November nights light up with galaxies, meteors, planets
November nights might be the best for star gazing. Steve Bellavia, research, education and outreach coordinator at Custer Institute in Southold pegged it as his favorite time of year.
“I think autumn observing is the best,” he said, adding that early in the evening, some summer constellations linger, along with the star clusters, nebulae and double stars they contain. After that, Mr. Bellavia said on November nights, the “real” autumn constellations dominate the sky, like Pegasus, the flying horse — also known as the Great Square — with Andromeda hanging onto its tail. Mr. Bellavia said if you stay up later, all the winter constellations appear, including Orion the Hunter, the Pleiades, Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins and Auriga. “And all this with relatively comfortable temperatures and no biting insects.”
On a dark night, he said, stargazers can see the Andromeda galaxy, 2.5 million light years away, “with just your eyes.” He said to look mid-evening, when Pegasus and Andromeda come up. If binoculars are used, he added, their entire view will be filled with the spiral galaxy.
Beyond the galaxy, two meteor showers peak back-to-back this month. The Northern Taurids are active Oct. 13 to Dec. 2 and peak this weekend, Nov. 11 and 12. According to earthsky.org, the Taurid meteors tend to be slow, but some of them are fireballs. The American Meteor Society tracks reports of fireballs on its website. It classifies them as “a very bright meteor, about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky.”
The next meteor shower — the Leonids — peaks late on the night of Nov. 17 until dawn on Nov. 18. The Leonids produced meteor storms in 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999 and 2001, according to the American Meteor Society. Astronomers expect the next meteor storm in 2099. The shower produces up to 15 bright meteors an hour, with a high percentage of persistent trains.
Spotting planets is possible on November nights this year as well. Jupiter opposed the sun Nov. 2, which means it has been its brightest since then. It rises in the east each night after sunset and shines near the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. Venus is a brilliant morning star, rising nightly four hours before the sun.
Uranus opposes the sun Nov. 13 — the same night as the new moon. It climbs the sky from the east, highest for the night at midnight and stays out all night long before setting in the west. According to earthsky.org, although Uranus will be its brightest and closest to Earth, it is still fairly dim and difficult to see, even with its opposition lining up with the dark sky of the new moon. Finding it is easier using binoculars or when it is near a brighter planet or the moon. Uranus will be close to the moon on the overnight of Nov. 25-26.
To find Mercury, look southwest shortly after sunset. Binoculars will help spot tiny Mercury close to the moon on Nov. 14 and 15. It will lie just above the horizon in the bright twilight during the second half of November.
