Post by Dave Mitsky on Nov 7, 2019 5:28:14 GMT
November Celestial Calendar by Dave Mitsky
All times are UT (subtract five hours after DST ends and, when appropriate, one calendar day)
11/1 The Moon is at descending node (longitude 280.3 degrees) at 22:00
11/2 The Moon is 0.6 degree south of Saturn, with an occultation occurring in southern Polynesia, New Zealand, southern Tasmania, eastern Antarctica, Prince Edward Island, and Kerguelen Island, at 7:00; the Moon is 0.4 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation occurring in Madagascar, southern Africa, South Georgia, and southern South America, at 18:00
11/3 Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends today; the equation of time is at a maximum of 16.49 minutes at 15:00
11/4 First Quarter Moon occurs at 10:23; the Lunar X (Purbach or Werner Cross), an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 17:18
11/6 The peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower (10 per hour) is predicted to occur at 0:00
11/7 The Moon is 3.6 degrees south-southeast of Neptune at 8:00; the Moon is at apogee, subtending 29' 30" from a distance of 405,058 kilometers (251,691 miles) at 8:36
11/8 Mars is three degrees north of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis) at 15:00
11/9 Venus is 3.9 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 20:00
11/11 The Moon is 4.0 degrees south of Uranus at 4:00; Mercury is in inferior conjunction at 15:00
11/12 Asteroid 4 Vesta (magnitude +6.5) is at opposition at 9:00; Full Moon, known as the Beaver or Frost Moon, occurs at 13:34; the peak of the Northern Taurid meteor shower (15 per hour) is predicted to occur at 23:00
11/13 The Moon is 7.3 degrees south-southeast of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades or Subaru) in Taurus at 10:00
11/14 The Moon is 2.9 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 3:00
11/15 The Moon is 1.5 degrees south of the bright open cluster M35 in Gemini at 20:00
11/16 The Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 99.1 degrees) at 9:00
11/17 The Moon is 5.4 degrees south of the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 12:00
11/18 The peak of the Leonid meteor shower (15 to 20 per hour) is predicted to occur at 6:00; the Moon is 0.9 degree north of the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe) in Cancer at 11:00
11/19 Last Quarter Moon occurs at 21:11
11/20 The Moon is 3.6 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) at 2:00; Mercury is stationary at 15:00; the Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to be visible at 18:59
11/22 The Sun is at longitude 240 degrees at 15:00
11/23 The Moon is at perigee, subtending 32' 35" from a distance of 366,716 kilometers (227,867 miles), at 7:41; the Sun enters Scorpius (ecliptic longitude 241.1 degrees) at 18:00; the Moon is 7.1 degrees north-northeast of Spica at 21:00
11/24 The Moon is 4.0 degrees north-northeast of Mars at 13:00; Venus (magnitude -3.9) is 1.4 degrees south of Jupiter (magnitude -1.8) at 13:00
11/25 Mercury (magnitude -0.3) is 9.5 degrees east of Mars (magnitude +1.7) at 1:00; the Moon is 1.8 degrees north-northeast of Mercury at 5:00
11/26 Mercury is at its greatest heliocentric latitude north today; New Moon (lunation 1199) occurs at 15:06
11/27 The Moon is 7.1 degrees north-northeast of Antares at 3:00; Neptune is stationary at 20:00
11/28 The Moon is 0.7 degree north of Jupiter, with an occultation occurring in western Asia, the Middle East, most of Europe, northern Africa, at 11:00; Mercury is at greatest western elongation (20 degrees) at 11:00; Venus is at its southernmost declination (-24.8 degrees) at 17:00; Venus is at aphelion (0.7282 astronomical units from the Sun) at 18:00; the Moon is 1.9 degrees north of Venus at 19:00
11/29 The Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 278.6 degrees) at 4:00; the Moon is 0.9 degree south of Saturn, with an occultation occurring in South Georgia, Antarctica, and New Zealand, at 21:00
11/30 The Moon, Saturn, and Pluto lie within a circle with a diameter of 3.6 degrees at 3:00; the Moon is 0.5 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation occurring in southeastern Polynesia, portions of Antarctica, Kerguelen Island, and southern Australasia, at 4:00; the Sun enters Ophiuchus (ecliptic longitude 248.0 degrees) at 14:00
Edmund Halley, William Herschel, Harlow Shapley, and Edwin Hubble were born this month.
Copernicus observes a lunar eclipse on November 5, 1500. Wolfgang Schuler independently discovers Tycho’s Supernova on November 6, 1572. Cornelius Gemma independently discovers Tycho’s Supernova on November 9, 1572. Tycho Brahe observes Tycho’s Supernova on November 11, 1572. SN 1604 (Kepler’s Supernova) becomes visible to the unaided eye on October 9, 1604. Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc makes the first telescopic observations of M42 (the Orion Nebula) on November 26, 1610. Jan de Munck discovers Comet C/1743 X1 (the Great Comet of 1744) on November 29, 1743. Captain James Cook observes a transit of Mercury from New Zealand on November 9, 1769. William Herschel discovers the ring galaxy NGC 922 on November 17, 1784. E.E. Barnard discovers the emission nebula NGC 281 (the Pacman Nebula) on November 16, 1881. The first photograph of a meteor was taken on November 26, 1885. The minor planet/comet 2060 Chiron or 95P/Chiron was discovered by Charles Kowal on November 1, 1977.
