Your guide to the night sky this month
Monday 1
This morning’s 17%-lit waning crescent Moon is showing a favourable libration (a small rocking and rolling motion) that will reveal the Mare Orientale region. The ‘Eastern Sea’ is ironically located on the southwestern limb of the Moon’s crescent.
Tuesday 2
Early risers will get a view of mag. –0.8 Mercury 4˚ from mag. +1.0 Spica (Alpha (α) Virginis). Look low above the east-southeast horizon from 06:00 UT. A 9%-lit waning crescent Moon hangs 20˚ above Mercury.
Wednesday 3
A clear sky this morning will bring the stunning sight of mag. –0.8 Mercury and a 3%-lit, waning crescent Moon 6˚ to the westnorthwest (above and slightly right as seen from the UK). Ceres is 7 arcminutes south of Aldebaran at 00:00 UT.
Thursday 4
Locate mag. –0.8 Mercury in this morning’s sky and if the weather is particularly clear, you might be able to see an ultra-thin Moon 7˚ below and left of the planet as seen from the UK. This Moon, less than 1%-lit, is on the theoretical limit of visibility, the Danjon Limit.
Friday 5
October, shining at mag. +5.6 and located in Uranus reaches opposition in the 4/5 the southern portion of Aries.
Saturday 6
There’s a good opportunity to watch Callisto transit Jupiter’s disc this evening. The event begins as the sky starts to darken around 16:45 UT, Callisto eventually leaving transit at 21:20 UT.
Sunday 7
The first of two lovely opportunities to catch a thin waxing crescent Moon with brilliant Venus. Shining at mag. –4.4, Venus lies 7.2˚ east of this evening’s 11%-lit waxing crescent.
Monday 8
Following yesterday evening’s meeting of the Moon and Venus, this evening dazzling Venus appears 6.6˚ west of the 20%-lit waxing lunar crescent.
Tuesday 9
Catch a view of Jupiter through a telescope as the sky is darkening and you will see the giant shadow of Ganymede in transit across the planet’s disc. The event ends at 18:36 UT.
Wednesday 10
This evening’s 41%-lit waxing crescent Moon lies 5˚ south of mag. +0.9 Saturn in an attractive pairing.
Thursday 11
This evening, the first quarter Moon appears 5.2˚ south of mag. –2.3 Jupiter. The clair-obscur effects known as the ‘Lunar X’ and ‘V’ are visible this evening, getting most visible around 22:30 UT.
Friday 12
The Northern Taurid meteor shower reaches its peak. The shower has a low ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) of 5 meteors per hour, but this is offset to a degree by a wide, broad peak and slow, bright trails.
Tuesday 16
There’s another chance to see Ganymede’s shadow transiting Jupiter’s atmosphere from 19:08–22:36 UT. At 14:00 UT Ganymede will be transiting Jupiter and covering Io’s shadow.
Wednesday 17
Peak of the annual Leonid meteor shower. Unfortunately, this year’s shower will be washed out by a bright Moon, full on the morning of 19 November.
Friday 19
Today’s full Moon will be partially eclipsed by Earth’s shadow. The event is visible from the UK as the Moon sets. The eclipse’s penumbral stage begins at 06:02 UT, and the dark umbral phase starts at 07:18 UT, just a few minutes before moonset.
Saturday 27
Ceres will be at opposition at mag. +7.0 and visible through binoculars. ‘The Cutlass’ lunar clair-obscur effect is visible tonight. The blade is formed by the Straight Wall, Rupes Recta, and the handle by the Stag’s Horn mountains.
Sunday 28
The southwest limb of the Moon is favourably librated towards Earth this morning, giving a reasonable view of the dark lava patches in and around the Mare Orientale basin.
Family stargazing
The sky starts to get dark quite early in November. Looking towards the eastern part of the sky early evening, you should be able to spot the small but distinctive open cluster known as the Pleiades. It’s roughly a third of the way up the sky when due east, a position achieved at 8:30pm on 1 November, 7:30pm mid-month and 6:30pm at the end of November. An alternative name for the Pleiades is the Seven Sisters, supposedly because that’s how many stars are obvious to the naked eye. But is seven the limit? Younger eyes may see more. www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing
The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide
Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST)
Universal Time (UT) is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. British Summer Time (BST) is one hour ahead of UT
RA (Right ascension) and dec. (declination)
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’
Family friendly
Objects marked with this icon are perfect for showing to children
Naked eye
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
Photo opp
Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Binoculars
10×50 recommended
Small/ medium scope
Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
Large scope
Reflector/SCT over 6 inches, refractor over 4 inches
GETTING STARTED IN ASTRONOMY
If you’re new to astronomy, you’ll find two essential reads on our website. Visit http://bit.ly/10_easylessons for our 10-step guide to getting started and http://bit.ly/buy_scope for advice on choosing a scope