the lower left of the line of planets, with Mars directly between the moon and Jupiter.

Jupiter’s four largest moons, its Galilean satellites, may be visible through binoculars if they are held steadily. Saturn’s rings require a telescope capable of 20 power or more in order to be observed. Mars is still a long way from its relatively close swing by the Earth in autumn, but it is close enough for some details to be spotted through telescopes of high optical quality that are more than four inches in diameter and high magnification.

Just as we were expecting comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) to brighten enough to be easy to see through binoculars with the moon leaving the evening sky, the comet has made other plans ¬¬̶ it has apparently started to break up at the beginning of April and it is rapidly fading instead of brightening. Check Griffith Observatory’s web site regularly for updates.

In the best interest of our prospective visitors, and to do its duty to help limit the possible spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Griffith Observatory and its grounds are closed until further notice. As a consequence, all public telescopes are closed, and all public events have been cancelled. Please check the Griffith Observatory homepage for current information and continued updates.

Follow The Sky Report, All Space Considered, and Griffith Observatory on Twitter for updates on astronomy and space-related events.

From my domestic extension of Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook, and I can still be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.