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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through June 6th, 2019. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

As darkness falls, a familiar pattern of stars called the Big Dipper is at it’s highest in the northern sky. The Big Dipper is a portion of a more sprawling constellation of stars called Ursa Major the Great Bear, but the Dipper pattern is the brightest part of Ursa Major. The Big Dipper is very useful to know because it can help you to identify many other key stars in the sky. In the early evening in spring, the Big Dipper is oriented with its bowl turned toward the horizon, and its bent handle to the right of the bowl. If you extend an imaginary line from top to bottom through the two stars forming the left side of the bowl by a distance equal to five times the spacing between the stars, the line comes to another star of similar brightness. This is Polaris, the North Star. If you extend the curve of the handle of the Big Dipper to the right, the curve will bring you to a brilliant orange star called Arcturus in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman. Extending the same curve as far again from Arcturus will lead you to a bright white star called Spica in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. This handy feature of the Big Dipper’s handle can be remembered by the phrase “arc to Arcturus and Spin off to Spica.”

By 10:00 p.m., a brilliant object, brighter than any star in the sky, is noticeable low in the southeast. This is the planet Jupiter, now in front of the constellation Ophiuchus the Snake Bearer. Binoculars will make it possible for you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons, first reported by Galileo in 1609, and now known as the Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Jupiter’s most famous oval storm, the Great Red Spot, is visible through larger telescopes as it will be when it faces observers on the West Coast at 11:00 p.m. on May 30th, June 2nd, and 4th. Earth’s rotation arcs Jupiter to its highest point as it crosses the southern meridian at about 1:30 a.m., and to low in the southwest sky at dawn.

Golden planet Saturn, in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer, arcs through the sky along the same path, but about two hours behind and to the left of Jupiter. A telescope is needed to see Saturn’s beautiful ring system.

The waning crescent moon passes Venus in the morning sky on June 1st. New moon is on the 3rd, and on the 4th, the waxing crescent moon will be visible low in the west-southwest at 8:30 p.m. The planet Mercury should be visible as a bright point of light 6 degrees (about a binocular field-of-view) to the lower right of the moon. At the same time, binoculars should also show the distinctive orange gleam of the fainter planet Mars at the same angular distance above the moon. By the 6th, moonset is at 11:26 p.m.

Venus, the brightest planet, is difficult to see because of its proximity to the east-northeast horizon when it is most visible, about 30 minutes before sunrise.

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, June 8th between 2:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Follow The Sky Report, All Space Considered, and Griffith Observatory on Twitter for updates on astronomy and space-related events.

From Griffith Observatory, I’m Anthony Cook, and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com.