November 1 – 7
Look for Saturn now while you have the chance to see it. The
ringed world leaves the evening sky this month and won’t be visible again for several
months. You’ll find it in the low west-southwest as it’s getting dark.
See if you can detect earthshine starting on the 3rd
and running for several more days. Earthshine is the faint illumination on the
dark portion of the moon and it’s easier to see through binoculars. Two other
names for Earthshine are the old moon in the arms of the young moon and ashen
light.
By the evening of the 4th,
the moon will shift it’s located between Venus (to the moon’s lower left) and
Mars (to the moon’s upper right). Venus is brilliant white in color while Mars
appears a fainter yellow-orange at best.
The moon passes its closest to Mars for November on the
evening of the 5th. Mars is the star directly left of the moon. Below
the moon is the constellation of Sagittarius the Archer. Its brightest stars create
the shape of a teapot tilting over to pour a cup of tea.
The moon reaches first quarter on the 7th. This
will be a fine time for stargazers to observe the moon through binoculars.
Because the lunar shadows cast by sunrise are face on to Earth, you’re
binoculars will let you see more craters and in better relief.
November 8 – 14
The Solitary One, a star named Fomalhaut is the only bright
star below the moon on the 8th. The reason Fomalhaut appears so
prominent is that there only faint stars in this part of the sky. The constellations around Fomalhaut are
water-based. These constellations include Capricornus the Sea-goat and Pisces
Austrinus the Southern Fish.
On the 13th, stargazers will find the moon passing
it closest to the Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades is a small and bright
star cluster located 444 light years away and located to the moon’s left on the
13th. Aim binoculars at this star cluster and stargazers will see
around 24 member stars swarming around a brighter tiny dipper shape.
Above the
moon is the constellation of Aries the Ram. The Ram appears as a small grouping
of three stars.
The moon is full on the 14th. The full moon in
November is called the Beaver Moon. During the full moon, binoculars do not
show very many craters because shadows cast by the sun are located on the rim
of the moon. Instead, albedo features, or variations in the reflectivity of the
moon stand out the best in binoculars.
November 15 – 21
 |
| Opps! I meant to add the 15th at 1:00 AM, not the 13th at 1:00 AM |
It’s an early morning event, but in the morning of the 15th,
stargazers will find the moon drifting through the Hyades star cluster.
Aldebaran, a bright orange star in Hyades is just 3.5 degrees away from the
moon. That means stargazers can see the moon and Aldebaran together in
binoculars.
As its getting dark on the 15th, look in the low
west for Mercury. That’s because Mercury, Venus, and Mars will form a straight
line spanning 45 degrees. The line begins in the southwest and tilts to the upper
right. brilliant Venus will be nearly dead center of the line.
After finding all three planets in the southwest, turn your
attention toward the southeast. There, stargazers will find the moon above
Orion the Hunter.
An easy way to learn how to identify Gemini the Twins is to
wait until the moon passes close to the constellation. That happens on the 16th
this month. Stargazers will find the moon located between the feet of Gemini. A
good time to look for Gemini is around 10:00 PM.
Hey, what’s that bright star below the moon on the 17th? Why
it’s Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor, or the Little Dog. Canis Minor
is one of Orion’s two faithful hunting dogs; the other is Canis Major the Big
Dog. Procyon appears bright not because it’s intrinsically bright, but because
it’s one of the closest stars to the solar system. Even more interesting is
that Procyon has a companion white dwarf star. White dwarf stars are stars once
like the sun that have run out of hydrogen fuel to support their bulk against
gravity. As a result, gravity crushes them down by a factor of 100. That shrinking
increases their density by a factor of 100 cubed, or by a million. A sugar cube
sized piece of white dwarf would weigh as much as a car on Earth.
The Beehive star cluster is just past binocular distance from
the moon on the 18th. In binoculars, the Beehive appears as a nice sprinkling
of stars. None of the stars appear particularly bright, which gives the star
cluster the same appearance as a swarm of bees. To see the Beehive, point your
binoculars at the moon at around 11:30 PM and then shift your binoculars left
and slightly down. Shortly after the moon leaves your view, the Beehive star
cluster will enter.
Regulus, the brightest star of Leo the Lion is only two
degrees above the moon on the morning of the 21st. Since binoculars
have a field of view equal to five degrees, stargazers will see the entire moon
and Regulus together in their binoculars. You’ll need to go outside after 1:30 AM
to see this pairing.
The moon reaches the last quarter phase on the 21st.
That means the moon will rise right around midnight for stargazers who want to
take a look at the moon. Through binoculars, lots of craters are visible strewn
across the lunar southern hemisphere. And large lunar seas are visible in the
north. Located almost dead center of the illuminated half of the moon is a large
crater named Copernicus. Its diameter is 58 miles, although it appears larger
because of the apron of impact debris blanketing the crater’s rim.
November 22 – 31
As you drive to work on the 22nd,
you’ll find Leo the Lion crouched on top of the moon. Leo’s brightest star,
Regulus is located to the left of the moon and Leo’s second brightest star,
Denebola is located to the left. Above Regulus is Leo’s famous backwards
question mark pattern of stars.
Begin looking for earthshine on the morning of the 23rd.
You’ll have several days to observe it and stargazers will find a pair of
binoculars handy.
If you’re out and about at 5:00 AM on the 24th, look
for the moon in the low east-southeast. The bright star below the moon is the
planet Jupiter. Stargazers with binoculars will see at least two of Jupiter’s
largest satellites. From the bottom up, the satellites are Io, Europa, Jupiter,
and then Ganymede. Its possible Europa will be too close to the glare of
Jupiter for a pair of binoculars to cleanly separate the two.
On the morning of the 25th, you’ll find the moon
is sandwiched between Jupiter above and Spica below. The distance between upper
Jupiter and lower Spica is too great for binoculars to see them at the same
time. Spica by the way is the brightest star of Virgo the Maiden.
Your last chance to see earthsine in November is the morning of the 26th.
The moon is new on the 29th, so don’t expect to
see it in the evening again for a couple of days.
This Month’s Sources
Astronomical Phenomena of the Year 2016, The Nautical
Almanac Office and Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office
Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events for Calendar Year
2016, http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calender-2016.html
Night Sky Explorer
Dark Skies and Bright
Stars,
Your
Interstellar Guide
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