Starwatch Newsletter Minnesota Starwatch is a tape-recorded message describing the night sky in the Midwest, which can be called by telelphone number (612) 624-2001 It is updated montly, and is produced by the Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Hello, this is Minnesota Starwatch for November, 2001. This month starts with a full moon on the 1st, with third quarter on the 8th, new moon on the 15th, first quarter on the 22nd, and a full moon again on the 30th. This second full moon within a calendar month has become known as a "blue" moon, although the moon will not be blue in color, nor did the inventor of the term mean the second full moon within a calendar month! The moon will be closest to the earth (perigee) on the 11th and furthest from the earth (apogee) on the 23rd.

On November 18th, the Leonid meteor shower will return. We will have a very favorable moon phase for viewing (just 4 days past new moon), and there are predictions of relatively intense numbers of meteors (commonly referred to as shooting stars). Let's hope for clear weather that will allow for viewing of the spectacular phenomena.

Venus can be observed as the bright object in the east in the morning sky. Venus is highest on the horizon at the beginning of the month, and slowly moves closer to the sun. Mercury is the one planet that is visible by naked eye that is difficult to find. Most people have never identified Mercury in the night sky. The reason is quite simple. Because Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, it is never more that 28 degrees away from the sun. Thus, it either rises just before the sun or sets just shortly after the sun sets. This month, Mercury is within one degree of Venus for the entire first week of November, so by looking at Venus, one may be able to detect Mercury too. By the end of the month, Mercury will be too close to the sun to be seen by the naked eye. Jupiter and Saturn are both clearly visible in the evening sky all month. In the early evening if you are looking to the east, they will be the two bright objects, Jupiter on the left (east) and Saturn on the right (west). Look for the Pleiades star cluster to the west of Saturn. The moon will pass in front of Saturn on the 3rd and the 30th, and close to Jupiter on the 5th. Mars rises after midnight and will be only as bright as some of the brightest stars. We are quite far from Mars now, but starting to catch up to it in our orbit. The moon passes close to Mars on the 21st.

Friday night telescope viewing begins at 8pm. Please call 626-0034 for more information.

The Minneapolis Planetarium offers a wide variety of programs for all ages. For more information, call (612) 630-6150.

For those interested in the Minnesota Astronomical Society, call (651) 649-4861 for information on their upcoming events.

Minnesota Starwatch is available online at http://www.astro.umn.edu/Outreach/pub_out.html.

This has been Minnesota Starwatch, produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department in cooperation with WCCO Weather Center.

Last Updated: Fri Nov 02 12:15:00 2001