{"id":876,"date":"2014-01-22T22:26:11","date_gmt":"2014-01-22T22:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/?p=876"},"modified":"2014-01-23T03:34:34","modified_gmt":"2014-01-23T03:34:34","slug":"griffith-observatory-sky-report-for-the-week-ending-wednesday-january-29-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/2014\/01\/22\/griffith-observatory-sky-report-for-the-week-ending-wednesday-january-29-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, January 29, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Click<\/strong><\/a>LISTEN to this week\u2019s Sky Report<\/p>\n

This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, January 29, 2014. Here is what\u2019s happening in the skies of Southern California:<\/p>\n

The innermost planet, Mercury, is visible starting 30 minutes after sunset. Binoculars will help you to find Mercury shining like a bright star above the west\u2013southwest horizon. The planet appears slightly higher day after day, gaining in elevation from 7 degrees to 11 degrees between the 22nd<\/sup> and 29th<\/sup>. Over the same dates, Mercury\u2019s setting time changes from 6:25 to 6:45 p.m. A telescope is needed to see the gibbous phase of Mercury.<\/p>\n

Brilliant planet Jupiter is in Gemini the Twins. The planet becomes eye-catching low in the east during evening twilight, and passes nearly overhead at 10:30 p.m. Jupiter sets in the west-northwest as dawn starts. The planet\u2019s famous storm, the Great Red Spot, will face Los Angeles in the early evening on the nights of January 22nd<\/sup>, 23rd, 25th<\/sup>, 27th<\/sup>, and 28th<\/sup>, according to Sky and Telescope\u2019s on-line calculator<\/a>. Jupiter is currently one of the objects featured through Griffith Observatory\u2019s telescopes.<\/p>\n

Orange planet Mars is in Virgo the Maiden. Mars outshines Virgo\u2019s brightest star, Spica, and is located about 5 degrees northwest of the star this week. Mars is highest in the south at the start of dawn.<\/p>\n

The ringed planet, Saturn, in Libra the scales, is best seen at the start of dawn when it can be found in the southeast sky, about 30 degrees to the lower left of Mars. Saturn is slightly fainter than Mars, and has a golden hue. Through a telescope, Saturn\u2019s magnificent ring system appears tilted 22 degrees from edge-on.<\/p>\n

The brightest planet, Venus, can be seen shortly before sunrise just above the east-southeast horizon. A telescope will show the planet\u2019s crescent phase.<\/p>\n

The waning moon\u2019s phase is last quarter on the 23rd<\/sup> and crescent for the remainder of the week. It will become new on the 30th<\/sup>. The moon passes Mars on the 23rd<\/sup>, Saturn on the 25th<\/sup>, and Venus on the 28th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s telescopes Tuesday-Sunday before 9:30 p.m. Check our website for our 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, February 8.<\/p>\n

From Griffith Observatory, I\u2019m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LISTEN to this week\u2019s Sky Report This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, January 29, 2014. Here is what\u2019s happening in the skies of Southern California: The innermost planet, Mercury, is visible starting 30 minutes … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-skyreport"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":879,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876\/revisions\/879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}