Your guide to the night sky this month
Tuesday 1
This evening’s 56%-lit waxing gibbous Moon sits 5° to the south of mag. +0.8 Saturn.
There are two first quarter Moons in November this year, today at 06:38 UT and on 30 November at 14:37 UT.
Wednesday 2
As Mars nears opposition next month, it shines at mag. –1.3 in the evening sky above the constellation Orion, appearing 15 arcseconds across through a telescope.
Europa and Ganymede transit Jupiter from 20:44 UT.
Thursday 3
The popular and easy to see clair-obscur effect known as the Jewelled Handle is visible this evening. This occurs when the lunar dawn light hits the peaks of the curved Jura mountain range, creating a light arc that extends into the lunar night.
Friday 4
Your first opportunity to spot this month’s Moonwatch target, the 70km crater Hainzel. It’s close to the lunar evening terminator on the morning of 18 November, appearing on the terminator itself on 19 November.
Saturday 5
At 00:13 UT, you can see an 86%-lit waxing gibbous Moon lying 2.7° below mag. –2.6 Jupiter.
Sunday 6
A view of Jupiter through a telescope early this evening will reveal its giant moon Ganymede emerging from the planet’s shadow. Ganymede reappears from 16:49 UT, 1.1 arcminutes east of the planet.
Monday 7
Over the next few nights dwarf planet Ceres will pass through the Leo Triplet: galaxies M65, M66 and NGC 3628. See The Big Three.
Wednesday 9
The planet Uranus reaches opposition.
Thursday 10
Europa and Ganymede both transit Jupiter together this morning. Both moons will be in transit from 00:19 UT until 01:38 UT, Europa’s shadow joining the party from 01:05 UT.
Friday 11
Magnitude –1.5 Mars sits just 5° from this morning’s 92%-lit waning gibbous Moon. You will catch them at their closest at around 05:00 UT.
Sunday 13
Mars reaches mag. –1.5 and appears 16 arcseconds across when viewed through a telescope.
Thursday 17
The annual Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight and into the morning of 18 November. The 33%-lit waning crescent Moon is located within Leo at this time, causing some interference.
Friday 18
Libration is relatively favourable for viewing Mare Orientale on this and the next few mornings.
Callisto passes near Jupiter’s northern limb between 23:05 UT today and 00:15 UT on 19 November.
Saturday 19
This month’s Star of the Month is Electra, one of the mythological sisters in the Pleiades open cluster. This beautiful cluster is at its highest at midnight, around 60° up, due south.
Sunday 20
Ganymede is occulted by Jupiter starting at 17:27 UT as Europa’s shadow is in transit. A virtual repeat of this event occurs on 27 November from 21:08 UT – see The Big Three.
Tuesday 29
The 40%-lit waxing crescent Moon lies 8° to the east-southeast of magnitude +0.8 Saturn this evening.
Wednesday 30
Just over a week from opposition, Mars now shines at mag. –1.8 and presents an apparent disc size of 17 arcseconds. From the centre of the UK it achieves an altitude of 60°.
Family stargazing
Mars is getting bright and really easy to pick out in the night sky as it gets close to opposition on 8 December. Describe it as a bright, orange light in the sky and let your young astronomers try to find it for themselves. Its brilliance is a bit of a giveaway, but the colour is interesting too. Ask how you’d describe the colour. Mars only reaches this brilliance every two-and-a-bit years, due to the way both Earth and Mars orbit the Sun, so explain that this is a special time for the planet. If you have a telescope, take a look and ask what, if anything, can be seen. bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing
NEED TO KNOW
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’
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