{"id":927,"date":"2014-03-12T21:36:53","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T21:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/?p=927"},"modified":"2014-03-13T01:46:26","modified_gmt":"2014-03-13T01:46:26","slug":"griffith-observatory-sky-report-for-the-week-ending-wednesday-march-19-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/2014\/03\/12\/griffith-observatory-sky-report-for-the-week-ending-wednesday-march-19-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, March 19, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The moon brightens many of the nighttime hours this week. It changes phase from waxing gibbous to full on March 16, the Worm Moon. After this, the moon will show as waning gibbous until it reaches last quarter phase on the 23rd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Jupiter, in Gemini the Twins, is the brilliant planet that is nearly overhead as darkness falls. It can be seen until it sets in the west-northwest at 3:15 a.m. While binoculars can show you the planet\u2019s four largest moons, appearing as tiny stars that re-arrange themselves nightly around the planet\u2019s disk, a telescope is required to make out the planet\u2019s weather patterns. The most famous of these, Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot, an oval storm that has been seen for centuries, will be visible from southern California at 9:00 p.m. on the 14th<\/sup>, 16th<\/sup> and 19th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

The orange planet Mars is in Virgo the Maiden. It easily outshines Virgo\u2019s brightest star, Spica, located 6 degrees southwest of the planet. This is prime-time for backyard Mars observers, with only a month to go until the planet\u2019s close-approach to earth. The best time to examine Mars this week is 3:00 a.m., when it is at its highest in the south, but it is easy to see by 10:00 p.m., after it rises in the east-southeast. A telescope, high magnification, and steady weather conditions will allow you to see the planet\u2019s features. Because a day on Mars is 40 minutes longer than our day, the face of the planet that can be seen changes a little night-by-night. This week, the Tharsis region of Mars, dominated by several giant, cloud-shrouded volcanoes, faces us on the 13th<\/sup>. By the 20th<\/sup>, we will be able to see the Chryse region and the giant canyon, Valles Marineris. The moon passes near Mars on the night of the 18th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Golden planet Saturn, in Libra the Scales, rises in the east-southeast at 11:30 p.m. and is at its highest in the south just before dawn. A telescope can be used to observe the northern face of the planet\u2019s spectacular rings, now tilted 22 degrees from edge-on. The moon will appear near Saturn on the mornings of the 20th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

The brightest planet, Venus, blazes in the southeast at the start of dawn, and Mercury, appearing as a bright star, can be seen 8 degrees high in the east at 6:40 a.m. Use binoculars to find Mercury against the bright light of dawn.<\/p>\n

The Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Corporation, SpaceX, will launch its third contracted cargo supply mission to the International Space Station on Sunday morning, March 16, at 1:41 a.m., PDT. The modified Falcon 9 booster used to launch the Dragon supply capsule has landing legs that are designed to deploy after it separates from the upper stage. Instead of simply being discarded, the lower stage will restart an engine that is intended to power the booster to a soft, controlled landing in the ocean. This is seen as an important test of system that could eventually allow a rocket\u2019s return to a landing field after launch for re-use. Follow the launch live on NASA TV<\/a> or on the SpaceX webcast<\/a>.<\/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 from Tuesday through 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, April 5.<\/p>\n

From Griffith Observatory, I\u2019m Anthony Cook and I can be reached at griffithobserver@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/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, March 19, 2014. Here is what\u2019s happening in the skies of Southern California: The moon brightens many of the nighttime hours this … 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-927","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\/927","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=927"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":933,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927\/revisions\/933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.griffithmedia.org\/skyreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}