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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through March 16th, 2016. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
Daylight Saving Time returns on Sunday, March 13th. On that morning, 1:59 a.m. Pacific Standard Time is followed by 3:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. After the change, remember that the sun rises and sets an hour later than before, and the sun is highest in the sky at about 1:00 p.m., not at 12:00 noon. Standard time will return on November 6.
A day after the new moon, the moon returns to the evening sky on Wednesday the 9th. At 6:21 p.m., the end of civil twilight, look seven degrees above the western point on the horizon to see the slender waxing crescent. The moon’s phase is first quarter on the 15th. The moon sets at 7:00 p.m., PST on the 9th, but is up until 1:26 a.m., PDT on the 16th.
The planet Jupiter, in the constellation Leo the Lion, rises before sunset and is easy to see low in the eastern sky during evening twilight. Because of the time change, the best time to observe Jupiter, when it is highest and in the south, changes from 11:40 p.m., PST on Sunday the 13th to 12:36 a.m., PDT on Monday the 14th. Steadily-held binoculars are sufficient to show Jupiter’s four largest moons, while nearly any telescope will enable you to see the planet’s dark cloud belts, bright cloud zones, and storms, including the cherry-blossom-colored Great Red Spot. The Great Red spot will greet those viewing it at 9:00 p.m. through a telescope in the Pacific Time Zone on Wednesday the 9th, Friday the 11th, Monday the 14th, and Wednesday the 16th.
While Jupiter is highest in the sky, look low to the southeast to see the fiery glow of Mars, the Red Planet. Mars crosses constellation borders on the 13th, moving from Libra the Scales into Scorpius the Scorpion. Mars is highest in the south at dawn, when it is best to examine it through a telescope. Although still two months away from its best showing and relatively close approach to us in late May, a telescope can currently show the bright white spots of clouds and polar caps. A careful look will reveal that Mars does not currently look round, but displays a gibbous disk, 90-percent illuminated. This is the phase shown by the moon about three days before full. The easiest-to-spot dark marking on Mars, Syrtis Major, faces Los Angeles most directly on Saturday the 12th. On the 16th, a beautiful double-star in Scorpius named Graffias, also designated as beta Scorpii, will be visible in the same eyepiece field of view with Mars, only 11 arc-minutes to the southwest of the planet.
Golden planet Saturn, the constellation Ophiuchus the Snake Bearer, is also best seen at dawn. Between the 9th and the 16th the angular separation between Saturn and Mars shrinks from 15 degrees to 13 degrees. Saturn’s rings, unforgettable through nearly any telescope, are now angled 26 degrees from an edge-on orientation to us, only one degree shy of their maximum tilt.
Venus, the brightest planet, is poorly placed to see before sunrise. On the 14th at 5:39 a.m., PDT, the beginning of civil twilight–when dawn is advanced enough to mask all but the brightest stars–Venus achieves an angular elevation of only five degrees. After that date, Venus will be less than five degrees high at the start of civil twilight, and weather conditions will have to be unusually clear to spot Venus by eye without difficulty.
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, March 12th, from 2:00 p.m. until 9:45 p.m.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com