LISTEN to this week’s Sky Report

I’m David Nakamoto, and I shall be taking over the monthly Sky Report from Anthony Cook, who is retiring from Griffith Observatory after 42 years.

This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report through the period ending November 30^th, 2020. Here’s what’s happening in the skies of southern California.

The giant planets Jupiter and Saturn appear in the southwest during evening twilight about 30 degrees above the horizon. They set in the southwest by about 9:00 p.m. Jupiter is the brighter of the pair, and Saturn appears about five degrees to the upper left of Jupiter on November 1^st. The planets are close to two degrees on November 30^th.

Copper-red Mars is receding from us and appears in the east after sunset. Mars reaches the meridian, high above the southern horizon, at 10:05 p.m. on the 1^st and at 8:10 p.m. on the 30^th. Mars sets earlier each night, from 4:20 a.m. at the beginning of this period to 2:20 a.m. at the end. The planet remains an excellent target for telescopic observation, but it shrinks from 20 arcseconds on the 1^st to 15 arcseconds on the 30^th.

The brightest planet, Venus, appears in the east, where it is easy to find each morning.  It rises at 3:30 a.m. on the 1^st, but by the 30^th it will rise at 4:24 a.m. A telescope may reveal its current gibbous phase. In the weeks to come, it will appear progressively more full.

The annual Leonid meteor shower is expected to reach its climax before dawn on November 17^th, when up to ten meteors per hour may be seen from dark skies, far from urban light pollution. Observe from wilderness conditions, if possible. The number of meteors should increase as the point from which they seem to stream—the shower’s radiant moves higher in the sky. The radiant is in the “sickle” of Leo the Lion. The radiant rises in the east, at 11:15 p.m. on the 16^th and is high in the south by 6:00 a.m. on the 17^th. The crescent moon sets before the shower is active and will not interfere with observations.

The meteoric particles of the Leonid shower come from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.  While in the past the Leonids have produced some awesome showers, we’re in a period of reduced activity until 2099.

The last quarter moon occurs on the 8^th. The moon is new on the 14^th, first quarter on the 21^st, and full on the 30^th. 

The crescent moon is poised below and to the right of Jupiter and Saturn on the 18^th, and below and to their left on the 19^th. On the 25^th, the gibbous moon passes below Mars.

Measures intended to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, keep Griffith Observatory closed to the public until further notice. Please check the Griffith Observatory homepage for current information.

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