November 15 – November 22
Stock market-minded astronomers could be inspired by looking to the northeast after twilight. On evenings in mid-May, Ursa Major the Great Bear is high overhead, dominating the sky. Taurus the Bull, meanwhile, sets early, and then we have several months of a bear market for stargazing. Later sunsets and extended twilight, with the compounded interest of daylight time, means sparse hours for viewing the summer night sky. Now that we are well beyond the autumnal equinox and have returned to standard time, early darkness reveals the Great Bear reaching bottom to the north after sunset, and the Celestial Bull rising in the east. We are entering the bull market phase of stargazing.
Although we lose the globular clusters and nebulae that abound within the Milky Way areas of Scorpius, Ophiuchus and Sagittarius, we can still observe the summer treasures near Lyra and Cygnus before they set. The autumn constellations of Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Perseus are peaking in mid-evening, ceding their reign to the bright stars and open clusters of winter’s Taurus, Orion and his dogs, Auriga and Gemini by midnight. Early risers can start on the springtime galaxies in Leo and Virgo before morning twilight. For stargazers, as the carol goes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Invest some time in observing the night sky.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:20 and sunset will occur at 4:46, giving 9 hours, 26 minutes of daylight (7:23 and 4:54 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:29 and set at 4:40, giving 9 hours, 11 minutes of daylight (7:32 and 4:48 in Saint John).
The waning crescent Moon is near Spica in Virgo Monday morning, with Venus rising to their lower left around 6:20. New Moon occurs on Thursday. Saturn will be at its best for observing around 8 pm, with Jupiter rising a half hour later. A Jovian treat for telescope users occurs Thursday when the shadow of its moon Io overtakes that of Callisto from 9:33 to 11:47. Mars is too close to the Sun for viewing, while Mercury reaches inferior conjunction on Thursday. The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Monday, best seen in the morning with the Sickle of Leo high in the south-southeast.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].
November 8 – November 15
Jupiter is like a miniature version of the solar system, having four large moons that we can see with binoculars – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in order of distance – and four smaller moons orbiting closer but beyond the reach of most amateur telescopes.
When a moon passes behind Jupiter and comes into view on the other side hours later, these events are called an occultation disappearance and reappearance. Often they also pass into and out of Jupiter’s shadow, called an eclipse disappearance and reappearance. They can be seen with mounted binoculars but a telescope will show them better. A telescope, preferably a larger one and with high magnification, is required to see the moons transit or cross in front of Jupiter, and then with difficulty unless they are just entering or exiting (called ingress and egress). Easier to see is the shadow of a moon transiting as a small black circle, preceding the moon before Jupiter reaches opposition and trailing after opposition.
The Red Spot is a large storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere, perhaps looking reddish or salmon-coloured in a larger telescope at high power. Jupiter has two brownish gas belts above and below the equator, and the Red Spot is on the outer edge of the southern belt (which could appear above the equator, depending on the type of telescope). The Red Spot transits, or appears in the middle of, Jupiter every ten hours as the planet rotates. A monthly calendar is posted on the websites or Facebook pages of the local astronomy clubs, showing the types and times of Jupiter’s visible moon action and the Red Spot transits up to 1 am.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:10 and sunset will occur at 4:54, giving 9 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (7:13 and 5:02 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:20 and set at 4:46, giving 9 hours, 26 minutes of daylight (7:23 and 4:54 in Saint John).
The Moon slides between Jupiter and Pollux Sunday night and it is at third quarter on Wednesday. Jupiter is stationary on Tuesday, after which it begins four months of retrograde motion as it retreats to the middle of Gemini. Mercury is low in the southwest, setting about 59 minutes after sunset, with Mars two binocular widths to its right. Mercury and Mars are hidden in evening twilight. Saturn’s edge-on rings are a wonderful sight in a telescope mid-evening, and in the morning Venus rises 75 minutes before sunrise. The North Taurid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday, best seen an hour or two around midnight when Taurus is highest.
There is public observing this Saturday evening between 6 and 8:30 pm at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John. Check the Saint John Astronomy Club website for updates. The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry/Earth Sciences building on Tuesday at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.Questions? Contact Curt Nason at [email protected].