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Ross Hockham's Sky Guide November 2023:
This month's planet is Jupiter, which was at opposition at the beginning of the month.
So is at its best and brightest for us to look at.
Although Uranus reaches opposition towards the end of the month, because it is in the middle of two constellations
just to the left of Jupiter between the constellations Taurus (The Bull) and Cetus (The Great Sea Monster)
it will be a bit harder to spot.
This month's planet is Jupiter, which was at opposition at the beginning of the month.
So is at its best and brightest for us to look at.
Although Uranus reaches opposition towards the end of the month, because it is in the middle of two constellations
just to the left of Jupiter between the constellations Taurus (The Bull) and Cetus (The Great Sea Monster)
it will be a bit harder to spot.
Saturn is still in a good place to view being a bit farther right of Jupiter.
Neptune is also in-between Saturn and Jupiter so you will need some star hopping skills to find them.
Venus is amazing in the morning sky, you cant miss the goddess of beauty if your up before the Sun is.
Mercury is slowly moving away from the Sun up higher in the evening sky
but I don’t think it will be in a great position for us to see it this month sadly, a tiny white dot very low on the horizon.
Mars is also very close to the Sun creeping past it into the morning sky as the month goes on
but we won’t be able to see it for a few months now.
On To The Month Ahead!
The 12th with the moon out of the way is a great time for the Taurid Meteor Shower.
Sadly it only has a maximum of 5 shooting stars per hour
but that’s 5 more than you would have on a normal sporadic meteor night
and as I always say you never know if a fireball will burn up in the sky that night.
Taurus (The Bull) can be found above the constellation Orion (The Hunter) this time of year.
In fact, if you draw a straight line up from his belt of 3 stars you will see a lovely little cluster of stars, M45 Pleiades cluster.
Brand new baby stars are found around here, and is where the meteors will be radiating from.
While here, why not pop left to the bright star Capella (The Goat Star) in the constellation Auriga (The Charioteer).
Auriga is a big pentagon of stars in the sky. Grab a pair of binoculars and look in it’s centre to see a group of awesome stars called The Leaping Minnow, as it looks like a fish jumping out of water.
You may also spot some round smudges in this area. Grab a telescope and you will have found a trio of clusters known as M36, M37 and M38, a group of awesome clusters. Keep looking around as Auriga has many clusters waiting to be found.
On the 13th Uranus reaches opposition tonight, so will be a great time to see if you can spot the planet, but as stated earlier it will be a slightly tougher find with scopes as it is in the middle of nowhere between constellations main stars.
Nestled in the middle of no real sign posts, Uranus is in between the bright Pleiades and Jupiter, so your best bet to get a glimpse of it, would be to star hop from the stars in Taurus, up to it’s location
and will look like a small pale disk (Almost like the colour of BluTack).
Back to the transits of Jupiter’s Moons, On the 14th, Europa with its smooth icy crust
which may have an ocean of liquid water under it and possibly life
will transit Jupiter with its shadow following suit but with a reasonable time of 16:35
just as it gets dark until 19:28, so you won’t need to stay up late to see it.
If you look closely you would likely see another moon, Callisto which will be drifting south of the planet.
The shadow of Europa will be just below the massive red spot that is Jupiter’s trademark storm.
A comet known as 62p/Tsuchinshan buzzes past M44 (The Beehive Cluster)
in the constellation Cancer (The Crab) tonight as well.
Through the month it has moved down from the constellation Gemini (The Twins) to Cancer
then will continue past towards Leo (The Lion).
With magazines saying it should be visible through binoculars
it will be a great photo opportunity for those Astro-photographers to grab while it’s by the awesome cluster.
They say its better in the early hours of the morning, it will as higher in the sky.
It will be near the cluster through the 14th, 15th and 16th.
On the night of 17th, it will be the largest moon in the solar system’s time to shine, Ganymede.
It will cross the very bottom of Jupiter with its shadow joining it just as the moon itself moves off the planet
between 20:43 and 23:45. So you will see the moon pass followed by the shadow on its own.
On the 18th The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks this morning, with around 15 meteors an hour.
Although Leo the Lion doesn’t start rising until midnight, It’s best viewed from then until around 4am
a late night for those keen astronomers or an early rise.
If you are out at this ridiculous time, try have a peek at the lion’s rear leg just below the star that represents its hip.
There is a cool cluster of galaxies here that you may be able to see with a telescope, known as The Leo Triplet.
You get 3 for the price of one here!
Over the last few evenings, the Moon has crept nearer to the ringed planet Saturn
until making its closest approach on the evening of the 20th, creating a nice sight for us as the sun sets.
Saturn will appear above the Moon, slowly shifting right and down past it as the night goes on.
Maybe a tracking camera could get a trail of the planet, moving round the Moon with a bit of skill
just like the stars do Polaris.
On the 21st, Plato Crater will look cool on this evenings Moon, just at the top of the huge Mare Imbrium
you can see this awesome crater.
There are also a host of others and mountain ranges for you to discover with you scopes.
On the 23rd, Have another look at the area you spotted Plato
and you will see the light has moved more to the left on the Moon
allowing you to now see what looks like a bite out of the Mare here.
This is known as the Montes Jura (Jura Mountains), which tips glisten as the sunlight hits them.
On the 24th, Ganymede again moves slightly across Jupiter
just skimming the face of the planet with it’s shadow transiting the planet
just after the moon itself leaves between 23:58 to the early hours of 03:50, making it the last transit of the month.
Watch the Moon slowly close in on Jupiter as the night goes on just passing it as it rises again on the 25th, you will see that it has moved across the sky now moving away from the gas giant Jupiter tonight.
November’s Full Moon is on the 27th, so not great for spotting those faint objects
but great for our ancestors to see their prey by, which is why it is called the Hunter Moon.Giving them a much needed helping hand find provisions for survival over the long winter months.
Comet 103p/Hartley is also a morning comet and best seen in the middle of the month
when the Moon is out of the way.
It will be harder to find as it is in a dim big constellation known as Hydra (The Water Snake).
But on the 30th it will be to the right of the star Alphard in Hydra
that you should be able to spot after 1am with the comet being to its right at 3am.
One for the hardened astronomer!