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NOVEMBER

OBSERVING HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

EARTH SATELLITES:

 

Moon ---Last Quarter Moon occurs November 1 at 5:18 p.m. EDT (21:18 UT)

               New Moon occurs November 9 at 6:03 p.m. EST (23:03 UT)

               First Quarter Moon occurs November 17 at 5:32 p.m. EST (22:33 UT)

               Full Moon occurs November 24 at 9:30 a.m. EST (14:30 UT)

 

Artificial Satellites --- Reference the following web site for information on observing

                artificial satellites: http:www.calsky.com/cs.cgi

 

PLANETS:

 

Mercury at +0.8 magnitude will be very low to the east-southeast horizon about an hour before sunrise.

 

Mars at -0.6 magnitude will grow in size during the month to 15.0” and can be seen in the northernmost part of the ecliptic in the constellations Gemini and Taurus above Orion.   

 

Venus at -4.5 magnitude will be visible in the early morning hours and will pass 2’ north of 4th magnitude star n Virginis around 5:30 a.m. EST. Best viewed with a telescope. Binoculars or small telescope will yield fine views of Venus passing close to three bright stars in the constellation Virgo during the first three weeks of the month.

 

Jupiter at about -1.9 magnitude will be low in the southwest after nightfall. Jupiter will set about two hours after the Sun.

 

Saturn at +0.8 magnitude can be found near the star Regulus rising after mid-night. They are about 7 degrees apart. A telescopic view will show Saturn’s rings close to edge-on.

 

Neptune at +7.9 magnitude is in the constellation Capricornus and will be low in the southwest after the evening twilight. Pluto (the “no-longer-planet”) is too low to be observed this month. Uranus at +5.8 magnitude is in the constellation Aquarius and like Neptune will be low in the southern sky at the end of the evening twilight.

 

 

DEEP SKY:

 

Summer Triangle comprised of the stars Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila still holds for several hours after sunset. Directly opposite in the East, the stars of Aldebaren in Taurus, Capella in Auriga, the Twins Castor and Pollux, the Pleiades star cluster and Orion can be observed. The bright star Sirius can be seen above the eastern horizon.

 

Nebula

 

The Ring Nebula (M57), a.k.a. NGC 6720, is in the constellation Lyra with an apparent  magnitude of 9.1. Despite its name, the Ring Nebula is not ring-shaped at all, but rather a cylinder which we see end-on. A 13 to 15 inch (325-375mm) telescope will be required to see the remnant center star. Smaller telescope will reveal the object, however. Its actual size is 1.3 light-years and a distance of 3200 light-years. The Crab Nebula (M1) can be observed with binoculars. The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) is observable with a telescope.

 

Clusters

 

M15 (Globular Cluster), a.k.a. NGC 7078 is in the constellation Pegasus at a distance of 34,000 light-years. It spans 120 light-years at magnitude 6.4. Although it is not a naked eye object, binoculars will expose a circular fuzzy object. At telescope greater than 4-inch (100mm) aperture will be required to begin to resolve some of M15’s stars.  

 

Double Cluster (NGC 869/NGC 884) --- This close pair of star clusters lies in the constellation Perseus with an apparent magnitude of 4. Although they appear side by side, NGC 884 is several hundred light-years deeper in space than NGC 869. This object can be spotted with the naked eye as a smudge between Perseus and Cassiopeia. It has an apparent size of 30 arcminutes and an actual size of 63 light-years. At least a 4 inch telescope will resolve the two clusters.

 

Pleiades (M45) can be seen with the naked eye.

 

Galaxies

 

NGC 6946 --- This spiral face-on galaxy is located on the western border of the constellation Cepheus with Cygnus and near NGC 6938. It has an apparent size of 10 arcminutes with an actual size of 30,000 light-years. Viewing is possible with binoculars but large telescopes are recommended.

 

M101 --- This galaxy is also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy (NGC 5457). It is located about 5 degrees east of Ursa major’s multiple star Mizar. M101 is one of the largest and brightest galaxies close to the Solar System. As it is so large, at nearly half a degree across, its light is spread thinly, making it difficult to spot in binoculars or small telescopes. A telescope aperture of 10 inches (250 mm) or more with a wide field of view eyepiece will reveal the galaxy’s spiral arms. M101 has an apparent magnitude of 7.7 and an apparent size of 22 arcminutes. Its actual size is 150,000 light-years with a distance of 24 million light-years.

 

M31 Galaxy --- this spiral galaxy, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is the nearest and largest neighbor galaxy. It can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation Andromeda. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.4. Its actual size is 150,000 light-years with a distance of 2.9 million light-years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ref10/15/07