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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through November 9th, 2016. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
Standard time returns on Sunday, November 6th. On that morning, 1:59 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time, will be followed by 1:00 a.m., Pacific Standard Time. After that, the sun will appear to rise too early and set too late, but noon, according to the sun’s position, will actually happen close to 12 noon! Daylight Saving Time will return to rob us of an hour of sleep on March 12th, 2017.
After sunset, look for three planets in a line that stretches from the upper left to the lower right, starting with Mars in the south-southwest to Venus and Saturn in the southwest. Venus is the brightest planet. The angular distance between Mars and Venus shrinks from 36 to 33 degrees between the 2nd and the 9th, while the gap between Venus and Saturn widens from five degrees to more than 12 degrees during the same period.
The waxing crescent moon appears to the upper right of Venus on the 2nd and above Mars on the 5th. First Quarter Moon is on the 7th, and after that the Moon appears waxing gibbous through the 9th. This week long period is excellent for viewing lunar details through binoculars and telescopes. The moon is currently featured through the public telescopes at Griffith Observatory.
Jupiter, the second brightest planet, is eye-catching as it appears over the eastern horizon at dawn. NASA’s Juno spacecraft and amateur astronomers are reporting new bright storms that are erupting from Jupiter’s north equatorial belt, one of two dark stripes visible in nearly any telescope. The storms are in the belt that does not contain Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Information on how amateurs can contribute valuable scientific observations of Jupiter’s erupting storms is provided by the Sky and Telescope magazine Website.
The International Space Station will outshine Jupiter when it appears over Los Angeles before dawn on Thursday, November 3rd. The ISS will emerge from earth’s shadow while already 59 degrees high in the east at 5:31 a.m., and it will descend to the northeast horizon over the following three minutes.
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 free 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, November 5.
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