SkyEye

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

November 2013

The Calendar

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	Fri	Venus at greatest elongation east.
1	Fri	Mercury at inferior conjunction
2	Sat	The Moon occults the first-magnitude star Spica: visible from northern Europe (but not Ireland and the United Kingdom) from about 05:15 UT.
3	Sun	The New Moon participates in a rare hybrid solar eclipse.
4	Mon
5	Tue
6	Wed	Moon at perigee
6	Wed	Saturn at solar conjunction
7	Thu
8	Fri
9	Sat
10	Sun	First Quarter Moon
11	Mon
12	Tue
13	Wed
14	Thu
15	Fri
16	Sat
17	Sun	The Full Moon obliterates the Leonids.
18	Mon	Mercury at greatest elongation west
19	Tue
20	Wed
21	Thu	The Alpha Monocerotids are also largely wiped out by the brightness of the nearly full Moon.
21	Thu	Comet 2P/Encke at perihelion
22	Fri	Moon at apogee
23	Sat	Comet C/2012 S1 ISON passes near the first-magnitude star Spica.
24	Sun	Neptune at east quadrature
25	Mon	Last Quarter Moon
26	Tue
27	Wed
28	Thu	Comet C/2012 S1 ISON at perihelion
29	Fri	The Moon occults the first-magnitude star Spica: visible from Alaska and northern Canada from about 15:45 UT.
30	Sat

Coming up next month...

Solstice on Earth means the official beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere and of winter in northern latitudes. And will comet C/2012 S1 ISON survive its brush with the Sun or will it be torn apart by gravitational stresses?

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.] A rare hybrid annular/total solar eclipse occurs on 3 November.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON: Leo » Virgo » Libra » Scorpius » Ophiuchus » Scorpius
The hugely anticipated comet attains naked eye visibility this month ahead of perihelion on 28 November. It is primarily a pre-dawn object so you'll have to get up early to spot it!
Comet 2P/Encke: Virgo » Libra » Scorpius » Ophiuchus » Scorpius
Reliable 2P/Encke returns for its 62nd observed perihelion. It should brighten to naked eye visibility during its closest approach to the Sun but this visit is likely going to be completely overshadowed by that of another comet, C/2012 S1 ISON.
Mercury: Libra » Virgo » Libra
At inferior conjunction on the first day of the month, Mercury reappears in the east before sunrise around mid-month. Northern hemisphere observers will get the best views this month, with the planet being easiest to spot around 18 November when greatest elongation west occurs.
Venus: Ophiuchus » Sagittarius
The evening star is best seen from the southern hemisphere. Reaching greatest elongation east on the first day of the month, Venus begins to dip towards the western horizon for southern hemisphere observers. However, it appears to get a little higher in the sunset sky for viewers in northern latitudes.
Mars: Leo » Virgo
Rising ever earlier during the morning hours, the red planet finally brightens to first magnitude.
Jupiter: Gemini
The largest planet in the solar system now rises around mid-evening.
Saturn: Libra
Saturn reaches solar conjunction on 6 November, placing it too near to the Sun to observe.
Uranus: Pisces
At opposition only last month, this mysterious world is well-placed for viewing in the evening, not setting until the early hours of the morning.
Neptune: Aquarius
A small telescope is necessary to view the most distant planet in the solar system. Look for it in the early evening; east quadrature this month means that Neptune sets around midnight.

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.

The SkyEye banner features Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT). Discovered on 24 August 2001, it reached perihelion in mid-May 2004. Since it is on a hyperbolic orbit, it will never return to the solar system. The comet was discovered by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking program which is run by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This composite image was taken at Kitt Peak National Observatory on 7 May 1994 and is courtesy the National Science Foundation.