by yaska77
It’s been a little quiet here of late, but we’re hoping better weather is on the way. It can’t be cloudy all the time right?!
That said, October was actually one of our best ever months for observing, we even got the best images we’ve taken with our own equipment so far! Most of them came about from astro events we listed, so here is a list of upcoming astronomy events for November to whet your appetites.
Tuesday 1st November – The Great Red Spot on Jupiter will be visible through a good telescope on the central median line around 21:15 (UTC/GMT) tonight, but also on a number of nights throughout November (see comments below for more info)
Jupiter is only just past opposition so is visible in the night sky all night long for the whole month. A telescope or good pair of binoculars will help show the four brightest Galilean moons (first discovered by Galileo in January 1610), which can be seen stretched out in a line in our photograph below
Jupiter with three moons to the left (Callisto, Ganymede and Io) and one (Europa) to the right, 1st October 2011 (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Wednesday 2nd November - First quarter Moon
Saturday 5th November – Tonight is the peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower. Because of the gravitational effect of planets (particularly Jupiter) the Taurids have become spread out over time, allowing separate streams known as the Southern Taurids and Northern Taurids to be observable on different dates
Tuesday 8th November – Moon at Apogee (406,180 km), the farthest point it reaches on it’s orbit around the Earth. Asteroid 2005 YU55 will make a close pass by the Earth today (closer than the orbit of the Moon) but poses no danger
April's Full Moon looking bright as imaged using a 200mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Thursday 10th November – Full Moon, sometimes called the Beaver Moon or Dark Moon
Saturday 12th November – This evening sees the peak of the Northern Taurid meteor shower, however the recent full Moon (which is very close to the radiant) will obscure all but the brightest ones
Orionid meteor from October - Meteor observing can be addictive, and capturing them in a photo isn't easy (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Thursday 17th/Friday 18th November – Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight but the waning Moon may be in the way. Its light will block out a lot of the fainter meteors but you should still see some in darker parts of the sky
Leonid meteor shower radiant position at 01:30am 18th November 2011 (click to enlarge) - Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching
Friday 18th November – Last quarter Moon
Wednesday 23rd November – Moon at Perigee (359,690 km), the closest point of its orbit around the Earth. As it doesn’t rise until around 05:15 UTC/GMT (and will be only 5% lit) it won’t interfere if you fancy having a look at some deep sky objects.
Orion will be well above the horizon by 22:00 and our perennial favourite M42 (the Orion Nebula) should be a great sight through binoculars or a small telescope. Located in the sword hanging from Orion’s belt, we managed to get a good look at it in October (it’s one of the autumn constellations we always take a peek at when the skies are clear!)
In the brightest part of the Nebula you can see the four stars that make up the "Trapezium Cluster" (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Friday 25th November – New Moon and partial Solar eclipse, though it will only be visible from Antarctica and parts of the Southern Ocean
Sunday 27th November – Saturn is making a welcome return to our skies, and can be see before dawn (rising just before 04:00 UTC/GMT) to the East near the bright star Spica, part of the constellation Virgo
Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!
We’ve also added the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right (where this guide will appear), so next time you visit you can find it again easily!
Guide images created with Stellarium
Archive:
Astronomy Events – October 2011
Astronomy Events – September 2011
Astronomy Events – August 2011
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