The action this month occurs in the southwest during the evening hours just after sunset. Have you seen Venus yet? You might confuse it for an airplane coming in to land with its landing lights on! It’s pretty bright! This month Venus heads eastward at about a degree per day, over the top of the Teapot of Sagittarius. On the 17th it passes only 8 arc minutes from Kaus Borealis, at the top of the Teapot. The star marks the top of the bow of our summer centaur.

Venus is speeding towards Jupiter, which starts the month about 30 degrees (about three fists held at arm’s length) to the east. This distance shrinks to two degrees on November 30th with Venus being below Jupiter. The Moon will slide by the pair twice this month, both early and late. On November 1, the Moon is to the left of Venus. Two days later, the Moon is below Jupiter. At the end of the month the Moon approaches again. On December 1, the Moon is just to the left of the planetary pair. This is a great opportunity to get out the camera and shoot a couple of shots. Three of the top four brightest objects in our sky (the Sun is the other) are near each other in the sky. The pair sets at 7:30pm on the 30th.

Mercury starts the month in the morning sky, though it will be tougher to see as each day goes by. Mercury is coming off its best morning appearance the third week of October. On the 10th, it rises at 6am. Right around Thanksgiving, it passes behind the Sun and will spend December in our evening sky. Technically Mars is in the evening sky but it’s about to lose its battle with the Sun’s glare. At about mid- November, Mars sets at 5pm, well before the end of twilight. Saturn rises at 2am on November 3 in the east. By the end of the month, the rise time is 12:30am. Look for it near the triangle of stars that marks the hind legs and tail of Leo, the Lion. The Moon appears to the right of Satun on the morning of the 21st.

The magazines report good views of two asteroids this month. Look early in the month for Vesta. In November, Vesta a 7th magnitude object situated just to the star Gamma Ceti. At mid-month the asteroid Juno is an 11th magnitude object near M16.

The Leonid meteor shower peaks during the pre-dawn hours of November 17. The Moon is a waning gibbous phase this morning, rising just after 8pm. You’ll still see a couple of shooting stars, but the fainter ones will be washed out.

– DCL

Moon Phases

1st quarter: November 7, December 5

Full: November 14, December 12

Last quarter: November 21, December 19

New: November 28, December 27

If you would like to see the phases of the moon, past, present, and future, log on to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php#y2008