The peaks of the Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers take place on November 6th and November 12th respectively but will be severely compromised by bright moonlight. These streams form part of the complex associated with Comet 2P/Encke. The Leonid meteor shower occurs on the night of November 17th/18th. Unfortunately, the waning gibbous Moon will be located about 20 degrees to the west of the radiant and will compromise this year’s Leonids. Leonid meteors are debris from the periodic comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Due to their high speed (71 kilometers or 44 miles per second), the fastest of any meteor shower, the Leonids produce more fireballs than most showers. The minor Alpha Monocerotid and November Orionid meteor showers occur on November 21st and November 28th respectively. See www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/best-meteor-showers-in-2019/ for information on 2019’s better meteor showers.
Information on Iridium flares and passes of the ISS, the X-37B, the HST, and other satellites can be found at www.heavens-above.com/
The Moon is 3.7 days old, is 16.7% illuminated, subtends 31.2 arc minutes, and resides in Sagittarius on November 1st at 0:00 UT. The Moon reaches its greatest northern declination on November 17th (+23.0 degrees) and its greatest southern declination on November 2nd ( -23.1 degrees) and November 29th (-23.1 degrees). Longitudinal libration is at a maximum of +7.1 degrees on November 1st and +5.9 degrees on November 29th and a minimum of -4.9 degrees on November 16th. Latitudinal libration is at a maximum of +6.7 degrees on November 9th and a minimum of -6.7 degrees on November 23rd. New Moon occurs on November 26th. The Moon is at apogee (a distance of 63.51 Earth-radii) on November 7th and at perigee (a distance 57.50 Earth-radii) on November 23rd. The Moon occults Saturn and Pluto on November 2nd, Jupiter on November 28th, Saturn again on November 29th, and Pluto again on November 30th from certain parts of the world. Consult www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm for information on lunar occultations taking place this month. Visit saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/saber-does-the-stars/ for tips on spotting extreme crescent Moons and www.curtrenz.com/moon06.html for Full Moon data. Click on www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2019/november for a lunar phase calendar for this month. Times and dates for the lunar crater light rays predicted to occur this month are available at www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm
The Sun is located in Libra on November 1st at 0:00 UT. It moves into Scorpius on November 23rd and Ophiuchus on November 30th.
Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the planets and Pluto on November 1st: Mercury (magnitude +0.5, 8.6”, 29% illuminated, 0.79 a.u., Libra), Venus (magnitude -3.8, 10.1", 94% illuminated, 1.57 a.u., Libra), Mars (magnitude +1.8, 3.7", 99% illuminated, 2.54 a.u., Virgo), Jupiter (magnitude -1.9, 33.4", 100% illuminated, 5.90 a.u., Ophiuchus), Saturn (magnitude +0.6, 16.0", 100% illuminated, 10.77 a.u., Sagittarius), Uranus (magnitude +5.7, 3.7", 100% illuminated, 18.89 a.u. on November 16th, Aries), Neptune (magnitude +7.9, 2.3", 100% illuminated, 29.54 a.u. on November 16th, Aquarius), and Pluto (magnitude +14.3, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 34.45 a.u. on November 16th, Sagittarius).
During the evening, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are in the southwest, Uranus is in the east, and Neptune is in the southeast. Uranus lies in the southwest and Neptune in the west at midnight. Mercury and Mars are located in the southeast in the morning sky.
Mercury is in inferior conjunction on November 11th, is stationary on November 20th, is its greatest heliocentric latitude north on November 26th, and is at its greatest western elongation on November 28th. It transits the Sun on November 11th. Articles on this rather rare event, which occurs in either May or November up to 13 times a century, appear on pages 139 to 143 of the Observer’s Handbook 2019, pages 48 and 49 of the November 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope, pages 50 and 51 of the November 2019 issue of Astronomy, and pages 22 and 23 of the November/December 2019 issue of SkyNews. Contact I takes place at 12:35:27 UT, contact II at 12:37:08 UT, greatest transit at 15:19:48 UT, contact III at 18:02:33 UT, and contact IV at 18:04:14 UT. Mercury subtends just ten arc seconds as it crosses the Sun’s disk over the course of nearly 5 hours and 29 minutes. The entire transit is visible from extreme western Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, Central and South America, and eastern North America. The transit will not be visible from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and central and eastern Asia. The next transit of Mercury occurs on November 13, 2032 but will not be visible from the United States. Browse www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/transit/2019-november-11 and www.eclipsewise.com/oh/tm2019.html for additional information on the event. After the transit, Mercury begins its finest morning apparition of the year. It rises approximately seven minutes earlier and brightens by approximately one-half magnitude with each passing day and should be visible by November 18th. The speediest planet increases in illumination from crescent to waxing gibbous phase in only two weeks. Mercury and Mars are in quasiconjunction on November 25th. The Moon passes two degrees north of Mercury on the same date. Mercury rises about 75 minutes before the Sun by month’s end.
