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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through September 9, 2015. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
Gold-hued Saturn, in the constellation Libra the Scales, now is the only planet visible to the unaided eye in the evening. It is the brightest object visible in the southwest sky as twilight deepens, and sets in the west-southwest at about 10:50 p.m. Because each evening the time that Saturn sets occurs about 4 minutes earlier than the setting time of the previous night, Saturn will soon be lost to view in the early evening. For now, however, Saturn, its beautiful rings, and several of its many moons can still be seen through the public telescopes at Griffith Observatory.
The waning moon rises at 10:15 p.m. on the 2nd and at 3:20 a.m. on the 9th. The moon’s phase is gibbous until it reaches last quarter on the morning of the 5th. After that, it is waning crescent on its way to new moon on the 12th.
The brightest planet, Venus can be seen to the right of orange planet Mars low in the sky and due east at about 5:45 a.m. each morning. The moon appears directly above Venus on the 9th.
Also on the morning of the 9th, the International Space Station will make a spectacular dawn appearance, directly over Los Angeles. The ISS will nearly equal Venus in brightness as it crosses the sky from southwest to northeast. The orbiting space laboratory first emerges from Earth’s shadow 35 degrees high in the southwest at 5:18 a.m., and sets in the northeast nearly six minutes later. As seen from Los Angeles, the ISS will be directly overhead, and 252 miles away, at 5:20 a.m.
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, September 19.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com