Monthly Night Sky Report: November 2024

    Introduction

    Utah's temperatures certainly cooled down during October. The state did not receive as much precipitation as it had in years past. Comet A3 delighted many observers, and many images are available online with just a quick search. Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations, and I have enjoyed watching it return to our evening skies this month.

    November will continue to bring cold weather and likely snow over much of Utah. Observers should not let this discourage them! Just a few minutes out under the stars can do wonders for the mind, letting the body relax from a long day at work or school. Astronomers and observers alike can still view Comet A3 during November as it returns to the outer solar system. Uranus will reach opposition this month, and the Leonid Meteor Shower will return. Astronomers are still waiting for the Blaze Star as well.     

                      

Mercury

  Most of the planets will be visible as soon as or shortly after sunset for the majority of the month. Beginning with the innermost planet, Mercury will hug the western horizon for the first week but observers will notice it climb higher in the sky. A thin crescent Moon will be just 3° below Mercury on the 2nd. Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation on the 16th, making this the best time to view the innermost planet in November. 

  

Venus

   Following Mercury, it's only natural for an observer to shift their gaze to brilliant Venus. The Earth's evil twin will be easy to spot against the twilight sky and will likely be the first object an observer will notice after sunset. Venus will be joined by the Moon on the 4th. The Milky Way Band will create a spectacular background for Venus, adding to binocular and telescope views and also to astrophotography images. A dark sky site will also enhance these views. Venus will share a wide field of view with M8, the Lagoon Nebula, on the 11th and the bright globular star cluster, M22, the Great Sagittarius Cluster, on the 18th. The second planet from the Sun will shine brightly all month and remain above the horizon for three hours after sunset by the end of the month. 

    

Mars

    Mars will be the only planet not visible shortly after sunset at the beginning of the month. This will be remedied by month's end, however. The Red Planet will be easy to spot high in the early morning sky, and its views will only improve as the month progresses. Mars rises close to midnight or 12:30 Utah time, depending on how much the Rocky Mountains block the eastern horizon. By the end of the month, Mars will peak above the mountains close to 10:00 PM. While Mars is a great target, M44, the Beehive Cluster, one of my favorite open star clusters, will join this planet in the sky at the end of the month. The pair will continue to share the night sky throughout the first week of December. The Moon will join Mars and M44 on the 20th.   

Jupiter

Saturn

    Jupiter will be a great target throughout November. It rises about two hours after sunset as the month begins and shortly after sunset by month's end. Jupiter's opposition is fast approaching, bringing the best time of the year to view this giant world. Several Galilean Moon transits can be viewed throughout the month, so be sure to check out the Moons of Jupiter & Saturn app for Android or JupiterMoons for Apple devices. The Great Red Spot may also be seen at specific times depending on the observers' location, which the resources mentioned above can also be helpful. An observer will need a four-inch (100 mm) telescope or larger to view the transits and the Great Red Spot. By the end of November, Jupiter will be above the horizon for nearly 13 hours, allowing the planet to complete one full rotation about its axis. This means that it could be possible for an observer to see the Great Red Spot twice during one night! Weather permitting, of course. 

    Saturn will continue to be a great target through the end of 2024. The very few times I've had my telescope out this year, Saturn did not disappoint me or those who were observing with me. Saturn's ring system will soon disappear from our Earthly view as the tilt of the two planets coincides just right. It will be like looking at a piece of paper edge-on. The Moon will be less than 1° from Saturn on the 10th, creating a great opportunity to view both objects in a single field of view. The Moons of Jupiter & Saturn app for Android or Saturn's Satellites web app can be used to find the locations of several of Saturn's moons. For those with Apple devices,  JupiterMoons and SaturnMoons should offer similar results.   

