Astronomy a Go Go! November Sky Tour
Astronomical Online Glossary
Download this month's sky map!
Northern hemisphere sky
map
Southern hemisphere sky
map
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis
Southern Hemisphere Additional Information
James Barclay's site
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar
RASNZ site
Southern Sky Watch.
Planets for November 2008
Early November evening planets and Saturn with Ceres in the morning(click for a larger image)
Venus and Jupiter dominate the early evening sky while Mercury and Saturn put on a nice display for the early riser
Key Dates for November 2008
Days and Times in UT: (help with
time)
Observations are for 9 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 9 pm for the mid-northern latitudes.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website
Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!
Astronomical Highlights - November 2008
| 2 |
- Moon at apogee (furtherest from Earth 405,724 km) |
|
- Neptune Stationary |
| 5 |
- Southern Taurid meteor shower peak. Remnants of comet 2P/Encke may produce several bright fireballs and possible 'swarm' return.
(4h UT) Moon near 1st quarter |
| 6 |
- First Quarter Moon, Neptune 1.1 deg S of Moon, possible occultation check the IOTA website for occultation information for your area. |
| 7 |
- Fourth cross quarter day |
| 12 |
- N. Taurid meteor shower peak. Near full moon will obscure all but the brightest fireballs |
| 13 |
- Full Moon (6:17 UT) near the Pleiades |
| 14 |
- Moon at perigee (closest to the Earth 358 971) Large Tides |
| 17 |
- Leonids meteor peak. Remnants of comet Temple-Tuttle you can expect 10-15 meteors per hour while the
sky is dark. Waning gibbous Moon will interfere. |
| 19 |
- Last Quarter Moon |
| 22 |
- Alpha Monocerotid meteor shower peak. The constellation Monoceros is between Orion and Canis Minor, the progenitor comet undetermined?? |
| 23 |
- Venus at greatest heliocentric latitude S. |
| 24 |
- Moon near Spica, brightest star in the constellation Virgo |
| 25 |
- Mercury in superior conjunction |
| 27 |
- New Moon (16:55 UT) |
| 28 |
- Uranus stationary |
| 29 |
- Moon at apogee (406, 480 km) |
| 30 |
- Mercury at aphelion (see the Solar System Live website) |
|
- Beautiful trio-Jupiter, Venus, and a crescent moon just after sunset |
Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2008, CalSky, Skymaps.com.
sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night
This month we have seven more objects for our Messier list.
These include four globular clusters, the largest and the smallest planetary nebulas in the catalog,
and a small oddity. Two of the objects are fairly easy in binoculars, while four others will require dark skies,
patience, and keen eyes to find.
- M57 - This smallest planetary nebula in the Messier Catalog is the famous Ring nebula
in the constellation Lyra. Low power telescope views show a very small blue/green disk, not much bigger than a star. Medium to high power
will magnify the size of the nebula while leaving the surrounding stars the same size, confirming you have found it. Can be seen in binoculars
as a faint star like point of light.
- M56 - Also in the constellation of Lyra we find our first globular cluster of the night.
In a telescope look for a small round ball of light, slightly brighter in the center. This is a difficult binocular object appearing as a small
fuzzy patch.
- M27 - Also known as the Dumbbell nebula, the largest planetary nebula in the Messier Catalog,
M27 lies in the constellation Vulpecula. Fairly easy to see in binoculars as a small hazy patch. In small to medium scopes it appears as a
rectangular patch of light. In large scopes it may even appear round in shape with a bright rectangular, or dumbbell shaped core.
- M71 - Lying in Sagitta, this globular cluster appears as a faint oval hazy patch of
light in a telescope. This is a very difficult but possible binocular object, requiring dark skies and trained eyes.
- M30 - This globular cluster in Capricornus is tough but very possible to see in
binoculars as a faint fuzzy star. Telescopes show a small fuzzy ball of light, bright in the center fading to the edges.
- M72 - This is a small faint globular cluster in Aquarius. Look for a faint oval
patch of light, gradually brighter towards the middle. A very difficult binocular object.
- M73 - This asterism is located near M72 in Aquarius. In a low power telescope view it
looks like a very small fuzzy patch of light at first glance. When stared at it reveals itself as a small collection of stars. Medium to high
power shows the view best described by Messier "cluster of three or four stars...containing very little nebulosity".
From the Astronomical Connection
and the Moncton Center in Canada
Comets for November 2008
Gary Kronk's comet and
meteor pages
Skyhound
Comet pages
Historical and Current Events
...Did you know?
Mark has developed his own website so
let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this
month!
Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat
or write us a
favorable review in iTunes of Podcast Pickle or iPodder!
Music Scottish Guitar
Quartet -"Romance within you"
Katy Pfaffl- "Butterfly"
Uncle Seth- "You don't need an iPod"
Astronomical Highlights for 2008
Earth's major motions for 2008
| Perihelion |
|
Jan 3 00h(UT) |
| First Cross Quarter Day |
|
Feb 2-6 |
| Equinox |
|
Mar 20 05:48(UT) |
| Second Cross Quarter Day |
|
May 4-7 |
| Solstice |
|
June 20 23:59(UT) |
| Aphelion |
|
July 4 08h (UT) |
| Third Cross Quarter Day |
|
Aug 5-8 |
| Equinox |
|
Sept 22 15:44(UT) |
| Fourth Cross Quarter Day |
|
Nov 5-8 |
| Solstice |
|
Dec 21 12:04(UT) |
Planet Positions for 2008
| 2008 |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Venus |
Sgr |
Cap |
Aqr |
Psc |
Tau |
Gem |
Cnc |
Vir |
Vir |
Sco |
Sgr |
Cap |
| Mars |
Tau |
Tau |
Gem |
Gem |
Cnc |
Leo |
Leo |
Vir |
Vir |
Vir |
Sco |
Oph |
| Jupiter |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Sgr |
| Saturn |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Interesting Planet Pairing for 2008
- January (first two week) - Mars, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran - Mars will be moving westward into this red triangle,
pausing at the end of the month and then returning to regular Eastward motion at the beginning of February.
