November 2017

Saturn is low in the sky, almost setting, with Sagittarius and Ophiuchus as November begins. It is lower and lower each evening as the month goes on. Around the middle of the month, you may notice an object below and right of Saturn moving leftward night to night. You have to be out not long after sunset to see it. That’s Mercury. In the last week of November, the two planets seem to pair up and ride into the sunset together. Mercury is at greatest elongation in the evening sky on the 24^th, 22° from the sun.

 

Orion is rising late evening, but earlier each night of course. Soon, it will remind us why it is called a winter constellation.

 

You’ll find Mars a few hours after midnight this month, moving eastward among the stars of Virgo. A waning crescent moon is in the neighborhood on the 14^th and 15^th. The red planet is close to Spica by month’s end.

 

Venus is farther east in Virgo and disappearing into the dawn.It has a close call with Jupiter on the 13^th. See them just 0.3° apart! Then Venus drops below.

 

Look for Leonid meteors to peak on the night of the 17^th to 18^th. This is not expected to be a major storm year for this shower. However, the moon is almost new and will cause little interference when it causes any at all.

 

The eastern United States, most of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other lands of northern Europe are in the visibility zone for the moon passing in front of Aldebaran on the 6^th.

 

Far northeast Russia, southwest Alaska, and the far northern Pacific are the places to be to see Regulus occulted on the 11^th.

 

The asteroid Iris is at perihelion on the 18^th. It orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

 

Mars has its northern solstice on the 20^th.

 

The moon is full on the 4^th, at last quarter on the 10^th, new on the 18^th, and at first quarter on the 26^th. The moon is on the equator going north on the 1^st, at northern lunistice on the 8^th, going south across the equator on the 14^th, at southern lunistice on the 22^nd, and crossing north again on the 29^th. Lunar perigee this month is on the 6^th, perigee on the 21^st.