The Moon
Full 2nd 15:45 – 06:53
Last Quarter 9th 23:15 – 13:19
New 16th 07:30 – 15:18
First Quarter 24th 12:38 – 23:26
Now that we’ve reverted to GMT and forsaken Summer Time, it’s dark enough for observing by 6.30pm and it lasts till 5am, some 10.5 hours, and they’re all dark hours too, not like in summer’s permanent twilight.
Planets.
Jupiter is still the centre of attraction for the first part of the month, shining like a beacon in the south from dusk to setting at11pm. Towards the end of the month it’ll be setting at 9pm but that still leaves 3 hours each night to study the disc and watch the moons making their rounds. Make the most of it though.
Uranus will be better placed for observation, some 35° further east of Jupiter and a little higher in the sky, and will be available for longer, but is much smaller, so it’s blue disc will be more difficult to observe.
Neptune will get to within 3° of Jupiter by the end of November, so will also be setting at the same time, and being even smaller than Uranus, will be more difficult.
On the other side of the sky, in the east, on the first of the month, we have Mars first up, at 10.30pm, soon after Orion clears the horizon. At mag 0.4, 8arcsec in diameter and quite orange, it will be easily seen, and as it’s also rising in the middle of the Beehive cluster M44, in Cancer, it’ll make a good picture, but will need a telescope to do it justice. By the end of the month it’ll be rising at 9pm but will have left the Beehive cluster as it’s falling backwards towards the Sun. However at mag –0.1 and 10 arcsec, it’s bigger and brighter, so start looking for detail on the disc. It’ll be getting closer and bigger for the next two months.
Next up is Saturn, but you’ll have to wait till 3.30am on the first. Recovering from its edge-on position and presenting an increasingly more pleasant sight, at mag 1.0 and 16 arcsec, and distinctly a light yellow, it’ll be easier to pick out from the background stars than Mars, but not nearly as bright as when the rings are prominent. It’s certainly worth trying to take its picture, but a telescope will be needed, as for Mars. By the end of the month Saturn will be rising by 2am, and will be in the sky till dawn, several hours away.
Venus will rise at the start of the month at 5.30am, in dawn twilight, but will be bright enough at mag –3.9 to overcome the rising dawn for some time. At 10 arcsec it’s no bigger than Mar or Saturn, but is so much brighter due to its full cover of white clouds, giving it a much greater albedo than other planets, 0.7, whereas Mars’s is 0.15, and the Moon’s 0.12. Albedo is the reflectivity of a body, a planet with an albedo of 1.0 means it reflects all light falling on it.
Mercury is too close to the Sun to be observed this month.
Meteor Showers.
We have some showers of interest this month, particularly the Taurids and Leoids. The Taurids have southern and northern radiants, peaking on the 5th and 12th respectively, but their streams extend for the whole month. The northern come from just south of the Pleiades and the southern from 12° further south. The Leonids appear to come from the constellation Leo, just behind the Sickle, which forms the head of the Lion. The peak is on the 17th. The almost full Moon will interfere with the southern Taurids as it’ll be within a hands breath of the radiant, but the northern Taurids will be not so badly affected, the Moon will also be a waning crescent. Similarly, the Leonids will have only the new Moon to contend with.
Comets. Again, several about but none of prominence, and all will need a good telescope and sky chart to find.
What else? The darkening skies will enable us to spend more time observing, and favourite constellations like Taurus and Orion, Gemini and Leo, will be in good positions to observe the objects they hold. Top of the list is the Great Orion Nebula, coming nicely into position for observation. Visible to the naked eye and a fine object in binoculars, but infinitely better through a telescope of some size, good to photograph but difficult because of its very wide dynamic range. November is a good month of variety, still having the Milky Way and its clusters and nebulae and also the galaxies of Leo and Virgo and Coma Berenices.
Satellites. ISS
11th at 18:15, from SSW to S getting 20° high in the S
12th at 18:36, from SW to SSW getting 24° high in the SSW
14th at 17:46, from SW to SE getting 36° high in the SE
Iridium Flares
4th at 17:42:21, 57° high in NNE. Bright
5th at 17:36:13, 58° high in NNE. Bright
5th at 17:43:05, 11° high in WNW. Bright
6th at 17:30:05, 60° high in NNE. Very bright
Lots in November but check on http://www.heavens-above.com
For sky charts for planets or other objects contact Observatory