{"id":65063,"date":"2024-10-30T11:36:40","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T11:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7ad3a307-4e40-4c49-a90f-c239b27d55d5"},"modified":"2024-10-31T08:40:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T08:40:42","slug":"whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s in the night sky tonight? November 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\">What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what&#8217;s on view in our monthly stargazing guide. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Pete Lawrence\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Wednesday, 30 October 2024 at 11:36 AM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html> <head\/> <body> <p>In this guide we&#8217;ll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.<\/p> <p>Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can&#8217;t always plan when and where we&#8217;re going to get the chance to gaze upwards.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Comet A3, meteor showers and Solar System moons. What's in the night sky, November 2024\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W1dEEA-Zr9E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>Busy schedules, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/light-pollution-astronomy\/\">light pollution<\/a>, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.<\/p> <p>So when you do find the time, you&#8217;ll need to know what&#8217;s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.<\/p> <p><em><strong>Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/top-astronomy-kit\/best-telescopes-beginners\/\">best telescopes for beginners<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/astronomy-for-beginners\/\">astronomy for beginners<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">  <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: M Gucci \/ Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>Here&#8217;s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.<\/p> <p>Our guide is centred around what&#8217;s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.<\/p> <p>In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT<\/p> <p class=\"p3\">We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).<\/p> <p class=\"p3\">These coordinates are the night sky\u2019s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial \u2018globe\u2019.<\/p> <p class=\"p3\">For help with these, read our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/a-guide-to-celestial-coordinates\/\">celestial coordinates<\/a>.<\/p> <p><em><strong>For more advice, read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/stargazing-top-tips\/\">how to stargaze<\/a> or sign up to receive the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/newsletter\/\">BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <p><strong><em>If you&#8217;re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/southern-hemisphere-night-sky-tonight\">Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/06\/07.MilkyWayBasudebChakrabarti-683bbc7.jpg\" alt=\"Milky Way over Namthing Pokhri Lake Basudeb Chakrabarti, West Bengal, India, 13 March 2022 Equipment: Nikon D5200 DSLR, Tokina 11\u201316mm lens, tripod\" class=\"wp-image-109434\" title=\"Milky Way over Namthing Pokhri Lake Basudeb Chakrabarti, West Bengal, India, 13 March 2022 Equipment: Nikon D5200 DSLR, Tokina 11\u201316mm lens, tripod\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Milky Way over Namthing Pokhri Lake Basudeb Chakrabarti, West Bengal, India, 13 March 2022 Equipment: Nikon D5200 DSLR, Tokina 11\u201316mm lens, tripod <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-in-the-night-sky-tonight\"><strong>What&#8217;s in the night sky tonight?<\/strong><\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-september-astronomy-highlights\"><strong>November astronomy highlights<\/strong><\/h3> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>1 November: <\/strong>Callisto lies south of Jupiter\u2019s southern pole (am)<\/li> <li><strong>4 November: <\/strong>Venus near the waxing crescent Moon (pm)<\/li> <li><strong>4 November: <\/strong>Rare transit of Titan\u2019s shadow on Saturn from 21:08 UT (pm)<\/li> <li><strong>17 November: <\/strong>Uranus reaches opposition<\/li> <li><strong>30 November: <\/strong>Mars lies near M44 (pm)<\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Planets<\/strong><\/h2> <p>With long, dark nights, November 2024 is planetary observing heaven.<\/p> <p>Ahead of Jupiter\u2019s opposition on 7 December, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/uranus-opposition-november-2024\">it\u2019s <strong>Uranus<\/strong> reaching opposition<\/a> this month, sitting opposite the Sun in the sky on 17 November.<\/p> <p>The <strong>full Moon<\/strong>, technically the Moon at opposition, occurs on 15 November just two days shy of lunar perigee.<\/p> <p>It lies 3.7\u00b0 to the north of <strong>Uranus<\/strong> and as dawn breaks on 16 November, 2.2\u00b0 southwest of <strong>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/astrophotography\/stars\/star-clusters\/pleiades\">Pleiades<\/a><\/strong> open cluster.<\/p> <p>Of course, such a large bright Moon will completely swamp the delicate cluster stars to the naked eye, but binoculars should show them.<\/p> <p>This bright Moon sitting near <strong>Jupiter<\/strong> on 17 November, spells disaster for the <strong>Leonid meteor shower<\/strong>, which this year reaches its peak around midday on the 17th.<\/p> <p>As it approaches opposition, Jupiter\u2019s four largest moons appear to transit the planet\u2019s disc almost in sync with their shadows.<\/p> <p>Using a telescope, take a look at Jupiter around 19:50 UT when you should see <strong>Io<\/strong> and its shadow close in the middle of Jupiter\u2019s disc.