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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through March 8th, 2017. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.
The planet Venus is the third brightest celestial object, after the sun and moon, and all winter long it has been prominent in the western sky after sunset. This situation will change soon, however, as the planet nears its inferior conjunction with the sun. Inferior conjunction is when Venus passes nearly between the Earth and the sun. At the same time it will leave the evening sky. After the conjunction, which happens on March 25, Venus will move to the morning sky. In the remaining evenings before the conjunction, Venus will first appear lower and lower in the western sky on successive dates, and it will set correspondingly earlier. Venus sets at 8:24 p.m. on the 1st and at 7:56 p.m. on the 8th. Venus now displays a beautiful, slender crescent through a telescope. The planet is currently featured through the public telescopes at Griffith Observatory.
The planet Mars, now almost as distant as it can be from Earth, appears similar to a bright orange star. Mars is located above Venus in the constellation Pisces the Fishes during the early evening.
The waxing moon changes from crescent to first quarter on the 5th, and then is gibbous on the following nights before the full moon on the 12th. The moon is attractively positioned near Venus and Mars on the 1st.
The moon passes in front of the bright orange star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus the Bull on Saturday the 4th. The event, called an occultation, starts at 7:08 p.m. when the star is covered by the dark eastern limb of the moon. Although the star’s disappearance can be seen with the unaided eye, the view is much more dramatic through binoculars or a telescope. Aldebaran will wink back into view from behind the moon’s bright western limb at 8:27 p.m. The times of the beginning and ending of the occultation will be different for observers outside of the Los Angeles area.
The second brightest planet, Jupiter, appears above the eastern horizon after 9:00 p.m. Jupiter is highest when it transits the meridian in the south at about 2:20 a.m., then slowly descends to the west-southwest at dawn. Jupiter appears in the constellation Virgo the Maiden, and is located north of Virgo’s brightest star, Spica. The blue-white hue of Spica contrasts with the light yellow tint of Jupiter.
The planet Saturn is in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. The planet is best seen at the start of dawn, at about 5:00 a.m., when it is about 30 degrees high in the south-southeast. To the eye, Saturn appears bright and golden. A telescope is needed to see Saturn’s beautiful system of rings.
The International Space Station will pass over Los Angeles on Thursday morning, March 2, between 5:18 and 5:23 a.m. Exceeding Jupiter in brilliance, the ISS will cross the sky from the southwest to the northeast, and it appears near the zenith 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 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, March 4th, from 2:00 to 9:30 p.m.
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From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook, and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.