A copy of the
November issue is also available over the Internet. It can be accessed via
a World-Wide Web browser such at Netscape or Mosiac, directly at
URL:
This month's most striking sights include a compact gathering of Venus,
Jupiter, and Mars on the evenings of Nov.12-24, with the Moon close by
on Nov. 23 and 24. The Moon passes Saturn on the evenings of Nov. 2
and 29, and passes near the star Aldebaran on the night of Nov. 8-9.
*For observers with telescopes*, Saturn's rings are visible in early
November, but fade as solar illumination switches to the rings' other
side. Location and telescopic appearance of Saturn is described under
Nov. 1, 5, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 27, 29.
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- As dusk face SE to see the waxing gibbous Moon with Saturn 14
degrees lower left. Saturn's rings, though tipped 2-1/2 degrees into our
view, are now fainter than usual, and getting even fainter. That's because
the Sun now lights the rings very glancingly, from an angle of just 1/4
degree above their plane tonight.This angle will decrease to exactly zero
degrees on Nov. 19 as the ring plane of the orbiting planet sweeps slowly
across the Sun. The rings will "go dark" as the Sun "switches sides" and
begins to illuminate the face of the rings now unseen from Earth. Keep
watch!
As seen from the Lansing, Michigan area tonight at 6:49 p.m. EST, the
Mir Russian space station is predicted to pass about 50 degrees up in
NNE, moving from left to right. To get an updated prediction, see Nov.
3.
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- Begin looking half an hour after sunset for a group of planets very low in
SW to WSW. (You'll need an unobstructed view.) Venus is the
brightest, but might not seem so because it's the lowest in the twilight
glow. Jupiter is the highest and might seem more prominent because it's
17 degrees to Venus' upper left. As twilight deepens, use binoculars to
find Mars 7 degrees lower right of Jupiter. [Viewers in southern states
might see all three planets with unaided eye, and can try for Antares 4
degrees lower left of Mars.] On November 18 all three planets will fit
into a field just 2 degrees across. Look nightly!
After you see the gathering in the SW, turn to the SE to find Saturn
within 5 degrees to the Moon's lower right. [For information on Saturn's
rings, see Nov. 1.]
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- At this writing, the Russian space station Mir is expected to pass 245
miles up just north of Milwaukee and just south of Detroit early this
evening, passing almost directly overhead in mid-Michigan at 6:34 p.m.
EST. Accordingly, we've scheduled a Planet and Mir Watch on top of
the parking ramp behind Abrams Planetarium from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00
p.m. We'll see the 3-planet grouping, watch Mir pass overhead, and get
telescopic views of the Moon and Saturn. Tonight at dusk, Saturn is 15
degrees right of the Moon.
Predictions of Mir's visibility are subject to revision, because the orbit is
occasionally adjusted by rocket firings. If you're local, call our recording
at (517) 355-4672 for an update on the precise time of Mir's passage.
Times of Mir's passes over 63 cities in the U.S. and Canada can be
obtained over the Internet on the SatPasses homepage at the following
URL:
http://ssl.berkeley.edu/isi_www/satpasses.html
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- With unaided eye half an hour after sunset, look very low in SW to
WSW for Venus 15 degrees lower right of Jupiter. As twilight deepens,
binoculars will show Mars 6 degrees to Jupiter's lower right. Do Jupiter
and Mars fit within a single field of view? If they do, then from Nov. 12
to 24, all three planets will do so.
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- Forty minutes after sunset, the eight brightest objects, in order of
brightness, are:
Moon, low in E; Venus and Jupiter, 14 degrees apart very low in SW to
WSW; Arcturus, very low WNW; Vega, very high in W; Capella, very
low in NNE to NE; Altair, high in S to SSW; and Saturn in SE. A
telescope shows Saturn's rings and brightest moon Titan, tonight farthest
E of Saturn in its 16-day orbit around the planet. Follow Titan nightly!
As seen from the Lansing, Michigan area tonight at 6:18 p.m. EST, Mir
is predicted to pass about 40 degrees up in SW, while moving from right
to left. For updates, see Nov.3.
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- The Moon rises a few minutes before sunset and is Full overnight. From
most of the U.S., if you have a good vantage point, you can view the
disks of Sun and Moon simultaneously on opposite horizons just before
sunset.
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- Tonight and Wednesday, moonrise occurs in evening twilight, before the
sky fully darkens. By Thursday, the Moon rises after nightfall.
Beginning Thursday, there will be a "window" of dark moonless skies,
lasting longer each night, ideal for observing the Milky Way, the
Andromeda Galaxy, and the Pleiades star cluster. Tonight at nightfall, the
Pleiades cluster, 9 degrees to the Moon's upper left, is swamped by
bright moonlight.