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"749\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/uranus-opposition-november-2024.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing the location of Uranus at opposition and throughout November 2024.\" class=\"wp-image-163969\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> At its brightest and reaching 56\u00b0 altitude in November 2024, now\u2019s the time to view and image Uranus. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stars and constellations<\/strong><\/h2> <p>When the Moon is out of the way, the stars of November\u2019s night sky are quite beautiful.<\/p> <p>Early evening the stars of late spring and summer appear in the west, the now inappropriately named <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/summer-triangle\">Summer Triangle<\/a><\/strong> still being prominent.<\/p> <p>Early evening, following from the east and rising to centre stage due south, are the stars of autumn, led by <strong>Pegasus, the Flying Horse<\/strong>.<\/p> <p>Count how many stars you can see within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/great-square-pegasus\">Great Square of Pegasus<\/a> and this is a good indication of the quality of your sky.<\/p> <p>A count of 0 means you live under heavy light pollution, 1-4 town-class light pollution, while from a dark urban location you may see up to 13. If you can see 30+ stars you have an excellent sky.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"830\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/11\/great-square-pegasus.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing the location of the Great Square of Pegasus asterism in the night sky. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-142982\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Chart showing the location of the Great Square of Pegasus asterism in the night sky. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>As we approach the latter part of the evening, the stars of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/taurus-constellation\">Taurus<\/a>, the Bull<\/strong> become well-placed.<\/p> <p>Jupiter blazes out from between the Bull\u2019s horns this month.<\/p> <p>Taurus\u2019s northern horn tip is marked by <strong>Elnath<\/strong> (Beta (\u03b2) Tauri), a star which acts as a gateway to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/open-clusters-auriga-charioteer\">Auriga<\/a>, the Charioteer<\/strong>, located further north.<\/p> <p>Auriga appears as a misshapen pentagon with the bright star <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/star-capella\">Capella<\/a><\/strong> towards the north of the shape.\u00a0<\/p> <p>Draw a line from Capella to bright <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/vega\">Vega<\/a><\/strong> in Lyra, the Lyre, the star marking the northwest corner of the Summer Triangle.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1170\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/deneb-summer-triangle-chart-01a28e8.jpg\" alt=\"Deneb is a member of the Summer Triangle and the Northern Cross asterisms. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-109082\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Credit: Pete Lawrence <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p>Near to the midpoint of this line sits a lone second magnitude star: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/how-find-polaris-north-star\">North Star, <strong>Polaris<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p> <p>An easier way to locate it is to use the two stars furthest from the handle in the Plough asterism. Known as \u2018the Pointers\u2019, these point directly at Polaris.<\/p> <p><strong>The Plough<\/strong> can be seen low above the northeast horizon late evening.\u00a0<\/p> <p>A binocular sweep through the misshapen pentagon of Auriga reveals interesting clusters, including a grand trio of Messiers: <strong>M38<\/strong> to the north, <strong>M37<\/strong> to the south and <strong>M36<\/strong> in between.<\/p> <p>In particular, looking at M38 through binoculars reveals another interesting pattern, the<strong> Cheshire Cat asterism<\/strong>.<\/p> <p>This looks like a smiling mouth with two stars marking the cat\u2019s eyes. M38 sits at the northern corner of the mouth.\u00a0<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-lightbox\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/09\/m36-m37-m38.jpg\" alt=\"The Messier trio of M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga, the latter marking the position of the Cheshire Cat asterism. Credit: Pete Lawrence\" class=\"wp-image-164089\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The Messier trio of M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga, the latter marking the position of the Cheshire Cat asterism. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-night-sky-in-september-2024-night-by-night\"><strong>Night sky in November 2024, night-by-night<\/strong><\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 1 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>At 02:00 UT, Jupiter\u2019s outer Galilean moon Callisto sits 4 arcseconds south of the planet\u2019s southern limb.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 3 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>There\u2019s an excellent opportunity to observe a Ganymede shadow transit between 02:30 and 04:50 UT this morning. Ganymede transits from 06:05 UT (deep twilight) until 08:05 UT (daylight).<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Monday 4 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Just after sunset, look out for a tricky 9%-lit waxing crescent Moon separated from brilliant Venus by 5.2\u00b0, both very low above the southwest horizon.