- February 1 (start watching in early January) - Jupiter and Venus - Start this early in January with
Jupiter just off the horizon and watch as they creep closer and closer. On the 1st of Feb early in the morning, about one hour before
sunrise in the east, Jupiter and Venus are less than one degree apart in the constellation Sagittarius. They will be outstanding and you could imagine all sorts of symbolism that
could be associated with this conjunction.
- February 27 - Mercury and Venus - Rising just one hour before the Sun in the East in the constellation Capricornus.
Venus and Mercury will be just over one degree apart and then Venus will speed off, with Mercury in hot pursuit.
- March 24 - Mercury and Venus...again - Mercury catches up to Venus again, this time less than
one degree apart and in the constellation Aquarius. They will also be rising above the horizon only a half hour before the sun, so seeing
them will be quite a challenge.
- July 10 - Mars and Saturn - In the constellation Leo yellowish-white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree
from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so it should be easy to see.
- August 13 - Venus and Saturn - Less than one degree apart in the constellation Leo.
Venus will be the brighter of the two.
- August 14 (watch from 10-16th)- Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - Just after sunset a triple conjunction! The three planets will be less than three
degrees apart in the constellation Leo and almost in a line. Venus will be the highest and brightest Saturn the middle object
and Mercury will be the lowest of the three but surprisingly brighter than Saturn. If you want to make this even more interesting
look for Mars 16 degrees to the SW the trio.
- August 19-21 - Venus and Mercury - The two planets will be about one degree apart for three days. VERY low on the western horizon at sunset.
- September 11 (watch from 5-18)- Venus and Mars - Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one
degree apart Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining brighter than Mars.
The whole group will set just one hour after sunset.
- December 1 - Venus and Jupiter - All within Sagittarius, the two planets will be two degrees apart and they don't set until three hours after sunset.
As a bonus, a 15%-lit moon will lie three degrees away from Venus.
- December 31 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos
and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in
one field of view in most home binoculars.
2008 Phases of the Moon
Universal Time
NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER FULL MOON LAST QUARTER
d h m d h m d h m d h m
JAN. 8 11 37 JAN. 15 19 46 JAN. 22 13 35 JAN. 30 5 03
FEB. 7 3 44 FEB. 14 3 33 FEB. 21 3 30 FEB. 29 2 18
MAR. 7 17 14 MAR. 14 10 46 MAR. 21 18 40 MAR. 29 21 47
APR. 6 3 55 APR. 12 18 32 APR. 20 10 25 APR. 28 14 12
MAY 5 12 18 MAY 12 3 47 MAY 20 2 11 MAY 28 2 57
JUNE 3 19 23 JUNE 10 15 04 JUNE 18 17 30 JUNE 26 12 10
JULY 3 2 19 JULY 10 4 35 JULY 18 7 59 JULY 25 18 42
AUG. 1 10 13 AUG. 8 20 20 AUG. 16 21 16 AUG. 23 23 50
AUG. 30 19 58 SEPT. 7 14 04 SEPT. 15 9 13 SEPT. 22 5 04
SEPT. 29 8 12 OCT. 7 9 04 OCT. 14 20 02 OCT. 21 11 55
OCT. 28 23 14 NOV. 6 4 03 NOV. 13 6 17 NOV. 19 21 31
NOV. 27 16 55 DEC. 5 21 26 DEC. 12 16 37 DEC. 19 10 29
DEC. 27 12 22
Eclipses for 2008
February 07 - Annular Solar Eclipse (
see map, times, and
animation!): The first solar eclipse of 2008 occurs at the Moon's ascending
node in Capricornus. An annular eclipse will be visible from a wide track, that traverses Antarctica
and southern regions of the Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much larger path of
the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the southeastern third of Australia, all of New Zealand and most of Antarctica.
August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse (
see map, times, and
animation!): On Friday, 2008 August 01, a total
eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of
the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia,
Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow,
which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia.
Special website with extra information and links to live eclipse webcasts can be found at the
NASA Eclipse Website for
the August 1st Eclipse
February 20th - Total Lunar Eclipse (
see map, times.): The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is
perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as western Europe. The eclipse occurs
at the Moon's descending node, midway between perigee and apogee. During the eclipse, Saturn lies about 3°
northeast of the Moon and shines brightly (mv = +0.2) because it is near opposition.
Special website with live broadcast can be found at the
NASA Eclipse Website
August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse (
see map, times):
The last eclipse of 2008 is a partial lunar eclipse
at the Moon's ascending node in Capricornus. It is visible primarily from the Eastern
Hemisphere as well as eastern South America
Eclipse information from:
NASA Eclipse
Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM
Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval
Observatory)
Meteor Showers
for 2008
All times are UT
| Quadrantids |
January 4, 7h |
Waning Crescent |
| Lyrids |
April 22, 4h |
almost Full |
| Eta Aquarids |
May 5, 18h |
New Moon |
| Perseids |
August 12, 11h |
Waxing Gibbous |
| Orionids |
October 21, 4h |
Last Quarter |
| Leonids |
November 17, 10h |
Waning Gibbous |
| Geminids |
December 13, 23h |
Full Moon |
Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2008" RASC
