Monthly Night Sky Report

Septembers Night Sky Guide

 

Current Sunspots. Click for larger image

Click on the image for full size

 

Highlights of the Month

 

 

 

November early mornings: November Meteors.

 

Leonid meteor

A Leonid crossing the Sword of Orion

In the hours before dawn, November gives us a chance to observe meteors from two showers. The first that it is thought might produce some bright events is the Northern Taurids shower which has a broad peak of around 10 days but normally gives relatively few meteors per hour. The peak is around the 10th of November and, pleasingly, the Moon is first quarter on the 7th so, in the first week of November will have set by midnight. The meteors arise from comet 2P/Encke. Its tail is especially rich in large particles and, this year, we may pass through a relatively rich band so it is possible that a number of fireballs might be observed!

 

The better known November shower is the Leonids which peak on the night of the 17th/18th of the month. Sadly, the Moon will be just after full so will hinder our view. As one might expect, the shower's radiant lies within the sickle of Leo and meteors could be spotted from the 15th to the 20th of the month. The Leonids enter the atmosphere at ~71 km/sec and this makes them somewhat challenging to photograph but its worth trying as one might just capture a bright fireball. Up to 15 meteors an hour could be observed if near the zenith. The Leonids are famous becaus every 33 years a meteor storm might be observed when the parent comet, 55P/Temple-Tuttle passes close to the Sun. In 1999, 3,000 meteors were observed per hour but we are now halfway between these impressive events hence with a far lower expected rate.

 

Around the beginning and end of November (with no Moon in the sky): find M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy - and perhaps M33 in Triangulum

 

M31

How to find M31

Image: Stellarium/IM

In the evening, the galaxy M31 in Andromeda is visible in the south The chart provides two ways of finding it:

 

1) Find the square of Pegasus. Start at the top left star of the square - Alpha Andromedae - and move two stars to the left and up a bit. Then turn 90 degrees to the right, move up to one reasonably bright star and continue a similar distance in the same direction. You should easily spot M31 with binoculars and, if there is a dark sky, you can even see it with your unaided eye. The photons that are falling on your retina left Andromeda well over two million years ago!

 

2) You can also find M31 by following the "arrow" made by the three rightmost bright stars of Cassiopeia down to the lower right as shown on the chart.

 

Around new Moon (beginning and end of the month) - and away from towns and cities - you may also be able to spot M33, the third largest galaxy after M31 and our own galaxy in our Local Group of galaxies. It is a face on spiral and its surface brightness is pretty low so a dark, transparent sky will be needed to spot it using binoculars (8x40 or, preferably, 10x50). Follow the two stars back from M31 and continue in the same direction sweeping slowly as you go. It looks like a piece of tissue paper stuck on the sky just a bit brighter than the sky background. Good Hunting!

 

 

November 2nd - after sunset: Venus, Saturn and a thin crescent Moon

 

Venus and Saturn

Venus, Saturn and a thin crescent Moon

Image: Stellarium/IM

After sunset on the 2nd and seen in the west, a thin crescent Moon will lie above Saturn (magnitude +0.5) whilst over to the lower left will lie Venus (magnitude -4).

 

 

November 5th - before sunrise : Jupiter lies below Porrima in Virgo

 

Jupiter

Jupiter in Virgo above Porrima

Image: Stellarium/IM

Around one hour before sunrise looking towards the the East-Southeast, Jupiter will be seen lying in Virgo below Porrima, Gamma Virginis, and above Spica, Alpha Virginis.

 

 

November 15th - late evening until sunrise: The full Moon close to the Hyades Cluster.

 

Full Moon

The Full Moon in Taurus

Image: Stellarium/IM

During the night, the full moon will be seen moving away to the left of the Hyades Cluster in Taurus. Lying half way towards the cluster is the red-giant star Aldebaran.

 

 

November 25th - one hour before sunrise: The third quarter Moon close to Regulus in Leo.

Moon

The third quarter Moon in Leo

Image: Stellarium/IM

In the hours befor dawn, the third quarter Moon will seen lie close (just over 3 degrees) to Regulus in Leo.

 

 

 

Learn the Mare on the Moon.

 

 

Mare on the Moon

Image:Ian Morison

Why not use the annotated image of the full Moon to learn the locations of the Moon's Mare. You can see some of them with your unaided eye and binoculars will enable you to spot them all.

 

 

 

NGC 891 imaged with the Faulkes Telescope

NGC 891

Edge-on galaxy NGC 891

Image: Danial Duggan

Faulkes Telescope North.

 

Galaxy NGC 891, imaged by Daniel Duggan.

This image was taken using the Faulkes Telescope North by Daniel Duggan - for some time a member of the Faulkes telescope team. NGC 891 is an edge-on spiral lying in the constellation Andromeda at a distance of 27 million light years. We think that this is very much as our own galaxy might look when seen edge-on.

 

Learn more about the Faulkes Telescopes and how schools can use them: Faulkes Telescope"

 

 

Observe the International Space Station

 

The International Space Station

The International Space Station and Jules Verne passing behind the Lovell Telescope on April 1st 2008.

Image by Andrew Greenwood

Use the link below to find when the space station will be visible in the next few days. In general, the space station can be seen either in the hour or so before dawn or the hour or so after sunset - this is because it is dark and yet the Sun is not too far below the horizon so that it can light up the space station. As the orbit only just gets up the the latitude of the UK it will usually be seen to the south, and is only visible for a minute or so at each sighting. Note that as it is in low-earth orbit the sighting details vary quite considerably across the UK. The NASA website linked to below gives details for several cities in the UK. (Across the world too for foreign visitors to this web page.)

 

Note: I observed the ISS three times recently and was amazed as to how bright it has become.

 

Find details of sighting possibilities from your location from: Location Index

 

See where the space station is now: Current Position

 

The Moon

 

 

new moon

first quarter

full moon

last quarter

November 29th

November 7th

November 14th

November 21st

CURRENT MOON

Wakefield and District Astronomical Society