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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 2007
This month starts with last quarter moon on the 1st, new moon on the 9th, first quarter on the 17th, and full moon on the 24th. The moon will be closest to Earth (perigee) on the 24th and furthest from Earth (apogee) on the 9th.
Jupiter is visible in the early evening sky all month, but it sets earlier and earlier as the month goes on. In the early evening, if you are looking to the west, the brightest stellar-like object will be Jupiter, not far above the horizon.
Mars rises slightly after sunset, and thus, will be low in the eastern sky in early evening. If you are interested in duplicating the observations that eventually led to the Copernican revolution, you can follow the position of Mars relative to the background stars from now through the winter. Until November 15th, Mars will move in an eastward direction relative to the background stars. On the 15th, Mars will start its retrograde, westward motion relative to the background stars. This retrograde motion will continue until the end of January when it will start moving eastward again. This apparent motion relative to the background stars simply reflects our overtaking of Mars as we pass it in our faster orbit. Because we are viewing Mars fully illuminated and at the closest passage, it will be at its brightest and easily identifiable in the sky.
Early rising astronomers can observe Saturn, Venus, and possibly Mercury in the morning sky. All three are in the east, rising before the sun.
Saturn rises first, somewhat after midnight. It is relatively close to Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. On November 3rd, our view of Regulus is nearly eclipsed by the waning third quarter moon. The rings of Saturn are approaching nearly edge-on.
Venus can be observed as the brightest object in the east in the morning sky. Venus reaches maximum separation from the sun just before the beginning of the month, so it is nearly at its maximum height in the sky for most of the month. On November 5th, Venus and the crescent moon can be found next to each other.
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 than 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 at maximum elongation on Nov 8th, so if you have a clear eastern horizon and you are up an hour before sunrise, you have the opportunity to see Mercury (weather permitting). By the end of the month, Mercury will be too close to the sun to be easily seen.
On November 17th-18th, the Leonid meteor shower will return. We will have a very favorable moon phase for viewing (first quarter moon, so the moon will be setting when the meteor action should be heating up). The predicted maximum should occur 2 -3 hours before sunrise on the 18th. Let's hope for clear weather that will allow a view of this spectacular phenomenon.
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.
The Minnesota Starwatch is produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department.