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- Two-and-a-half hours after sunset the Moon is in E to ENE, with the
Pleiades cluster, or Seven Sisters, 10 degrees above. Just four degrees to
the Moon's lower left is the first-magnitude star Aldebaran, marking the
eye of Taurus, the Bull. As the night progresses, the Moon creeps ever
closer to the Bull's eye. Look again before dawn on Thursday!
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- The moonrise of tonight and Friday are the northernmost of this month.
Across the country at the latitude of lower Michigan, the Moon rises in
ENE about two hours after sunset tonight, and 2-3/4 hours after sunset
on Friday. Thereafter, moonrise shifts farther south nightly. On the night
of Nov. 17-18, the Moon will rise nearly due east.
At dawn on Friday, look for two reddish stars within 13 degrees of the
Moon: Zero-magnitude Betelgeuse, Orion's shoulder, to the Moon's
lower left, and first-magnitude Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, to Moon's
lower right.
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- Half an hour after sunset, with unaided eye, locate Venus and Jupiter 9
degrees apart, very low in SW. Venus is the brighter, to the lower right
of Jupiter. As twilight deepens, use binoculars to look for Mars 3
degrees to Jupiter's lower right and 6 degrees to Venus' upper left. A
week from tomorrow, all three will fit into a 2-degree field. Look
nightly!
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- Saturn's rings will disappear next week when the Sun "switches sides"
(because of the orbital motion of Saturn around the Sun) and no longer
illuminates their N face. But in three months (on Feb. 11, 1996), the
rings will become edgewise as Earth crosses S of their plane. Thereafter
we'll again see the rings' sunlit face, but this time the S face, until August
2009.
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- Look very low in SW half an hour after sunset all week to follow Venus
and Jupiter. There're 7 degrees apart tonight (Venus is the brighter, to
Jupiter's lower right). They'll appear closest, just 1.3 degrees apart, at the
end of this week. As twilight deepens tonight, use binoculars to find
Mars 2 degrees lower right of Jupiter. This Wednesday, Mars will pass
1.2 degrees to Jupiter's lower left.
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- Tonight through Nov. 24, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars (in order of
brightness) all fit within the field of view of 7-power binoculars
(typically 6 degrees across). Watch nightly, and notice how their
arrangement changes. Tonight Venus is at the lower right end of the
group, Jupiter at the upper left, and Mars between. By Nov. 24, they'll be
in reverse order.
Through a telescope tonight, Titan, Saturn's brightest moon, appears at its
farthest west of the planet. (If you allow them to drift through the field,
Titan will precede Saturn.) Can you still see Saturn's rings? By Friday,
the 90-hour sunset on Saturn's ringface will be underway, and by Nov.
21 the side of the rings turned our way will be dark!
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- Very low in SW tonight at dusk, brilliant Venus pulls to within 5 degrees
lower right of Jupiter. Binoculars show faint Mars 1.3 degrees below
Jupiter.
On Wednesday at dawn, the Last Quarter Moon, half full, is high in the
south, with Regulus, heart of Leo, the Lion, 9 degrees to its upper left.
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- Tonight at dusk, very low in SW, Venus pulls to within 3 degrees lower
right of Jupiter. Binoculars reveal faint Mars passing only 1.2 degrees to
Jupiter's lower left, the closest they'll get this time.
On Thursday at dawn, Regulus in Leo is 7 degrees upper right of the
Moon. In dark predawn hours of Sat. Nov. 18, the Leonid meteor
shower may produce several swift meteors approaching Earth at nearly
160,000 miles per hour from the direction of Leo. This shower may
produce a major meteor storm in 1998-2000, and skywatchers are
monitoring this year's shower to better predict what might happen. For
more information, see the article in November Sky & Telescope, or
access Sky Online at URL:
http://www.skypub.com/
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- Very low in SW at dusk, Jupiter and Mars are still 1.3 degrees apart, but
you'll need binoculars to see Mars [unless you're viewing from southern
U.S.]. Look for the pair 3 degrees to upper left of brilliant Venus.
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- Tonight at dusk, three planets fit into a 2-1/2-degree field. Locate brilliant
Venus very low in SW, and note Jupiter within 2 degrees above. Faint
Mars can be seen in binoculars 1-1/2 degrees left of Jupiter.
The once-every-29.5-years sunset on the north face of Saturn's rings is
now underway, and by Tuesday that face of the rings, tipped 2.7 degrees
toward Earth, will be dark. Can you still see Saturn's fading rings? Look
nightly! Saturn passes high in south within 3 hours after sunset.
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- The evening we've been waiting for! Very low in SW at dusk, Venus
passes 1.3 degrees lower left of Jupiter, with faint Mars visible in
binoculars 2 degrees to the upper left of the brilliant pair. Not since June
1991 have all three planets fit within a 2-degree field, and not again until
the year 2152 will they again do so. Enjoy the view, and share it with
others!
