SkyEye

Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events.

November 2008

All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT).
Nightly darkness estimates are calculated for 45° N and 30° S.
Like total solar eclipses, lunar occultation events can be seen only from limited regions on Earth (and sometimes not at all if the occultation takes place during daylight hours). However, the Moon will appear close in the sky to its "target" for some hours either side of the actual occultation, regardless of where you are.

Date		Event
1	Sat
2	Sun	Moon at apogee
3	Mon
4	Tue
5	Wed
6	Thu	First Quarter Moon
6	Thu	Moon occults Neptune: visible from the north Atlantic, Ireland, western and northern Britain and Norway from about 18:00 UT.
7	Fri
8	Sat
9	Sun
10	Mon
11	Tue
12	Wed
13	Thu	Full Moon
13	Thu	Neptune at east quadrature
14	Fri	Moon at perigee
15	Sat
16	Sun
17	Mon	The waning gibbous Moon spoils this year's Leonid meteor shower.
18	Tue
19	Wed	Last Quarter Moon
20	Thu
21	Fri	The Alpha Monocerotid meteor shower receives some lunar interference from the waning crescent Moon.
22	Sat
23	Sun
24	Mon
25	Tue	Mercury at superior conjunction
26	Wed
27	Thu	New Moon
28	Fri
29	Sat	Moon at apogee
30	Sun

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. Dwarf planets and small solar-system bodies including comets, are not so constrained, often moving far above or below the ecliptic.

Sun: Libra -> Scorpius -> Ophiuchus
Although Ophiuchus is not a member of the zodiac, the ecliptic passes through it.
Mercury: Virgo -> Libra -> Scorpius -> Ophiuchus
Mercury is heading back towards the eastern horizon, on its way to superior conjunction on 25 November. It is lost from view early in the month from the southern hemisphere but remains visible to northern observers until mid-month.
Venus: Ophiuchus -> Sagittarius
The "morning star" is still best seen from the southern hemisphere where it continues to climb high above the western horizon. It is still low as seen from the north but is finally starting to gain altitude.
Mars: Libra -> Scorpius -> Ophiuchus
Mars is too close to the Sun to observe this month.
Jupiter: Sagittarius
Jupiter shares "evening star" duties with Venus, with the two bright planets getting very close together in the sky by the end of the month.
Saturn: Leo
Passing close to the unnamed fourth-magnitude star sigma Leonis in the first few days of the month, Saturn is rising near midnight by the end of the month.
Uranus: Aquarius
This mysterious world sets just after midnight.
Neptune: Capricornus
A small telescope is necessary to view the most distant planet in the solar system. At east quadrature on 13 November, it is occulted by the First Quarter Moon one week before.

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 summer (daylight savings) time is in effect.

Local Time	Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere
1730 hours (1830 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
1930 hours (2030 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
2130 hours (2230 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
2330 hours (0030 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
0130 hours (0230 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
0330 hours (0430 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S
0530 hours (0630 hours summer time)	45° N	30° S

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 variable star V838 Monocerotis in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Located 20,000 light years away in the constellation of Monoceros, V838 Mon temporarily brightened in early 2002. The reason for this outburst is not understood. The resulting light echo, the light from the stellar explosion illuminating the dust surrounding the the star, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in October of that year.