       

Neptune

Uranus

    

    Uranus will remain close to M45, the Pleiades, this month. The pair can be found within 7° of each other, with the Moon passing between the pair on the 15th. Uranus will reach opposition the following night, rising while the Sun sets. A pair of binoculars will help find this planet and be handy to have to view M45 since the pair are close to each other in the sky. With M45 centered in the field of view, scan to the right (westward) of this magnificent star cluster to locate Uranus. It will appear as a blue-green disk in binoculars and a telescope.  

    Neptune will be trailing after Saturn during November. The best time to view this planet will come on the 11th when the Moon is very close. The pair will be so close that Utahns will be able to watch the Moon pass in front of this most distant planet. Neptune will be to the upper left of the Moon after sunset. By 6:40 PM Utah time, the Moon will occult (pass in front of) Neptune, blocking this planet from view. About 40 minutes later, Neptune will reemerge on the upper right side of the Moon. Binoculars or a telescope will be required to view this rare event. Observers should bundle up and hope for clear skies!

Blaze Star, Leonids, Comet A3

    As of this writing, astronomers are still waiting for a star known as T Coronae Borealis, or the Blaze Star, to go nova. As mentioned in my September and again in my October post, the Blaze Star is actually two stars, a white dwarf and a red giant. The white dwarf, a star that has used up all of its own material, is siphoning material from its companion. When the white dwarf has gathered enough material, which increases its pressure and heat, a thermonuclear explosion known as a nova will happen. This event occurs, on average, every 80 years. Before the nova event, this binary star system, glowing dimly at magnitude 10.13, is undetectable by the unaided human eye. When the nova event does occur, the Blaze Star will brighten to about 2.0 magnitude, roughly the same brightness as Polaris. The North Star is bright enough to be seen from my light-polluted skies near Salt Lake City. The Blaze Star belongs to Corona Borealis, the constellation between Boötes and Hercules in the night sky. These constellations are currently found in the west after sunset. An observer's best bet for finding the Blaze Star is first locating Arcturus, a bright red giant star close to the western horizon, and Vega, a bright blue-white star located nearly overhead as the Sun sinks below the horizon. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere, followed by Vega during summer and early fall, so they should be easy to find. The Blaze Star is located about halfway between these stars. 

    Earthlings get to experience the Leonid Meteor Shower during November. From the 6th until the 30th, the Earth passes through the debris left by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The Leonids will peak on the 17th, which nearly coincides with the Full Moon this month. Interested observers should try to catch this shower a week early by going to a dark sky site. Typically this shower produces up to 10 meteors per hour, which isn't a much better rate than the average 7 meteors per hour on a normal night under the stars. The Leonids, as the name suggests, appear to radiate from the constellation Leo the Lion.     

    Comet A3 (C/2023 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is visible after sunset. It can be found high in the western sky but will require binoculars, telescope, or imaging software to see. During the beginning of October, Comet A3 was bright enough to see with the unaided eye but has since dimmed dramatically as it continues its journey back to the outer solar system. I have yet to see this comet, but not for lack of trying! Comet A3 will reside in the Milky Way Band above Venus shining dimly at magnitude 6.34 during the first two weeks of November. It will remain in the Milky Way Band all month and should be a great target for imagers and visual astronomers alike. Even though Comet A3 will be a great location for viewing, it will continue to dim. By the end of the month, Comet A3 will be a dim 9.31 magnitude.

Monthly Breakdown

November 01: New Moon 🌑
November 03: Moon passes within 2° of Mercury

November 04: Moon passes within 3° of Venus 

November 09: First Quarter Moon 🌓

November 10: Moon passes within 0.1° of Saturn

November 11: Moon occults Neptune 

November 15: Full Moon 🌕

November 15: Moon passes within 4° of Uranus

November 16: Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation

November 16: Uranus reaches opposition 

November 17: Leonid Meteor Shower peaks

November 17: Moon passes within 6° of Jupiter

November 20: Moon passes within 2° of Mars 

November 22: Last Quarter Moon🌗

 

         

Now get outside and look up!

Planet images were taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos image was taken by Jeff Greenland.

The Milky Way and Trees image was taken by Andrew Greenland.

