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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through July 15, 2015. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
The brightest planet, Venus, is to the left of the second-brightest planet, Jupiter, in the west after sunset. Both appear a little lower in the sky night after night and set earlier, from 10:15 p.m. on the 8th to 9:51 p.m. on the 15th. The gap between the planets grows from three degrees to five degrees over the same period.
As the sky grows dark, the planet Saturn, in the constellation Libra the Scales, is well placed in the south for viewing. It appears as a bright golden star to the eye and displays its magnificent rings when seen through a telescope. Saturn and its rings are currently featured in the public telescopes of Griffith Observatory. Saturn sets in the west-southwest at 2:25 a.m.
The moon’s phase wanes from last quarter on the 8th to crescent on following mornings until it reaches new on the 15th. The moon rises an average of 34 minutes later from one morning to the next. The time of moonrise changes from 12:14 a.m. on the 8th to 4:46 a.m. on the 14th, the last date it can be seen before new moon.
The International Space Station will outshine any celestial object then visible when it crosses the sky over Los Angeles on Monday morning, July 13. The ISS will emerge from earth’s shadow already 25 degrees above the west-southwest horizon at 4:40 a.m., PDT. It is highest, 61 degrees above the northwest horizon, at 4:42 a.m. and sets in the northeast about four minutes later.
After a 9½-year journey through space, a major goal in the exploration of the solar system is set to be achieved on Tuesday, July 14, when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft performs the first fly-by reconnaissance of dwarf planet Pluto, nearly 3 billion miles from earth. New Horizons is scheduled to pass only 7,767 miles–less than the diameter of Earth– from Pluto at 4:49 a.m., PDT on the 14th. It will pass about twice as far from Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, about 14 minutes later. Radio signals from New Horizons will carry the up-close images and other scientific observations of Pluto and its satellites and will take 4 hours and 25 minutes to reach earth. Most of the observations won’t be sent until months after they are made, when the probe is able to turn its large antenna to Earth and transmit its findings to us. To celebrate the exploration of Pluto, Griffith Observatory will hold special free public events on the afternoons and evenings of July 14 and 17! See our Pluto Events Web Page for details.
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, July 25.
Follow the Sky Report on Twitter for updates of astronomy and space-related events.
From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com