Introduction
October brought the first snowfall of the season for Utahns. More snow is expected during the first week of November as well. My favorite sight for October was viewing Mars, Betelguese, and Aldebaran in the morning sky. These three red points of light formed a triangle which would slightly change each morning.
November will bring colder temperatures which will likely dip below freezing. Hopefully, November will still offer a few comfortable nights for stargazers. This month will bring the return of the Leonid Meteor Shower, the opposition of Uranus, and a close approach from Mars. November will also bring a Total Lunar Eclipse for Utahns.
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| Mercury |
Unfortunately, Mercury will be lost from view during November. The innermost planet reaches superior conjunction with the Sun on the 8th. Mercury will be visible in the December skies.
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| Venus |
Recall that Venus recently reached superior conjunction with the Sun and will remain hidden from Earthbound viewers during November. Venus will return to our Earthly skies in December.
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| Mars |
Mars will be an excellent target for the remainder of the year. The Red Planet will rise above the horizon close to 10:00 PM Utah time on the 1st and a full two hours earlier by the end of November. Mars will reach opposition in December, so observers should notice the Red Planet brightening in our night sky with each passing night. On November 10th, Mars and the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, will shine at the same brightness. The contrasting colors between these two will surely catch an observer's eye. As Mars nears its closest approach to Earth during this orbit, several features will be visible with the aid of a telescope.
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| Jupiter |
Saturn and Jupiter will continue to be excellent targets for a telescope during November. Saturn's rings will be easily visible through a telescope and will likely hold the attention of any observer. The Ringed Planet is one of my favorite targets to view and is often the favorite at the star parties I occasionally host.
Jupiter will likely steal the show as it will be the brightest object in the night sky, other than the Moon. Jupiter will be visible after sunset and a telescope will reveal the four Galilean Moons, the Great Red Spot, and the cloud bands. The longer the cloud bands are viewed, the more detail and different colors the human eye will detect.
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| Neptune |
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| Uranus |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus can be found between Jupiter and Mars during November. On the 9th, this planet will reach opposition.
The most distant planet, Neptune, will continue to be found between Jupiter and Saturn but will be much closer to Jupiter. The Moon will pass close by on the 3rd.
Meteor Shower
November will bring the return of the Leonid Meteor Shower. This shower will peak on the 17th with a Last Quarter Moon in the sky. Observers should be able to see up to 10 meteors per hour but this shower is often unpredictable, allowing observers to see more or less with a chance of some meteors leaving longer than average streaks and the occasional fireball. This shower appears to radiate from Leo the Lion which will be high in the sky around 4:00 in the morning.
November also brings a Total Lunar Eclipse for Utahns. This will occur on the 8th and begin at 1:00 in the morning. Totality will occur at 4:00 AM and the eclipse will conclude by 7:00 AM. Be sure to dress warm and hope for clear skies! For observers unable to watch the eclipse from start to end, be sure to set an alarm for around 4:00 AM to view the totality. For this eclipse, totality will last approximately 45 minutes.
Spot Me....🕵️
This post will highlight the final three Messier objects that are best viewed during the Autumn. These objects can be found in Capricornus, Pisces, and Cetus. The image below shows what the night sky will look like after sunset during November. This is the view as an observer faces south.
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| Southern November sky after sunset. |
The brightest object in the above image is Jupiter, with the next brightest object being Saturn. The image below is the same as above with the addition of constellation lines and labels to help identify the constellations in this region of the sky.
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| Southern November sky with constellation lines and labels. |
The first target this month is M30 (aka NGC 7099, Jellyfish Cluster) which is a globular star cluster like M13 in Hercules. The Jellyfish Cluster can be found in Capricornus which is the constellation to the right in the images above. Capricornus will be found to the southwest after sunset and is the constellation where Saturn can currently be found. See the image below for the location of M30.
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| Location of M30 in Capricornus. |
The next target is M74 (aka NGC 628, Phantom Galaxy) in Pisces. This object is a galaxy, as its alternate name implies. Jupiter is currently found in Pisces, so this might help observers locate M74. See the image below for the location of M74.
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| Location of M74 in Pisces. |
The final target is M77 (aka NGC 1068, Cetus A) which is another spiral galaxy. This object is located in Cetus, the constellation just below Pisces as an observer faces south after sunset during November. See the image below for the location of M77.
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| Location of M77 in Cetus. |
The images below show the locations of all three Messier objects highlighted in this post.
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| Messier objects in Capricornus (M30), Pisces (M74), and Cetus (M77). |
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| Location of the Messier objects in Capricornus, Pisces, and Cetus. |
Here is an updated file of the Messier Catalog. Check back around the 15th of November for more Messier objects!
Monthly Breakdown
November 01: First Quarter Moon 🌓
November 01: Moon passes within 4° of Saturn
November 04: Moon passes within 3° of Neptune
November 04: Moon passes within 2° of Jupiter
November 08: Mercury in superior conjunction
November 08: Full Moon 🌕 / Total Lunar Eclipse
November 09: Moon passes within 1° of Uranus
November 11: Moon passes within 2° of Mars
November 16: Last Quarter Moon🌗
November 17: Orionid Meteor Shower peaks
November 23: New Moon 🌑
November 30: First Quarter Moon 🌓
Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts. You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images were taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos was taken by Jeff Greenland.
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