After you've savored the trio, gaze over your left shoulder at Saturn in
SE, nearly 90 degrees away from the gathering. Ponder that Venus and
Saturn will meet in the SW sky at dusk in early February, as close to
each other as Venus and Jupiter appear tonight!
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- At dusk, Venus appears as a brilliant gem very low in SW, flanked by
two smaller gems within 1-1/2 degrees: Jupiter to its upper right, and
faint Mars to its upper left. Watch Venus approach Mars next three
evenings.
Autumn has just arrived today in Saturn's N hemisphere, and the Sun
has crossed to the south of that planet's equator and ringplane. We're
seeing the north face of the rings tipped 2.7 degrees toward Earth, and
Hubble Space Telescope is watching for warps in the rings, casting long
shadows as the last rays of sunlight graze the N face of the rings. For
more on observing Saturn and its rings, see the May and August issues
of Sky & Telescope, and visit the following Internet sites:
http://www.skypub.com/
http://ringside.arc.nasa.gov/
http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/saturn/
On Monday an hour before sunup, locate the old crescent Moon low in
ESE to SE, with Spica 5 or 6 degrees to its upper left.
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- Tuesday morning is your last chance to see the oldest Moon of this cycle.
Forty-five minutes before sunup, look for the very slender crescent a few
degrees up in ESE. It's just 28 hours until New in Michigan, and even
closer to New the farther west you are.
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- Venus and Jupiter are spreading farther apart each night. Half an hour
after sunset tonight, they're still 3 degrees apart, very low in SW. As
twilight deepens, use binoculars to locate Mars within half a degree to
Venus' upper left.
The Sun is now illuminating the back side of Saturn's rings. The unlit
face of the rings, now tipped 2.7 degrees into our view, appears as a thick
dark line across the face of Saturn. Can you see the darkened rings to the
sides of the planet? Keep trying in December and January. Tonight Titan,
Saturn's brightest moon, appears farthest E of the planet. (If you allow
them to drift through the field, Titan will follow Saturn.)
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- The Moon is New at 10:43 a.m. EST, and is not visible today.
At dusk, Venus and Jupiter are 4 degrees apart, with Jupiter to Venus'
lower right. Use binoculars to see faint Mars within 0.2 degree to Venus'
upper right, the closest they'll get this time. Each night, Venus gets a little
higher, while Jupiter and Mars get lower.
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- A spectacular Thanksgiving gathering! The young crescent Moon, first
of the new cycle and 31 hours old for viewers in Michigan, is very low
in SW to W half an hour after sunset. To its left are brilliant Venus and
bright Jupiter 5 degrees apart. Binoculars show Mars 0.6 degree lower
right of Venus.
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- Another pretty gathering of a crescent Moon and three planets: Look for
the 2-day-old Moon low in SW half an hour after sunset. Find brilliant
Venus about 9 degrees lower. Jupiter is 6 degrees to Venus' lower right.
Use binoculars for faint Mars 1 degree to Venus' lower right. This is the
last evening it's possible to fit all three planets within a 6-degree field (7-
power binoculars).
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- At dusk the Moon and six planets are up. Face SW and you'll easily spot
the Moon with Venus far to its lower right. Can you still see Jupiter 7
degrees to Venus' lower right? You'll need binoculars to see Mars 1-1/2
degrees to Venus' lower right. Faint Uranus and Neptune are to the
Moon's left (you'll need a finder chart for those). Finally, bright Saturn is
in SSE.
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- We're near the end of Jupiter's apparition; owing to Earth's orbiting
around the Sun, Jupiter will be hidden behind the Sun in December. Can
you still find Jupiter 8 degrees to lower right of Venus?
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- In December and January, using a good telescope, try to see the "dark"
face of the rings to the sides of Saturn. Actually, the rings aren't
completely dark; some sunlight reflected from particles on the rings' far
side does make it through the approximately 200-meter layer of icy ring
particles.
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- The Moon is at First Quarter tonight and is half full in the evening sky.
This is an ideal phase for observing lunar surface features with the aid of
binoculars or a telescope.
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- For the second time this month, the Moon passes Saturn. As the sky
darkens, face SSE and look for first-magnitude Saturn 5 degrees below
the Moon. For the telescope: Saturn's brightest moon, Titan, in its 16-day
orbit, appears farthest W of the planet tonight.
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- Last call for Jupiter? Half an hour after sunset, locate brilliant Venus very
low in SW. Can you spot Jupiter 12 degrees to its lower right? As
Jupiter sets and the sky darkens, try for Mars 4 degrees to Venus' lower
right.