Venus and Jupiter are separated by just over 23 degrees on November 1st, nine degrees by November 15th, four degrees by November 20th, and two degrees by November 22nd. On November 23rd and November 24th, the two brightest planets are just approximately 1.5 degrees apart. A thin waxing crescent Moon lies two degrees north of Venus on November 28th. Venus is at its southernmost declination for 2019 about one hour before it reaches aphelion on November 28th. Venus sets about 105 minutes after sunset on November 30th.
Mars is located three degrees north of Spica on November 8th and four degrees south of the Moon on November 24th. The Red Planet travels eastward through Virgo and by November 30th it lies within 0.2 degree of Lambda Virginis (magnitude +4.5) in the southeastern portion of the constellation. Mars rises about 150 minutes before the Sun by the end of the month. During November, it remains less than four arc seconds in apparent size.
Jupiter departs Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius around the middle of the month. It sets approximately 80 minutes after the Sun on November 30th. Venus, Jupiter, and a slender crescent Moon form a picturesque triangle at evening twilight on November 28th. The Moon passes less than one degree north of Jupiter on that date.
Saturn lies just to the south of the Teasthingy asterism in Sagittarius. As November ends, the Ringed Planet is just 15 degrees in altitude in the southwest one hour after sunset. The Moon passes less than one degree south of Saturn on November 2nd and November 29th. At mid-month, the planet is 16 arc seconds in apparent size and its rings span 36 arc seconds and are inclined by 25 degrees. Iapetus lies to the east of Saturn and is at its dimmest during the first half of the month. Enceladus attains greatest eastern elongation on the evening of November1st. For information on the positions of Saturn’s major satellites, browse www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/
Uranus lies in southwestern Aries roughly halfway between second-magnitude star Hamal (Alpha Arietis) and the fourth-magnitude star Alrescha (Alpha Piscium). The ice giant culminates around 9:30 p.m. local time. Visit www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/09uranus_2019_1.pdf and www.nakedeyeplanets.com/uranus.htm for finder charts.
Neptune is positioned 1.3 degrees west-southwest of the fourth-magnitude star Phi Aquarii in eastern Aquarius on the first day of November. As the month ends, Neptune is 1.5 degrees from the star. Be aware that a seventh-magnitude star is located -.0.9 degree west of Phi Aquarii. The waxing gibbous Moon passes four degrees south of Neptune on November 10th. Neptune reaches its second stationary point on November 27th and then resumes prograde motion. Browse www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/10neptune_2019_1.pdf and www.nakedeyeplanets.com/neptune.htm for finder charts.
Articles on Uranus and Neptune with finder charts appear on pages 48 and 49 of the September 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope and on pages 52 to 55 of the October issue of Astronomy. Another article appears on pages 16 to 19 of the December 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. Finder charts for Uranus and Neptune are also available online at s22380.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/WEB_UrNep_2019-2020_updated.pdf
Pluto lies too close to the horizon to be observed this month.
For more on the planets and how to locate them, see www.nakedeyeplanets.com/
Comet C/2017 T2 (PanSTARRS) may brighten to ninth or tenth as it heads north-westward through Auriga. It passes about one degree to the east of the open cluster M38 on November 2nd. Comet PanSTARRS can be found approximately three degrees to the west of the first-magnitude star Capella on the nights of November 26th and November 27th. On those dates, the comet’s dust tail is edge-on and may be visible to the southeast of its coma. For additional information on comets visible this month, browse cometchasing.skyhound.com/ and www.aerith.net/comet/future-n.html
A list of the closest approaches of comets to the Earth is posted at www.cometography.com/nearcomet.html
As it travels south-westward through Taurus and Cetus, asteroid 4 Vesta shines brighter than magnitude +6.9 for the entire month. During the first week of November, the second largest asteroid can be found in western Taurus, less than one degree from the fourth-magnitude stars Omicron and Xi Tauri. Vesta passes 0.3 degree due south of Omicron Tauri on November 5th. On November 12th, Vesta (magnitude +6.5) is at opposition. It glides 0.9 degree south of the fifth-magnitude star Lambda Ceti on November 30th. Asteroids brighter than magnitude +11.0 reaching opposition this month include 196 Philomela (magnitude +10.9) on November 2nd, 675 Ludmilla (magnitude +10.5) on November 10th, 10 Hygiea (magnitude +10.3) on November 26th, and 88 Thisbe (magnitude +10.9) on November 28th. For information on this year’s bright asteroids and upcoming asteroid occultation events respectively, consult curtrenz.com/asteroids.html and asteroidoccultation.com/
A wealth of current information on solar system celestial bodies is posted at nineplanets.org/ and www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html
Various events taking place within our solar system are discussed at www.bluewaterastronomy.info/styled-4/index.html
Information on the celestial events transpiring each week can be found at astronomy.com/skythisweek and www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Two stars with exoplanetary systems, Upsilon Andromedae (magnitude +4.1) and 51 Andromedae (magnitude +5.5), can be seen this month without optical aid.
