Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT). Nightly darkness estimates are calculated for Greenwich, London (51.5° N, 0° W).
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed | Moon occults Uranus: visible from New Zealand and parts of the south Pacific from approximately 0700 UT. |
| 2 | Thu | |
| 3 | Fri | Moon at perigee |
| 4 | Sat | |
| 5 | Sun | The Full Moon following the "Harvest Moon" is traditionally known as the "Hunter's Moon." |
| 6 | Mon | |
| 7 | Tue | |
| 8 | Wed | Mercury at inferior conjunction: Transit begins at approximately 1900 UT. |
| 9 | Thu | Neptune at east quadrature |
| 10 | Fri | |
| 11 | Sat | |
| 12 | Sun | Last Quarter Moon |
| 13 | Mon | |
| 14 | Tue | |
| 15 | Wed | Moon at apogee |
| 16 | Thu | |
| 17 | Fri | Dark skies favour this year's apparition of the Leonid meteor shower. |
| Saturn at west quadrature | ||
| 18 | Sat | Moon occults first-magnitude star Spica: daylight event. |
| 19 | Sun | |
| 20 | Mon | New Moon |
| 21 | Tue | The Alpha Monocerotid meteor shower benefits from moonless skies. |
| Moon occults the first-magnitude star Antares: daylight event. | ||
| Jupiter at conjunction | ||
| 22 | Wed | |
| 23 | Thu | |
| 24 | Fri | |
| 25 | Sat | Mercury at greatest elongation west |
| 26 | Sun | |
| 27 | Mon | |
| 28 | Tue | First Quarter Moon |
| Moon occults Uranus: visible from parts of the Indian Ocean from approximately 14 UT. | ||
| 29 | Wed | |
| 30 | Thu | |
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars. Dwarf planets and small solar-system bodies are not so constrained, often moving far above or below the ecliptic.
| Object | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Libra -> Scorpius -> Ophiuchus |
|
| Mercury | Libra | Mercury is a busy planet this month. Inferior conjunction takes place on 8 November but this event is a special one as this nearest planet to the Sun actually transits our star. The last transit of Mercury took place in 2003 and the next one won't happen until 2016. Mercury is visible in darkened skies from mid-month and is best observed from the northern hemisphere as it climbs above the eastern horizon before sunrise. This tiny planet reaches greatest elongation west on 25 November. |
| Venus | Libra -> Scorpius -> Ophiuchus |
The "evening star" slowly rises above the western horizon after sunset but will be difficult to spot due to its very low position. It will become a little easier to view (higher in the sky) next month. |
| Mars | Virgo -> Libra |
At conjunction last month, Mars stays stubbornly close to the Sun and is difficult if not impossible to view this month. |
| Jupiter | Libra | The largest planet in the solar system reaches conjunction on 21 November and is lost in the solar glare this month. It re-emerges as a morning sky object next month. |
| Saturn | Leo | This is an excellent time to view Saturn and its rings through a telescope. Quadrature enhances interesting disc and ring shadow interplay and Saturn reaches west quadrature on 17 November. Why not have a look for it after midnight whilst you're watching the Leonids! |
| Uranus | Aquarius | Barely visible to the naked eye, this planet sets about two hours after its outer solar system neighbour Neptune. |
| Neptune | Capricornus | The most distant planet in the solar system reaches east quadrature on 9 November. Look westwards after sunset for it; this gas giant sets before midnight. |
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if summer (daylight savings) time is in effect.
| Local Time | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere |
|---|---|---|
| 1730 hours (1830 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 1930 hours (2030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 2130 hours (2230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 2330 hours (0030 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0130 hours (0230 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0330 hours (0430 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
| 0530 hours (0630 hours summer time) | 45° N | 30° S |
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of your favourite amateur astronomy magazine available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.
The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. The composite image from May 1998 combines EIT images from three wavelengths (171Å, 195Å and 284Å) into one that reveals solar features unique to each wavelength. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
Copyright © 1995-2006 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman