The Moon
New -------------- 6th - up from 07:49 to 16:11
First Quarter -- 13th - up from 13:01 to 23:20
Full --------------- 21st - up from 15:27 to 07:37
Last Quarter --- 28th - up from 23:45 to 12:18
This is the supposed start of the observing season, though there really isn’t one, but the nights are now longer and darker too, so objects are easier to see and can be seen for longer. Easy to develop a hate complex for clouds at this time of year, as Orion, Monoceros, Gemini, Taurus and cohorts are with us, and who can resist the glow of the Orion Nebula. Add an Ultra High Contrast filter to the eyepiece to bring out more of the nebulosity. It works on most nebulous items, planetary nebulae too, like the Ring and the Dumbbell, which are still with us this month, though considered summer items, so is a good investment.
You could also come down to our observatory on a clear Friday night, and look through ours in our large telescopes.
Planets
On the 1st, the Sun will set with Mercury and Mars, so neither will be visible, Venus will have set before it so will also not be visible.
In the east, on the 1st, Saturn will rise at 4:30am, a good hour before dawn. It’ll be followed by Venus rising in twilight at 7am, at the same time as the Sun so won’t be available. But if you could see it, it would show a 9% phase, a thin crescent, and be 54arcsec in diameter. Mercury and Mars will also be rising in daylight, so still not to be seen. By the 10th, Venus will rise about an hour and a half before the Sun so it should be possible to see it safely. Saturn will be 17° high by then and Venus will be on the horizon, but even bigger and a thinner crescent, 4.5%. From the 12th, it’ll be getting smaller and the crescent will fatten, but it’ll be further from the Sun and at mag –4.5, and be settled into its role as the Morning Star. Saturn will be higher, but at mag +0.9 and less than a third of the size will be easily mistaken for a star except for its yellow colour. By the end of November, Venus will have moved further away from the Sun and will be rising 4 hours before it at 4.30am, Saturn will have risen an hour and a half before that.
Later in the east, Neptune will rise at 2:30pm on the 1st, and on the 30th it’ll be about midday. Jupiter and Uranus will be up on the 1st, at 3:30pm, just before twilight starts to darken the sky, and by the end of November that’ll be at 1:30pm.
Neptune will be setting in the west on the 1st, at midnight, and on the 30th by 10pm. Jupiter and Uranus will follow on the 1st, at 2:30am and by the end of the month half an hour after midnight.
Comets.
Comet 10P/Tempel will be sat in Cetus, a few degrees below and to the left of Jupiter, but will be mag 13, will be difficult to see, particularly as that forecast is based on a point source and a comet is a spread out patch of light, so much dimmer.
The comet of the moment is C103/P Hartley, but like so many, the forecast was for a many times brighter object than actually appeared. It was difficult in binoculars and will continue to be so as it passes through Gemini on its journey away from Earth, getting fainter daily.
Other than those, there aren’t any easily seen comets at the moment, or in prospect, but if you’re really interested, then http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Ephemerides? Predicted position of heavenly bodies, they tell you where they’ll be on certain dates. You’ll also find tons more data than you can shout at, but look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and all sorts of other data. Well done, Mr. Google.
Meteors Showers. Not much to look forward to in November. There are about 6 recognised showers, but none with more than 5/hour rates at the clearest part of the sky, which is less than the sporadic ones seen any night.
Satellites Taken from www.heavens-above.com from where much more data can be obtained of all sorts of things “up there”.
ISS
1 Nov -1.8 at 17:16:30 10° up in SSW up to 21° in E
1 Nov -1.9 at 18:50:53 10° up in WSW up to 31° in SW
2 Nov -2.7 at 17:42:20 10° up in SW up to 36° in SSE
2 Nov -0.7 at 19:17:17 10° up in W up to 17° in WSW
3 Nov -1.8 at 16:34:04 10° up in SSW up to 22° in SSE
3 Nov -3.3 at 18:08:33 10° up in WSW up to 54° in S
4 Nov -2.6 at 16:59:53 10° up in SW up to 17° in SSE
4 Nov -2.8 at 18:34:53 10° up in W up to 49 in SW
5 Nov -3.2 at 17:26:03 10° up in WSW up to 55° in S
5 Nov -1.2 at 19:01:15 10° up in W up to 23° in WSW
6 Nov -3.3 at 17:52:20 10° up in W up to 60° in S
6 Nov -0.1 at 19:27:40 10° up in W up to 12° in W
7 Nov -3.1 at 16:43:25 10° up in WSW up to 57° in S
7 Nov -2.9 at 18:18:38 10° up in W up to 47° in SSW
8 Nov -3.2 at 17:09:38 10° up in W up to 59° in S
8 Nov -1.6 at 18:44:59 10° up in W up to 26° in SW
9 Nov -2.7 at 17:35:52 10° up in W up to 45° in SSW
10 Nov -1.8 at 18:02:10 10° up in W up to 27° in SSW
11 Nov -2.5 at 16:52:57 10° up in W up to 43° in SSW
12 Nov -1.5 at 17:19:11 10° up in W up to 26° in SSW
14 Nov -1.2 at 16:36:04 10° up in W up to 24° in SSW
28 Nov -1.3 at 06:44:51 10° up in SSW up to 25° in SSE
29 Nov -2.4 at 07:09:50 10° up in WSW up to 42° in SSE
Iridium Flares
D -- Time
1 05:37:43 mag -0, 28° up in SSE
1 18:53:35 mag -2, 45° up in SE
2 18:47:35 mag -5, 43° up in SE
3 18:41:35 mag -1, 42° up in SE
4 05:28:35 mag -4, 30° up in SSE
6 18:32:36 mag -2, 44° up in SE
7 05:19:30 mag -3, 31° up in S
7 18:26:38 mag -8, 43° up in SSE
8 05:13:28 mag -3, 31° up in S
8 17:38:40 mag -0, 58° up in NNE
8 18:20:36 mag -1, 42° up in SSE
9 17:32:33 mag -2, 59° up in NNE
10 17:26:25 mag -4, 60° up in NE
11 05:04:25 mag -4, 31° up in S
11 17:20:11 mag -4, 62° up in NE
11 18:11:37 mag -1, 42° up in SSE
12 04:58:21 mag -1, 31° up in S
12 07:04:50 mag -3, 69° up in NNW
12 17:14:10 mag -4, 62° up in NE
12 18:05:38 mag -4, 41° up in SSE
13 17:08:02 mag -5, 63° up in NE
13 17:59:37 mag -0, 40° up in SSE
16 17:50:43 mag -2, 39° up in S
17 17:44:41 mag -7, 38° up in S
21 17:29:48 mag -7, 35° up in S
23 06:07:52 mag -2, 51° up in NNW
25 17:14:54 mag -7, 31° up in S
26 05:50:01 mag -3, 46° up in N
26 15:57:36 mag -0, 75° up in E
27 05:43:56 mag -1, 44° up in N
27 07:46:18 mag -1, 78° up in NW