The famous eclipsing variable star Algol (Beta Persei) is at a minimum, decreasing in brightness from magnitude +2.1 to magnitude +3.4, on November 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, and 29th. Consult www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ and page 50 of the November 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope for the times of the eclipses. Algol is at minimum brightness for observers in North America for about two hours centered at 2:57 a.m. EST on November 9th, at 11:46 p.m. EST on November 11th, and at 8:35 p.m. EST on November 14th. The chance of seeing Algol at least one magnitude fainter than normal on a random night is about 1 in 30. For more on Algol, see stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/Algol.html and www.solstation.com/stars2/algol3.htm
Free star charts for the month can be downloaded at www.skymaps.com/downloads.html and www.telescope.com/content.jsp?pageName=Monthly-Star-Chart and whatsouttonight.com/
Data on current supernovae can be found at www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/
Finder charts for the Messier objects and other deep-sky objects are posted at freestarcharts.com/messier and freestarcharts.com/ngc-ic and www.cambridge.org/turnleft/seasonal_skies_october-december
Telrad finder charts for the Messier Catalog and the SAC’s 110 Best of the NGC are posted at www.astro-tom.com/messier/messier_finder_charts/map1.pdf and sao64.free.fr/observations/catalogues/cataloguesac.pdf respectively.
Information pertaining to observing some of the more prominent Messier galaxies can be found at www.cloudynights.com/topic/358295-how-to-locate-some-of-the-major-messier-galaxies-and-helpful-advice-for-novice-amateur-astronomers/
Author Phil Harrington offers an excellent freeware planetarium program for binocular observers known as TUBA (Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas), which also includes information on purchasing binoculars, at www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm
Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel are useful freeware planetarium programs that are available at stellarium.org/ and www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start
Deep-sky object list generators can be found at www.virtualcolony.com/sac/ and tonightssky.com/MainPage.php and telescopius.com/
Freeware sky atlases can be downloaded at www.deepskywatch.com/files/deepsky-atlas/Deep-Sky-Hunter-atlas-full.pdf and astro.mxd120.com/free-star-atlases
Seventy binary and multiple stars for November: Otto Struve 514, Alpha Andromedae (Alpheratz), Struve 3, h1947, Struve 19, Struve 24, 26 Andromedae, Struve 40, Pi Andromedae, Delta Andromedae, Struve 47, Eta Andromedae, Struve 79, Beta Andromedae (Mirach), Struve 108, Struve 179, South 404 (Andromeda); 1 Arietis, Struve 178, Gamma Arietis, Lambda Arietis (Mesarthim) (Aries); Struve 3053, Struve 3057, Struve 16, Struve 30, Otto Struve 16, Alpha Cassiopeiae (Schedar), Struve 59, Eta Cassiopeiae, Burnham 1, Struve 70, Otto Struve 23, h1088, Struve 163, Struve 170, Struve 182 (Cassiopeia); 34 Piscium, Struve 8, 35 Piscium, Struve 15, 38 Piscium, 42 Piscium, 49 Piscium, 51 Piscium, 55 Piscium, 65 Piscium, Psi Piscium, Otto Struve 22, Struve 98, Otto Struve 26, Phi Piscium, Zeta Piscium, h636, Otto Struve 30, Struve 122, Struve 132, Otto Struve 31, 100 Piscium, Struve 145, 107 Piscium, h644 (Pisces); h5440, Kappa-1 Sculptoris, h1949, h3442, h3379, Tau Sculptoris, Epsilon Sculptoris (Sculptor); Struve 143, Struve 183 (Triangulum)
Notable carbon star for November: Z Piscium
Seventy deep-sky objects for November: M31, M32, M110, NGC 252, NGC 404, NGC 752 (Andromeda); NGC 680, NGC 691, NGC 697, NGC 772 (Aries); Cr 463, IC 1747, K14, M103, NGC 129, NGC 133, NGC 146, NGC 185, NGC 225, NGC 281, NGC 278, NGC 381, NGC 436, NGC 457, NGC 559, NGC 637, NGC 654, NGC 659, NGC 663, Tr 1 (Cassiopeia); NGC 40, NGC 188 (Cepheus); NGC 151, NGC 175, NGC 178, NGC 210, NGC 227, NGC 245, NGC 246, NGC 247, NGC 274, NGC 337, NGC 578, NGC 584, NGC 596, NGC 615, NGC 636, NGC 681, NGC 720, NGC 779 (Cetus); NGC 7814 (Pegasus); M76, St 4 (Perseus); M74, NGC 128, NGC 194, NGC 488, NGC 524 (Pisces); NGC 24, NGC 55, NGC 134, NGC 150, NGC 253, NGC 254, NGC 288, NGC 289, NGC 439, NGC 613 (Sculptor); M33, NGC 672 (Triangulum)
Top ten binocular deep-sky objects for November: M31, M33, M103, NGC 225, NGC 288, NGC 253, NGC 457, NGC 654, NGC 663, NGC 752
Top ten deep-sky objects for November: M31, M32, M33, M76, M103, M110, NGC 40, NGC 253, NGC 457, NGC 752
Challenge deep-sky object for November: IC 59 (Cassiopeia)
The objects listed above are located between 0:00 and 2:00 hours of right ascension.
