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The sky in November

Natural History, Nov, 2004 by Joe Rao

Mercury sets in the southwest soon after the Sun does throughout the month, which gives it a poor evening apparition--though you can view it easily enough with binoculars. The farther south you are, the easier time you'll have seeing the planet. On the 20th Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation, or apparent distance from the Sun, twenty-two degrees east of our star. On that evening it sets seventy-five minutes after sunset. Thereafter Mercury sets earlier with each passing night.

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Venus, queen of the predawn hours, is brilliant, as always. The planet rises an hour or so before dawn twilight; by fifty minutes before sunrise it is at least twenty degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. Early in the month Venus joins with Jupiter-the latter shining brightly, but with only about one-eighth the brilliance of Venus--in the constellation Virgo, the virgin. The two planets are closest on the 4th and 5th. On the 9th the duo is joined by the Moon; Mars and the first-magnitude star Spica are not far below. Imagine the astrological significance the ancients might have ascribed to such a celestial encounter! Venus is on its way around the far side of the Sun, so through a telescope it appears gibbous and small. The planet passes Spica at midmonth, moving four degrees north of the star on the 16th.

Mars rises out of the east-southeast just after 5 A.M. on the 1st and only about fifteen minutes earlier by the end of the month. At magnitude 1.7, Mars is still a relatively inconspicuous object. The planet moves from Virgo into the constellation Libra, the scales, by the 22nd.

Jupiter, in Virgo, rises in the east at roughly a quarter to four in the morning at the beginning of November, and about ninety minutes earlier by month's end. At dawn Jupiter is well up in the southeast. As I noted earlier, Jupiter joins Venus and the Moon on the 9th, which will make for a striking predawn sight. After sunrise that day the Moon occults, or hides, Jupiter above much of central aim eastern Canada, as well as parts of the Great Lakes region and the northeastern United States. A more spectacular occultation of Jupiter is in store next month--stay tuned.

Saturn is in the constellation Gemini, the twins, and is easy to see all month. The ringed planet rises just before 10 P.M. on the 1st, and about two hours earlier by month's end. It appears as a very bright yellowish-white "star" shining at magnitude 0.1 at midmonth. On the evening of the 3rd, Saturn appears well to the west (to the right) of a waiting gibbous Moon. On the 30th the Moon again pays a visit to Saturn, passing about five degrees to the north of the planet late that evening. Its great ring system is tilted nearly twenty-two degrees to our line of sight, making Saturn breathtakingly beautiful even when viewed through a small telescope.

The Moon wanes to last quarter on the 5th at 12:53 A.M. and becomes new on the 12th at 9:27 A.M. It waxes to flint quarter on the 19th at 12:50 A.M. and becomes full on the 26th at 3:07 P.M.

All precise times are given in eastern standard time.

The sky in November

Natural History, Nov, 2004 by Joe Rao

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