<\/p> <p>A rare Titan shadow transit on Saturn can be seen at 21:08\u201322:51 UT.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tuesday 5 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Rhea\u2019s shadow can be seen transiting Saturn\u2019s disc from 23:30 UT up until Saturn sets.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Thursday 7 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Dione\u2019s shadow can be seen transiting Saturn\u2019s disc from 18:54 until 22:05 UT.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 8 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>The lunar clair-obscur effect known as the Face in Albategnius reaches its peak at 21:25 UT, when the profile of a face is formed by the shadow cast by crater Albategnius\u2019s rim on its floor.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday 9 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>The Eyes of Clavius lunar clair-obscur effect can be seen at 19:10 UT.<\/p> <p>Jupiter\u2019s southern limb scrapes in front of a background mag. +11.0 star between 19:50<br\/> and 21:30 UT.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 10 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>The 68%-lit waxing Moon sits 2.7\u00b0 southwest of Saturn at 22:30 UT, gradually approaching the planet as they both move towards setting. At 00:40 UT on 11 November, the separation reduces to 1.5\u00b0.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Monday 11 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>The Northern Taurid meteor shower is expected to peak this evening and into tomorrow morning. The shower has a broad peak with a low ZHR of just five meteors per hour.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tuesday 12 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Look for Neptune 1.2\u00b0 east-\u200bnortheast of the 79%-lit Moon just before moonset. Sitting 7 arcminutes south of the planet is a similar-\u200bmagnitude star (HIP 117614); the pair appear like an easy double through binoculars.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wednesday 13 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>In the early hours, around 01:40 UT, look for Mons Herodotus near the lunar crater Aristarchus. Shining brightly, the mountain\u2019s peak creates the clair-obscur effect known as the Star-Tip Mountain.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 15 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>This evening\u2019s full Moon (full at 21:29 UT) occurs a day and a half after lunar perigee (11:18 UT on 14 November), making it a perigee full Moon, or supermoon. Near midnight on 15 November, the Moon sits 3.7\u00b0 north of Uranus.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1689\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/09\/07.M45ThePleiades_HarshwardhanPathak.jpg\" alt=\"The Pleiades Harshwardhan Pathak, captured remotely via Telescope Live, Heaven\u2019s Mirror Observatory, Australia and IC Astronomy Observatory, Spain, 10 September\u201318 November 2023 Equipment: QHY600M Pro camera, Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 refractor, Software Bisque Paramount MX mount\" class=\"wp-image-161875\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The Pleiades. Credit: Harshwardhan Pathak <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday 16 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>As dawn breaks, the full Moon sits 2.2\u00b0 southwest of the Pleiades open cluster.<\/p> <p>Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation, separated from the Sun by 22.5\u00b0 in the evening sky.<\/p> <p>The Leonid meteor shower peaks at 12:00 UT on 17 November, making tonight into tomorrow morning the peak. Unfortunately a bright Moon will interfere.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday 17 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Distant Uranus reaches opposition. Shining at mag. +5.6, Uranus is currently 6.7\u00b0 southwest of the Pleiades.<\/p> <p>The 97%-lit waning Moon and Jupiter are 7.5\u00b0 apart this morning.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wednesday 20 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Another Titan shadow transit at 19:44\u2013\u200b22:54 UT today; this one is very well-placed for UK viewing.<\/p> <p>Around 21:00 UT, the 70%-lit Moon sits 1.7\u00b0 north of Mars as they rise.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Thursday 21 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>The 68%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 2.4\u00b0 north of M44 and 3.1\u00b0 from Mars this morning.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tuesday 26 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>This evening, moon Io and its shadow are quite close together as they both transit Jupiter. Both are in the middle of the planet\u2019s disc at 19:50 UT.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday 30 November<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Mars sits 2\u00b0 from the centre of the Beehive Cluster, M44, today. \u00a0<\/p> <p><strong><em>Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to <a href=\"mailto:contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what&#8217;s on view in our monthly stargazing guide. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":65064,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024.jpg",2119,1414,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/10\/whats-in-the-night-sky-tonight-november-2024-2048x1367.jpg",2048,1367,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What can you see in the night sky tonight? 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