All times are UT (subtract five hours after DST ends and, when appropriate, one calendar day)
11/1 The Moon is at descending node (longitude 280.3 degrees) at 22:00
11/2 The Moon is 0.6 degree south of Saturn, with an occultation occurring in southern Polynesia, New Zealand, southern Tasmania, eastern Antarctica, Prince Edward Island, and Kerguelen Island, at 7:00; the Moon is 0.4 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation occurring in Madagascar, southern Africa, South Georgia, and southern South America, at 18:00
11/3 Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends today; the equation of time is at a maximum of 16.49 minutes at 15:00
11/4 First Quarter Moon occurs at 10:23; the Lunar X (Purbach or Werner Cross), an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 17:18
11/6 The peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower (10 per hour) is predicted to occur at 0:00
11/7 The Moon is 3.6 degrees south-southeast of Neptune at 8:00; the Moon is at apogee, subtending 29' 30" from a distance of 405,058 kilometers (251,691 miles) at 8:36
11/8 Mars is three degrees north of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis) at 15:00
11/9 Venus is 3.9 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 20:00
11/11 The Moon is 4.0 degrees south of Uranus at 4:00; Mercury is in inferior conjunction at 15:00
11/12 Asteroid 4 Vesta (magnitude +6.5) is at opposition at 9:00; Full Moon, known as the Beaver or Frost Moon, occurs at 13:34; the peak of the Northern Taurid meteor shower (15 per hour) is predicted to occur at 23:00
11/13 The Moon is 7.3 degrees south-southeast of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades or Subaru) in Taurus at 10:00
11/14 The Moon is 2.9 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 3:00
11/15 The Moon is 1.5 degrees south of the bright open cluster M35 in Gemini at 20:00
11/16 The Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 99.1 degrees) at 9:00
11/17 The Moon is 5.4 degrees south of the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 12:00
11/18 The peak of the Leonid meteor shower (15 to 20 per hour) is predicted to occur at 6:00; the Moon is 0.9 degree north of the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe) in Cancer at 11:00
11/19 Last Quarter Moon occurs at 21:11
11/20 The Moon is 3.6 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) at 2:00; Mercury is stationary at 15:00; the Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped clair-obscur illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to be visible at 18:59
11/22 The Sun is at longitude 240 degrees at 15:00
11/23 The Moon is at perigee, subtending 32' 35" from a distance of 366,716 kilometers (227,867 miles), at 7:41; the Sun enters Scorpius (ecliptic longitude 241.1 degrees) at 18:00; the Moon is 7.1 degrees north-northeast of Spica at 21:00
11/24 The Moon is 4.0 degrees north-northeast of Mars at 13:00; Venus (magnitude -3.9) is 1.4 degrees south of Jupiter (magnitude -1.8) at 13:00
11/25 Mercury (magnitude -0.3) is 9.5 degrees east of Mars (magnitude +1.7) at 1:00; the Moon is 1.8 degrees north-northeast of Mercury at 5:00
11/26 Mercury is at its greatest heliocentric latitude north today; New Moon (lunation 1199) occurs at 15:06
11/27 The Moon is 7.1 degrees north-northeast of Antares at 3:00; Neptune is stationary at 20:00
11/28 The Moon is 0.7 degree north of Jupiter, with an occultation occurring in western Asia, the Middle East, most of Europe, northern Africa, at 11:00; Mercury is at greatest western elongation (20 degrees) at 11:00; Venus is at its southernmost declination (-24.8 degrees) at 17:00; Venus is at aphelion (0.7282 astronomical units from the Sun) at 18:00; the Moon is 1.9 degrees north of Venus at 19:00
11/29 The Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 278.6 degrees) at 4:00; the Moon is 0.9 degree south of Saturn, with an occultation occurring in South Georgia, Antarctica, and New Zealand, at 21:00
11/30 The Moon, Saturn, and Pluto lie within a circle with a diameter of 3.6 degrees at 3:00; the Moon is 0.5 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation occurring in southeastern Polynesia, portions of Antarctica, Kerguelen Island, and southern Australasia, at 4:00; the Sun enters Ophiuchus (ecliptic longitude 248.0 degrees) at 14:00
Edmund Halley, William Herschel, Harlow Shapley, and Edwin Hubble were born this month.
Copernicus observes a lunar eclipse on November 5, 1500. Wolfgang Schuler independently discovers Tycho’s Supernova on November 6, 1572. Cornelius Gemma independently discovers Tycho’s Supernova on November 9, 1572. Tycho Brahe observes Tycho’s Supernova on November 11, 1572. SN 1604 (Kepler’s Supernova) becomes visible to the unaided eye on October 9, 1604. Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc makes the first telescopic observations of M42 (the Orion Nebula) on November 26, 1610. Jan de Munck discovers Comet C/1743 X1 (the Great Comet of 1744) on November 29, 1743. Captain James Cook observes a transit of Mercury from New Zealand on November 9, 1769. William Herschel discovers the ring galaxy NGC 922 on November 17, 1784. E.E. Barnard discovers the emission nebula NGC 281 (the Pacman Nebula) on November 16, 1881. The first photograph of a meteor was taken on November 26, 1885. The minor planet/comet 2060 Chiron or 95P/Chiron was discovered by Charles Kowal on November 1, 1977.
