November Skies
A
brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye:
Stars
and Constellations
●
The
constellations of Cassiopeia and Cepheus are high in the northern sky
and nearly overhead during November evenings
●
The
“Great Square” of Pegasus is nearly overhead during early evening
and Andromeda extends northward from the north-eastern star of the
Great Square
●
South
of Pegasus, fainter stars comprise the constellations of Aquarius,
Pisces and Cetus. While not easy to identify in light-polluted skies,
these constellations are easy to pick out from locations away from
urban areas during clear moonless nights
●
The
Cygnus constellation is bright and high in the western sky while the
other stars of the Summer Triangle (Vega and Altair) are lower in the
western sky
●
The
summer Milky Way is still visible in the western and northwestern sky
(in dark skies)
Planets
●
Mercury
becomes
visible very low in the southeastern
sky before
sunrise after the first week of November and then reaches greatest
elongation west of the sun November 21
●
Venus
also
becomes
visible very low in the southeastern
sky before
sunrise during November
●
Mars
rises
near
midnight in the Leo constellation
●
Jupiter
also
rises
near
midnight in the Leo constellation
●
Saturn
is visible in the southern sky during the evening in the Cetus
constellation
Moon Phases
●
Last
Quarter Moon November 1, 15:28
EST
●
New
Moon November 9,
02:02
EST
●
First
Quarter Moon November 17,
06:48
EST
● Full Moon November 24, 09:54 EST
Noteworthy Sky Events
● November 13-19: Mars and Jupiter appear very close together in the eastern morning sky (or near midnight above the eastern horizon) and are closest November 15 and 16
● November 30: Jupiter, Mars, Regulus and thin crescent moon appear very close together in the eastern morning sky
Sky Resources Online
Some website resources for sky charts,
weekly sky events, and more
information:
● astrogeo.ca/skylights
● www.heavens-above.com
●
In-the-sky.org
● www.skyandtelescope.org
● www.skymaps.com
Monthly Sky Chart for mid-November, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):
