The November Night sky
This month we have a brilliant Evening Star! After months hiding in the twilight zone, Venus moves upwards into darker skies. The Milky Way rises overhead on these dark November nights, providing a stunning inside perspective on the huge Galaxy that is our home in the cosmos. After your eyes have adjusted to the dark you should be able to see that it’s spangled with fuzzy glowing diadems. Better still, sweep the band of the Milky Way with binoculars or a small telescope, and these blurry jewels appear in their true light as distant clusters of stars.
November is the first month of long nights and we are starting to see the familiar winter constellations. Orion the Hunter appears in the sky just before midnight. Just to the right of Orion is Taurus the Bull with the bright red star Aldebaran and the star cluster the Pleiades or ‘Seven Sisters. They too are now becoming more conspicuous. This is the best time to look for the autumn constellations during the evening; the Plough is low in the north and the ‘W’ of Cassiopeia overhead. The summer triangle stars Altair, Deneb and Vega are now becoming low in the west.
If you look to the south the Square of Pegasus is very prominent; a line drawn from the top left hand star of the square shows a line of stars that form the constellation of Andromeda.
Take advantage of the moonless nights this month to observe the most distant objects visible with the unaided eye. Anywhere away from the glare of streetlights, you will see the misty blur of the great Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest large galaxy to us at 2.5 million light years away. Another challenge is to try and find the fainter Triangulum Galaxy, located below Andromeda. This is one of the few constellations that look like the figure they are supposed to describe Triangulum the Triangle. The light we see from this galaxy left it almost three million years ago.
Using the two right hand stars of the Square of Pegasus draw a line down for some distance to find Fomalhaut, the brightest star in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish).
The Planets:-
MERCURY
The innermost planet is lost in the glare of the Sun this month and is unfavourable for observation. November 16th it will be at its greatest separation from the Sun.
VENUS
The evening star starts this month low in the twilight skies setting at 6pm. The crescent moon is just to the left of Venus on 5th of the month. Venus is climbing higher all month and will be falling below the horizon around 7pm at the month’s end, when you can see it in a dark sky. Venus shines like a steady beacon. A stunning sight at magnitude –4.1.
MARS
The red planet rises above the horizon about 9pm this month, and brightens from magnitude +0.1 to –0.5 as the Earth approaches. Located in the constellation of Cancer. The half Moon glides past the Red planet on 20th of this month, and right at the end of November Mars will be located just above M44 the Beehive star cluster.
JUPITER
The gas giant planet is brilliant in the constellation of Taurus, shinning at magnitude –2.8. It rises above the horizon around 5.30pm and will be visible all night.
The almost full Moon lies to the left of Jupiter on the 17th of November, with the star Aldebaran to the right.
SATURN
This month Saturn will be amongst the faint stars of Aquarius. With a magnitude of +0.9, the ring world falls below the horizon around 0.30am. The first quarter Moon is just below the ring world on 10th of the month.
URANUS
The gas giant planet will be at its closest to the Earth and brightest on 17th November. It will be visible all night long. At magnitude +5.6 the tiny green object is just visible to the naked eye on a really dark night, away from light pollution and moonlight. On the positive side it is high in the sky in the constellation of Taurus near the Pleiades star cluster and unobscured by haze. The best time to see Uranus will be when the Moon is out of the way near the beginning or end of the month.
NEPTUNE
If you like a challenge check out another of the evening planets this month. You will need good binoculars or a telescope to track down Neptune. Shinning with a measly magnitude of +7.7 Neptune lies on the borders of Aquarius and Pisces, and will fall below the horizon around 2am.
PLUTO
This distant planet can be observed in a ten-inch or larger telescope. It can be found in the constellation of Capricornus. With a magnitude of +14.5, it falls below the horizon around 8.05pm.
CERES
This dwarf planet in the asteroid belt planet can also be observed using a ten-inch or larger telescope. It can be found in the constellation of Sagittarius at magnitude +9.2. It sets around 6.50pm.
Meteor showers:-
There are two meteor showers this month. The Taurid meteor shower consists of slow moving meteors that often produce spectacular fireballs and is visible from November 6th to 13th. On November 17th to the 18th the Leonid meteors will be on display. Sadly, strong moonlight will drown out most of the shooting stars.
Other special events:-
5th November – The crescent Moon is to the left of bright Venus low in the south west dusk twilight.
10th November – The almost half Moon lies below the gas giant planet Saturn.
15th November – The last of the three super moons that occur in 2024.
17th November – The Moon lies to the left of bright Jupiter, with Aldebaran to the right.
19th November – The Moon lies near to the stars Castor and Pollux.
20th November – The half Moon passes to the left of Mars with the stars Castor and Pollux to the upper right.
27th November – The crescent Moon is near the bright star Spica after midnight.
Phases of the Moon:-
New Moon 1st November
First quarter 9th November
Full Super Moon 15th November
Last quarter 23rd November