The peaks of the Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers take place on November 6th and November 12th respectively but will be severely compromised by bright moonlight. These streams form part of the complex associated with Comet 2P/Encke. The Leonid meteor shower occurs on the night of November 17th/18th. Unfortunately, the waning gibbous Moon will be located about 20 degrees to the west of the radiant and will compromise this year’s Leonids. Leonid meteors are debris from the periodic comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Due to their high speed (71 kilometers or 44 miles per second), the fastest of any meteor shower, the Leonids produce more fireballs than most showers. The minor Alpha Monocerotid and November Orionid meteor showers occur on November 21st and November 28th respectively. See www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/best-meteor-showers-in-2019/ for information on 2019’s better meteor showers.
Information on Iridium flares and passes of the ISS, the X-37B, the HST, and other satellites can be found at www.heavens-above.com/
The Moon is 3.7 days old, is 16.7% illuminated, subtends 31.2 arc minutes, and resides in Sagittarius on November 1st at 0:00 UT. The Moon reaches its greatest northern declination on November 17th (+23.0 degrees) and its greatest southern declination on November 2nd ( -23.1 degrees) and November 29th (-23.1 degrees). Longitudinal libration is at a maximum of +7.1 degrees on November 1st and +5.9 degrees on November 29th and a minimum of -4.9 degrees on November 16th. Latitudinal libration is at a maximum of +6.7 degrees on November 9th and a minimum of -6.7 degrees on November 23rd. New Moon occurs on November 26th. The Moon is at apogee (a distance of 63.51 Earth-radii) on November 7th and at perigee (a distance 57.50 Earth-radii) on November 23rd. The Moon occults Saturn and Pluto on November 2nd, Jupiter on November 28th, Saturn again on November 29th, and Pluto again on November 30th from certain parts of the world. Consult www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm for information on lunar occultations taking place this month. Visit saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/saber-does-the-stars/ for tips on spotting extreme crescent Moons and www.curtrenz.com/moon06.html for Full Moon data. Click on www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2019/november for a lunar phase calendar for this month. Times and dates for the lunar crater light rays predicted to occur this month are available at www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm
The Sun is located in Libra on November 1st at 0:00 UT. It moves into Scorpius on November 23rd and Ophiuchus on November 30th.
Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the planets and Pluto on November 1st: Mercury (magnitude +0.5, 8.6”, 29% illuminated, 0.79 a.u., Libra), Venus (magnitude -3.8, 10.1", 94% illuminated, 1.57 a.u., Libra), Mars (magnitude +1.8, 3.7", 99% illuminated, 2.54 a.u., Virgo), Jupiter (magnitude -1.9, 33.4", 100% illuminated, 5.90 a.u., Ophiuchus), Saturn (magnitude +0.6, 16.0", 100% illuminated, 10.77 a.u., Sagittarius), Uranus (magnitude +5.7, 3.7", 100% illuminated, 18.89 a.u. on November 16th, Aries), Neptune (magnitude +7.9, 2.3", 100% illuminated, 29.54 a.u. on November 16th, Aquarius), and Pluto (magnitude +14.3, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 34.45 a.u. on November 16th, Sagittarius).
During the evening, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are in the southwest, Uranus is in the east, and Neptune is in the southeast. Uranus lies in the southwest and Neptune in the west at midnight. Mercury and Mars are located in the southeast in the morning sky.
Mercury is in inferior conjunction on November 11th, is stationary on November 20th, is its greatest heliocentric latitude north on November 26th, and is at its greatest western elongation on November 28th. It transits the Sun on November 11th. Articles on this rather rare event, which occurs in either May or November up to 13 times a century, appear on pages 139 to 143 of the Observer’s Handbook 2019, pages 48 and 49 of the November 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope, pages 50 and 51 of the November 2019 issue of Astronomy, and pages 22 and 23 of the November/December 2019 issue of SkyNews. Contact I takes place at 12:35:27 UT, contact II at 12:37:08 UT, greatest transit at 15:19:48 UT, contact III at 18:02:33 UT, and contact IV at 18:04:14 UT. Mercury subtends just ten arc seconds as it crosses the Sun’s disk over the course of nearly 5 hours and 29 minutes. The entire transit is visible from extreme western Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, Central and South America, and eastern North America. The transit will not be visible from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and central and eastern Asia. The next transit of Mercury occurs on November 13, 2032 but will not be visible from the United States. Browse www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/transit/2019-november-11 and www.eclipsewise.com/oh/tm2019.html for additional information on the event. After the transit, Mercury begins its finest morning apparition of the year. It rises approximately seven minutes earlier and brightens by approximately one-half magnitude with each passing day and should be visible by November 18th. The speediest planet increases in illumination from crescent to waxing gibbous phase in only two weeks. Mercury and Mars are in quasiconjunction on November 25th. The Moon passes two degrees north of Mercury on the same date. Mercury rises about 75 minutes before the Sun by month’s end.
