Sky Report
The Griffith Observatory Sky Report
Anthony Cook
Astronomical Observer
This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the week ending Wednesday, May 14. Here is what’s happening in the skies of Southern California:
The moon is back in the evening sky. Its phase changes from waxing crescent to first quarter on Sunday, May 4, then appears in waxing gibbous phase on following nights.
The planet Mercury is now putting on its best show during the evening twilight. The innermost planet can best be viewed starting at about 8:10 p.m.–half an hour after sunset. Mercury is then more than 10 degrees above the west-northwest horizon, about the same height as (but dimmer than) the star Sirius of Canis Major, the Big Dog, which at the same time is setting in the south west. Mercury sets at about 9:30 p.m.
As the sky darkens, look high and to the west to see a string three star like objects of nearly equal brightness. The red-hued object on the left is the planet Mars, the spot in the middle is the star Pollux, and that on the right the star Castor. Castor and Pollux are the bright stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. The trio sets by about 1:00 a.m. Notice how Mars moves a little farther from Castor and Pollux from evening to evening. The crescent moon appears below the trio’s center on Friday evening, May 9.
The early evening is also the best time to look to the upper left of Mars–toward the south–to see an uneven pair of bright objects. The brighter is the ringed planet, Saturn, and the fainter is Leo the Lion’s bright star, Regulus. In the last few weeks, amateur astronomers and NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have been observing an intense storm in the planet’s southern hemisphere, appearing as an irregular bright spot. The moon appears closest to Saturn on Monday, May 12.
Jupiter, in Sagittarius the Archer, is the brightest planet currently visible, and is eye catching in the southeast starting shortly after it rises at midnight. With changing cloud details and a accompanied by moons that are visible in ordinary binoculars, Jupiter is best observed at 5:00 a.m. when it is 34 degrees high in the south.
The Hubble Space Telescope will make an excellent appearance in the Los Angeles sky during the dawn on Sunday morning, May 11. Starting at 5:09 a.m., the orbiting observatory will move up from the west-northwest horizon, and is visible for the next 8 minutes as it travels through the ecliptic constellations, passing in turn through Libra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, and Capricornus. It appears 39 degrees above the southern horizon at 5:13 a.m., and then passes about 3 degrees above the brilliant planet Jupiter. The HST should appear as a slowly moving star, similar in brightness to the stars of the Big Dipper.
Free public sky viewing, day and night, is available through Griffith Observatory’s telescopes six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. This a great week to see Saturn and the moon through our telescopes. The next public star party, held by members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and the Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers, will be held on the Observatory’s front lawn on Saturday, May 10. For Observatory information, please visit our website, www.griffithobservatory.org, or call (213) 473-0800.
The Sky Report is updated every Wednesday, and can be heard as a recorded phone message by calling (213) 473-0880. From Griffith Observatory, I’m Tony Cook, and I can be reached at tcook@earthlink.net.