The sky in November

Natural History, Nov, 2002 by Joe Rao

Mercury reaches superior conjunction November 14 and is thus hidden by the Sun all month.

Venus makes a rapid leap into the dawn sky this month. You might spot it as early as November 7, low along the east-southeastern horizon about forty minutes before sunrise. The planet rises about six minutes earlier each day thereafter, so it's rising an hour and a half before the Sun by the 14th and three hours before dawn by month's end. Its beautiful thin crescent is visible through a telescope or even binoculars held steady.

Mars is unusually dim, shining for much of November at magnitude 1.7. Throughout the month it rises at about 4:00 A.M. local time. Mars passes 3[degrees] north-northeast of the bright bluish star Spica on the morning of the 22nd. Continuing to approach Earth, it's only 214 million miles away by month's end.

Jupiter begins November in Cancer but moves into Leo on the 23rd. The planet, a blazing silvery object this month, initially shines at about magnitude--2 and brightens as the weeks pass. It rises above the east-northeastern horizon at about 11:30 P.M. on November 1 and nearly two hours earlier by the 30th, so by dawn it has soared high in the southern sky. On the night of November 25-26 a waning gibbous Moon slowly overtakes Jupiter, sliding 4[degrees] north during the predawn hours.

Saturn moves out of Orion's club and back into Taurus on November 21. It rises at about 7:45 P.M. on the 1st and two hours earlier (before the end of evening twilight) by month's end. The planet appears as a yellowish white "star," shining at magnitude--0.2 at midmonth. On the evening of the 21st, Saturn is well to the east of the Moon; on the 22nd it is well to the west. The planet's great rings are tilted near their maximum of 26.5[degrees] to our line of sight all month.

The Moon is new on November at 3:34 P.M. It waxes to first quarter on November 11 at 3:52 P.M. and to full on the 19th at 8:34 P.M. The Moon wanes to last quarter on November 27 at 10:46 A.M. On the 19th the satellite undergoes a penumbral eclipse. No part of the Moon enters the Earth's umbra (its dark shadow), but at the height of the eclipse--8:47 P.M.--about 89 percent of the Moon is within the Earth's lighter, penumbral shadow. For about twenty-five minutes before and after this time, the upper portion of the Moon should appear lightly shaded: overall, an underwhelming event.

The Leonid meteor shower, which radiates from the so-called sickle of Leo, displays a double peak this year. The first peak can best be seen from Africa and Europe near 0403 Greenwich Mean Time on November 19. The second favors much of North America at about 5:40 A.M., also on the 19th. Each peak could bring as many as a few thousand sightings an hour--except that a brilliant full Moon is likely to obscure all but the brightest of these meteors. To see them, try to view as much of the sky as possible, preferably far from city lights. Keep your eyes moving across the sky and stay alert; brilliant fireballs or bolides (exploding meteors) are possible.

Unless othenwise noted, all times art, given in Eastern Standard Time.