Venus and Jupiter are separated by just over 23 degrees on November 1st, nine degrees by November 15th, four degrees by November 20th, and two degrees by November 22nd. On November 23rd and November 24th, the two brightest planets are just approximately 1.5 degrees apart. A thin waxing crescent Moon lies two degrees north of Venus on November 28th. Venus is at its southernmost declination for 2019 about one hour before it reaches aphelion on November 28th. Venus sets about 105 minutes after sunset on November 30th.
Mars is located three degrees north of Spica on November 8th and four degrees south of the Moon on November 24th. The Red Planet travels eastward through Virgo and by November 30th it lies within 0.2 degree of Lambda Virginis (magnitude +4.5) in the southeastern portion of the constellation. Mars rises about 150 minutes before the Sun by the end of the month. During November, it remains less than four arc seconds in apparent size.
Jupiter departs Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius around the middle of the month. It sets approximately 80 minutes after the Sun on November 30th. Venus, Jupiter, and a slender crescent Moon form a picturesque triangle at evening twilight on November 28th. The Moon passes less than one degree north of Jupiter on that date.
Saturn lies just to the south of the Teasthingy asterism in Sagittarius. As November ends, the Ringed Planet is just 15 degrees in altitude in the southwest one hour after sunset. The Moon passes less than one degree south of Saturn on November 2nd and November 29th. At mid-month, the planet is 16 arc seconds in apparent size and its rings span 36 arc seconds and are inclined by 25 degrees. Iapetus lies to the east of Saturn and is at its dimmest during the first half of the month. Enceladus attains greatest eastern elongation on the evening of November1st. For information on the positions of Saturn’s major satellites, browse www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/
Uranus lies in southwestern Aries roughly halfway between second-magnitude star Hamal (Alpha Arietis) and the fourth-magnitude star Alrescha (Alpha Piscium). The ice giant culminates around 9:30 p.m. local time. Visit www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/09uranus_2019_1.pdf and www.nakedeyeplanets.com/uranus.htm for finder charts.
Neptune is positioned 1.3 degrees west-southwest of the fourth-magnitude star Phi Aquarii in eastern Aquarius on the first day of November. As the month ends, Neptune is 1.5 degrees from the star. Be aware that a seventh-magnitude star is located -.0.9 degree west of Phi Aquarii. The waxing gibbous Moon passes four degrees south of Neptune on November 10th. Neptune reaches its second stationary point on November 27th and then resumes prograde motion. Browse www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/10neptune_2019_1.pdf and www.nakedeyeplanets.com/neptune.htm for finder charts.
Articles on Uranus and Neptune with finder charts appear on pages 48 and 49 of the September 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope and on pages 52 to 55 of the October issue of Astronomy. Another article appears on pages 16 to 19 of the December 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. Finder charts for Uranus and Neptune are also available online at s22380.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/WEB_UrNep_2019-2020_updated.pdf
Pluto lies too close to the horizon to be observed this month.
For more on the planets and how to locate them, see www.nakedeyeplanets.com/
Comet C/2017 T2 (PanSTARRS) may brighten to ninth or tenth as it heads north-westward through Auriga. It passes about one degree to the east of the open cluster M38 on November 2nd. Comet PanSTARRS can be found approximately three degrees to the west of the first-magnitude star Capella on the nights of November 26th and November 27th. On those dates, the comet’s dust tail is edge-on and may be visible to the southeast of its coma. For additional information on comets visible this month, browse cometchasing.skyhound.com/ and www.aerith.net/comet/future-n.html
A list of the closest approaches of comets to the Earth is posted at www.cometography.com/nearcomet.html
As it travels south-westward through Taurus and Cetus, asteroid 4 Vesta shines brighter than magnitude +6.9 for the entire month. During the first week of November, the second largest asteroid can be found in western Taurus, less than one degree from the fourth-magnitude stars Omicron and Xi Tauri. Vesta passes 0.3 degree due south of Omicron Tauri on November 5th. On November 12th, Vesta (magnitude +6.5) is at opposition. It glides 0.9 degree south of the fifth-magnitude star Lambda Ceti on November 30th. Asteroids brighter than magnitude +11.0 reaching opposition this month include 196 Philomela (magnitude +10.9) on November 2nd, 675 Ludmilla (magnitude +10.5) on November 10th, 10 Hygiea (magnitude +10.3) on November 26th, and 88 Thisbe (magnitude +10.9) on November 28th. For information on this year’s bright asteroids and upcoming asteroid occultation events respectively, consult curtrenz.com/asteroids.html and asteroidoccultation.com/
A wealth of current information on solar system celestial bodies is posted at nineplanets.org/ and www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html
Various events taking place within our solar system are discussed at www.bluewaterastronomy.info/styled-4/index.html
Information on the celestial events transpiring each week can be found at astronomy.com/skythisweek and www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Two stars with exoplanetary systems, Upsilon Andromedae (magnitude +4.1) and 51 Andromedae (magnitude +5.5), can be seen this month without optical aid.
