Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT). Daily darkness estimates are calculated for Greenwich, London (51.5° N, 0° W).
Calendar of Events - November
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 2 | Tue |
Moon at apogee |
| 5 | Fri |
Last Quarter Moon |
| 9 | Tue |
Moon occults Jupiter |
| 10 | Wed |
Moon occults Venus |
| 11 | Thu |
Moon occults Mars |
| 12 | Fri |
New Moon |
| 14 | Sun |
Moon occults Mercury |
| Moon at perigee |
| 17 | Wed |
The storms of the past few years will probably be missing this time around but the Leonids meteor shower is still worth a look as it peaks at around 0800 UT.
|
| 19 | Fri |
First Quarter Moon |
| 21 | Sun |
Mercury at greatest elongation east |
| The waxing gibbous Moon should not unduly hamper sightings of the Alpha Monocerotids meteor shower which is expected to peak at about 0900 UT. |
| 26 | Fri |
Full Moon |
| 30 | Tue |
Moon at apogee |
The Solar System
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars.
- Sun
- Location: Libra -> Scorpio ->
Ophiuchus
- Comet C/2003 K4 (LINEAR)
- Location: Corvus -> Hydra
This comet continues to head deeper into southern hemisphere skies.
- Mercury
- Location: Libra -> Scorpius ->
Ophiuchus -> Scorpius
The last of four lunar occultations this month occurs on 14 November when the Moon obscures Mercury in a daytime event. Found in the west after sunset, this tiny planet remains close to the horizon all month from a northern vantage point. However, southern planet watchers will see it rapidly climb into the sunset sky until late in the month before falling just as quickly.
- Venus
- Location: Virgo -> Libra
Venus undergoes its second daytime occultation of the Moon this year on 10 November. Now appearing in the east before sunrise, the "morning star" appears to be sinking rapidly to northern observers but maintaining a low but steady altitude for those looking at it from the southern hemisphere.
- Mars
- Location: Virgo -> Libra
Like last month, Mars is occulted by the Moon during daylight hours. The red planet is somewhat difficult to observe since it rises not long before the Sun.
- Jupiter
- Location: Virgo
Jupiter and Venus appear very close to one another on at 1 UT on 5 November. Four days later, the Moon occults the largest planet in the solar system during daytime on Earth. To see Jupiter this month, get up very early in the morning.
- Saturn
- Location: Gemini
The ringed planet becomes easier and easier to observe, now rising in mid-evening.
- Uranus
- Location: Aquarius
This distant gas giant sets before midnight this month.
- Neptune
- Location: Capricornus
Neptune sets even earlier than its neighbour Uranus so it will be necessary to start observing as soon as skies become dark enough to view this eighth-magnitude object.
- Pluto
- Location: Serpens (Cauda)
With a brightness of around fourteenth magnitude, the smallest planet in the solar system can be seen only through a good-sized telescope. However, because it will be at conjunction with the Sun next month, it may be difficult to see in the western sky just before sunset.
The Celestial Sphere
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if daylight savings time is in effect. (Note: These times are approximate.)
Northern Hemisphere : 45° N
- 1730 hours (1830 hours daylight savings)
- 1930 hours (2030 hours daylight savings)
- 2130 hours (2230 hours daylight savings)
- 2330 hours (0030 hours daylight savings)
- 0130 hours (0230 hours daylight savings)
- 0330 hours (0430 hours daylight savings)
- 0530 hours (0630 hours daylight savings)
Southern Hemisphere : 30° S
- 1730 hours (1830 hours daylight savings)
- 1930 hours (2030 hours daylight savings)
- 2130 hours (2230 hours daylight savings)
- 2330 hours (0030 hours daylight savings)
- 0130 hours (0230 hours daylight savings)
- 0330 hours (0430 hours daylight savings)
- 0530 hours (0630 hours daylight savings)
For More Information...
- Consult our online glossary for non-technical explanations of many of the astronomical terms used in these pages.
- Blue moons, eclipses, the dates of Easter and much more can be found at the Interactive Astronomy Pages.
- For more information about the objects and events described in SkyEye, visit these astronomy-related sites.
Credits
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of your favourite amateur astronomy magazine available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.
The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. Used with permission.
Copyright © 1995-2004 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman
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Obliquity
Last modified on 31 October 2004
https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/archive/2004/nov2004.html