The cold temperatures have arrived for Utah and probably for most of my readers. November will likely bring snow and icy conditions making the nights miserable. I hope that you will still find the time, maybe just a couple of minutes, to go out and take a look at the stars. Perhaps when you take the garbage out at night or while you are waiting for your car to warm up in the morning, take a look at the wonders above you.
November will bring planetary conjunctions, a meteor shower, a comet, and another asteroid. Jupiter will return to our view and Mars will brighten, making it easier to see in the morning sky.
-Mercury
For most of my readers, Mercury will be visible in the western sky after sunset. The innermost planet will reach high enough and shine bright enough for viewers to easily see it in the twilight glow. By mid-month, Mercury will be found passing closely by the red star, Antares. The last week of November will have Mercury reaching its greatest eastern elongation, which is the furthest eastern point Mercury reaches in its orbit of the Sun from our earthly perspective. During this week, Mercury can be found approximately 3 degrees south of Saturn.
-Venus
Our sister planet is having a hard time rising before the morning Sun. During the first week of November, Venus will rise about 90 minutes before the Sun and shine brightly, making it easily visible. On the first, the star, Spica, can be found just south of Venus, which is about 100 times dimmer than Venus, from our perspective. By the 2nd week, Venus and Jupiter will pair up in the morning sky lying less than a degree apart in our sky.
-Mars
Our most studied planet in the solar system will continue to be found in our morning skies. The first week of the month, Mars will rise about 3 hours before sunrise in the East. By month's end, this time will increase to 4 hours before sunrise. The view of Mars through binoculars will increase the brightness and reddish glow. The view through a telescope will be much the same. Don't expect to see much detail until next year, when Mars will reach opposition in July. I will remind you around that time, but this will be the best opposition of the red planet in 15 years!
-Jupiter
As mentioned, Jupiter will also be found in the morning sky with Mars and Venus. It will continue to rise earlier each week and make it higher in the eastern sky before the Sun's glow wipes it from view. On the 13th, Jupiter and Venus will create the best planetary conjunction of 2017. If you have the chance, be sure to look! If you have a telescope and don't mind the cold, both planets can be found in the same field of view. You will also be able to see the Galilean Moons of Jupiter. On the 16th, the Moon will join the two planets.
-Saturn
The ringed planet will be lost in the evening twilight by month's end. It can be found in the southwestern sky after sunset at approximately 15° above the horizon. The best views, will of course be through a telescope early in the month. Unfortunately, it was last month when the rings were at maximum tilt for us Earthly observers.
-Uranus
Uranus can be found in the constellation of Pisces the Fish, which is the constellation just east of Aquarius, where Neptune can be found. Uranus shines nearly 8 times brighter than Neptune, so if you are able to get away from all of the light pollution, you should be able to spot this planet with your unaided eyes. Uranus can be found high in the east after sunset and will travel to the southwest as the night continues. This puts the planet in prime position for views through binoculars or a telescope. For astrophotographers, you should be able to easily capture this planet in your images.
-Neptune
Our most distant known planet can be found in the constellation of Aquarius all month. It will be found high in the southern skies after sunset. You will need at least a pair of binoculars to view this planet. Through a telescope, Neptune will appear as a blue-gray disk.
-The Moon
I thought I would add an extra section for my readers that are interested in observing the Moon. On the night of the 5th, our closest celestial neighbor will be found in Taurus the Bull. You may notice that the brightest star, Aldebaran, of this constellation will be missing! The Moon will be blocking this star from view. If you continue watching, you can watch Aldebaran reappear as the Moon continues its orbital motion. This should happen at around the time the Moon rises in the east (approximately 7:00 P.M.) for my readers in Utah. If you have a pair of binoculars or a telescope, just target the Moon's dark edge and watch.
I always find it fascinating to look at the Moon through a telescope or binoculars. The extra light gathering power can enhance the views of the craters, mountains, and plains of the Moon. Each night, the terminator line, the part where the bright area and dark area meet, changes and is the best place to look at the details. Please be sure to give this area a look if you get the chance.
-Meteor Shower
The meteor shower this month peaks under a Moon free sky. It will appear to radiate from the constellation of Leo the Lion, hence the name of the Leonid meteor shower. It will peak on the 17th with an average rate of 10 meteors per hour. The best viewing time is 3:00 A.M. until the rising Sun's glow gets too bright to view the meteors.
-Monthly Breakdown
As the heading states, here is your breakdown for the month of November.
November 04: Full Moon.
November 05: The Moon will block Aldebaran. Look to the East as the Moon rises (for Utah).
November 12: Mercury can be found close to Antares.
November 13: Jupiter and Venus conjunction. Best of 2017!
November 14: Mars and the Moon have a close encounter.
November 16: Jupiter and the Moon have a close encounter.
November 17: Venus and the Moon have a close encounter.
November 17: Leonid meteor shower peak. Look east around 3:00 A.M.
November 18: New Moon.
November 20: The Moon visits Mercury and Saturn.
November 23: Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation.
November 27: Mars passes close to Spica.
November 28: Mercury and Saturn can be found close together.
-History Report
With only a couple of topics from years past, November is another quiet month for my History Report. I will start with November 12, 1980. On this day, the space probe, Voyager 1, flew past Saturn and returned the first images of this planet that were not taken from Earthly based cameras. I knew that Voyager's 1 and 2 were launched to take a "tour" of our solar system by visiting the outer planets. What I did not know, but it does make sense, is that the planets had to be in just the right position for this to happen. Each craft had to use the gravity of the outer planets to reach their next target. For example, when Voyager 1 reached Jupiter, it had to swing around the planet to help hurtle itself towards Saturn. Then do this same thing around Saturn to reach Uranus, and so on. As mentioned in an earlier post, both of these missions started in 1977 and have continued until the writing of this post. The Voyager missions discovered the ring systems on all of the outer planets, excluding Saturn, the volcanic activity of Io, a moon of Jupiter, and the discovery of more moons around all of the outer planets then was previously known, among other things. Voyager 1 also returned images of Earth from the outer solar system. You can read more about the Voyagers by clicking here!
My next topic is the landing of Apollo 12 on the Moon. This happened on November 19, 1969. This is just a day shy of 4 months after the famous Apollo 11 mission. Apollo 12 launched on the 14th and consisted of three astronauts. They were, the Commander, Charles Conrad Jr., the Lunar Module Pilot, Alan Bean, and the Command Module Pilot, Richard Gordon Jr. The purpose of this mission was to collect additional lunar samples, set up some equipment to detect seismic activity and other scientific data over a long period of time. The astronauts returned safely to Earth on the 24th by landing in the Pacific Ocean. If you would like to read more about this mission, please click here!
Stay tuned for a quick post in a few days!