The famous eclipsing variable star Algol (Beta Persei) is at a minimum, decreasing in brightness from magnitude +2.1 to magnitude +3.4, on November 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, and 29th. Consult www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ and page 50 of the November 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope for the times of the eclipses. Algol is at minimum brightness for observers in North America for about two hours centered at 2:57 a.m. EST on November 9th, at 11:46 p.m. EST on November 11th, and at 8:35 p.m. EST on November 14th. The chance of seeing Algol at least one magnitude fainter than normal on a random night is about 1 in 30. For more on Algol, see stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/Algol.html and www.solstation.com/stars2/algol3.htm
Free star charts for the month can be downloaded at www.skymaps.com/downloads.html and www.telescope.com/content.jsp?pageName=Monthly-Star-Chart and whatsouttonight.com/
Data on current supernovae can be found at www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/
Finder charts for the Messier objects and other deep-sky objects are posted at freestarcharts.com/messier and freestarcharts.com/ngc-ic and www.cambridge.org/turnleft/seasonal_skies_october-december
Telrad finder charts for the Messier Catalog and the SAC’s 110 Best of the NGC are posted at www.astro-tom.com/messier/messier_finder_charts/map1.pdf and sao64.free.fr/observations/catalogues/cataloguesac.pdf respectively.
Information pertaining to observing some of the more prominent Messier galaxies can be found at www.cloudynights.com/topic/358295-how-to-locate-some-of-the-major-messier-galaxies-and-helpful-advice-for-novice-amateur-astronomers/
Author Phil Harrington offers an excellent freeware planetarium program for binocular observers known as TUBA (Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas), which also includes information on purchasing binoculars, at www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm
Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel are useful freeware planetarium programs that are available at stellarium.org/ and www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start
Deep-sky object list generators can be found at www.virtualcolony.com/sac/ and tonightssky.com/MainPage.php and telescopius.com/
Freeware sky atlases can be downloaded at www.deepskywatch.com/files/deepsky-atlas/Deep-Sky-Hunter-atlas-full.pdf and astro.mxd120.com/free-star-atlases
Seventy binary and multiple stars for November: Otto Struve 514, Alpha Andromedae (Alpheratz), Struve 3, h1947, Struve 19, Struve 24, 26 Andromedae, Struve 40, Pi Andromedae, Delta Andromedae, Struve 47, Eta Andromedae, Struve 79, Beta Andromedae (Mirach), Struve 108, Struve 179, South 404 (Andromeda); 1 Arietis, Struve 178, Gamma Arietis, Lambda Arietis (Mesarthim) (Aries); Struve 3053, Struve 3057, Struve 16, Struve 30, Otto Struve 16, Alpha Cassiopeiae (Schedar), Struve 59, Eta Cassiopeiae, Burnham 1, Struve 70, Otto Struve 23, h1088, Struve 163, Struve 170, Struve 182 (Cassiopeia); 34 Piscium, Struve 8, 35 Piscium, Struve 15, 38 Piscium, 42 Piscium, 49 Piscium, 51 Piscium, 55 Piscium, 65 Piscium, Psi Piscium, Otto Struve 22, Struve 98, Otto Struve 26, Phi Piscium, Zeta Piscium, h636, Otto Struve 30, Struve 122, Struve 132, Otto Struve 31, 100 Piscium, Struve 145, 107 Piscium, h644 (Pisces); h5440, Kappa-1 Sculptoris, h1949, h3442, h3379, Tau Sculptoris, Epsilon Sculptoris (Sculptor); Struve 143, Struve 183 (Triangulum)
Notable carbon star for November: Z Piscium
Seventy deep-sky objects for November: M31, M32, M110, NGC 252, NGC 404, NGC 752 (Andromeda); NGC 680, NGC 691, NGC 697, NGC 772 (Aries); Cr 463, IC 1747, K14, M103, NGC 129, NGC 133, NGC 146, NGC 185, NGC 225, NGC 281, NGC 278, NGC 381, NGC 436, NGC 457, NGC 559, NGC 637, NGC 654, NGC 659, NGC 663, Tr 1 (Cassiopeia); NGC 40, NGC 188 (Cepheus); NGC 151, NGC 175, NGC 178, NGC 210, NGC 227, NGC 245, NGC 246, NGC 247, NGC 274, NGC 337, NGC 578, NGC 584, NGC 596, NGC 615, NGC 636, NGC 681, NGC 720, NGC 779 (Cetus); NGC 7814 (Pegasus); M76, St 4 (Perseus); M74, NGC 128, NGC 194, NGC 488, NGC 524 (Pisces); NGC 24, NGC 55, NGC 134, NGC 150, NGC 253, NGC 254, NGC 288, NGC 289, NGC 439, NGC 613 (Sculptor); M33, NGC 672 (Triangulum)
Top ten binocular deep-sky objects for November: M31, M33, M103, NGC 225, NGC 288, NGC 253, NGC 457, NGC 654, NGC 663, NGC 752
Top ten deep-sky objects for November: M31, M32, M33, M76, M103, M110, NGC 40, NGC 253, NGC 457, NGC 752
Challenge deep-sky object for November: IC 59 (Cassiopeia)
The objects listed above are located between 0:00 and 2:00 hours of right ascension.