Orion, Taurus, and Pleiades image was taken by Andrew Greenland.

                

                

Midmonth Check-In: October 2024 and Olbers' Paradox

        

  Introduction and Monthly Reminders   

    October nights have been cool and very pleasant for stargazing. Grab a comfortable chair—a zero-gravity chair is best—and perhaps a hoodie, blanket, gloves, and beanie, and an observer should be set for the night! During the first part of October, I was able to take out the telescope and view Saturn, M13 (Hercules Cluster), NGC 457 (Owl Cluster), NGC 869 and NGC 884 (Double Cluster in Perseus), both Almach and Albireo binary star systems, and the bright stars of the Summer Triangle; Vega, Altair, and Deneb. I attempted several other objects, but they were obstructed or too dim to see from my location. I also attempted to view Comet A3, which was too close to the Sun to view on the attempted nights. I also traveled out to Area 62, one of my favorite locations in the West Desert of Utah. From here, I imaged the Moon, M31 (Andromeda Galaxy), M13 (Hercules Cluster), and M27 (Dumbbell Nebula). Unfortunately, each image of the DSOs contains satellite trails.

    For the remainder of October, I hope to do more imaging and more telescope views. Most importantly, I hope to be able to see Comet A3! As October progresses, Comet A3 will rise higher in the sky while also becoming less bright. but will still be visible with the unaided eye, especially from a dark sky location. Observers can also still enjoy the Orionid Meteor Shower, which peaks on the 21st.    

Olbers' Paradox

   Think of this: Imagine being one of the pesky grasshoppers in my small garden, and you might be able to see past all of the plants to see the lawn. Now imagine you are the same pesky grasshopper but instead are on my more expansive lawn. From here, the grasshopper would only see grass everywhere it looked. Now imagine you are human again, looking up at the night sky. The universe is full of stars, planets, galaxies, and nebulae, yet the night sky is dark and not bright; why? Several scholars have asked this same question, but it was Heinrich Olbers, a German astronomer, who, in 1823, tried to answer this question. 

      For most of history, it has been believed that we live in a Steady-State Universe. This theory is based on three assumptions: first, the universe is uniform; second, it is not expanding; and third, it is infinite in size. A uniform universe is made up of the same stuff everywhere we look. In every direction, there are galaxies, stars, and nebulae. This is like my grasshopper analogy on my lawn. All the grasshopper can see is grass in every direction. Sure, there may be different types of grass or different lengths, but overall, it's uniform.

    The Steady-State Theory of the Universe says that the universe is not expanding. In other words, it's static. It has always been the same size and will always be the same size. Back to the pesky grasshopper analogy, my yard has a fixed size. It is static. An expanding universe would have looked very different billions of years ago and different still billions of years into the future. 

    The Steady-State Universe also says that it is infinite in size. There is no beginning and no end. The universe has always been this way and always will be. This also means that it is infinitely old. Again, it always has been and always will be.

    In a Steady-State Universe, the night sky would appear bright and hot, much like the daytime sky with the Sun overhead. Any astronomer, or any individual for that matter, knows that this is not the case. The sky is obviously black at night, with a splattering of stars across the black canvas of the night sky.

    At least one of the three assumptions that make up the Steady-State Universe theory must be incorrect. Unfortunately, Heinrich Olbers died in 1840 before his paradox could be answered. It wasn't until 1848 that the poet Edgar Allen Poe, in his essay Eureka, suggested that the universe was not yet old enough for the light from all of the stars to have reached us on planet Earth. This contradicted the Steady-State Universe theory, which assumes that the universe is infinitely old. If this were the case, light from every star would have had time to reach us. 

    While Poe's insight may be part of the answer, it wouldn't be until the mid-1920s that an astronomer could help unravel this mystery and answer more questions about our universe. This astronomer's name was Edwin Hubble. I will discuss him more and the solution to Olbers' Paradox next month! 

 

    Check back soon for my next post!

    

Now get outside and look up!