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Starwatch NewsletterMinnesota Starwatch is a newsletter describing the night sky in the Midwest.
It is updated monthly, and is produced by the |
Minnesota Starwatch for November 2005
Early in the month, the night sky will be dominated by the Great Red Planet of Mars. Of all the planets in the solar system, Mars seems to provoke the most interest from viewers on the neighboring planet of Earth.
Beloved by science fiction writers, Mars takes its name from the Roman God of War, probably because the ancients associated its reddish-tinged appearance with the bloody field of battle. Most scientists believe that there is little basis for belief in the existence of life forms, at least life forms like us, on Mars but that didn't stop the eager speculations of generations of Mars viewers.
Thanks to the varying length and speed of their orbits, Mars and the Earth pass and re-pass each other in their travels around the sun. As the Earth begins to "catch up" to the Red Planet, Mars appears to grow larger and brighter. On November 7th, the Earth will actually pass Mars, which will come to opposition as it appears in geometric opposition to the sun from the vantage point of our planet. Pay close attention to the Red Planet this week, because it won't be this impressive again for another 12 years; not until 2018 will we see Mars in this kind of spectacular opposition. On November 7th, Mars rises near sunset, reaches its highest point at midnight and lingers in the sky until just around dawn.
Mars will dim as the month continues, making way for a better view of Jupiter and Saturn. Look for Saturn to rise in the east-northeast late in the evening; it will dominate the southern sky as the brightest object in the heavens in the hour before dawn. Jupiter will also offer a good show later in the month when it emerges from the glare of the sun. Look for it before sunrise when it offers a pretty sight directly above the waning crescent moon.
The Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak on the morning of November 17th. Sadly, this is not the best year for viewing this phenomenon, since its activity will be dimmed by the full moon of November 15th. If you are lucky enough to see a "shooting star" during this year's shower, remember that what you are looking at are actually little bits of interplanetary rock careening through the earth's atmosphere in flames. In the expanse of space, there is no air, so there is no friction; but when rock comes through the earth's atmosphere it moves at enormous speeds and is met by resistance from the air. Great amounts of energy are given off in the form of heat and light, creating the spectacular display you witness gazing up at the night sky.
For fun Astronomy Outreach programs check out our Public Outreach link, or if you're interested in how you can help build the new Minnesota Planetarium, please call 612-630-6151 or visit http://www.mplanetarium.org.
Como Planetarium is offering fun family shows about astronomy on a limited basis; please call 651-293-5398 for more info! This has been a Minnesota Starwatch produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department.