John Mood's SkyWatch

 Check out the highlights for this month's viewing

---

 

SkyWatch for November, 2009

John Mood

[ Times PST ]        

[ * = 1 star = EZ ]  [ ** =  2 stars = Moderate ]   [ *** = 3 stars = Difficult ]

2 degrees = Index finger held at arm’s length.

 

Sun., 1 Nov. ---- Turn clocks back at 2:00 a.m. this morning to Pacific Standard Time; have an

extra hour for star-gazing..……….or sleeping!!

Mon., 2 Nov. ----FULL MOON, 11:14 a.m.  (What a coincidence!; see below)

Sat., 7 Nov. ---- PUBLIC STAR PARTY @ Tierra del Sol; when the Moon rises, one can see

mountains, craters & rills at the terminator (where dark changes to light).

Sat., 14 Nov.  ---- MEMBERS STAR PARTY @ Tierra del Sol.

Mon., 16 Nov. ---- NEW MOON, 11:14 a.m.  (What a coincidence!; see above)

Tues., 17 Nov. ---- LEONID METEOR SHOWER; note it is BEFORE dawn (!!); no Moon; could be

            a spectacular 100 meteors per hour, but no guarantees; the parent comet of these

            meteors is 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.

Tues., 1 Dec. ---- FULL MOON, 11:31 p.m.

PLANETS (“The solar system gives us wisdom” ---- Beach Boys)

EVENING:----

Large JUPITER [ * ] is at it best in eastern Capricornus the Goat.  Greenish NEPTUNE

[ ** ] is close by in western Aquarius the Water Bearer; a star map is needed to find this elusive mag 7.9 planet.  Pale blue URANUS [ *½ ] is below the western fish of Pisces the Fishes (what some call “the Circlet”) & at 5.8 mag is naked eye for you young ‘uns if you know where to look, using a star map!

MORNING:----

Reddish MARS [ * ] is heading toward its once-every-2-yers best as it crosses the Beehive in Cancer the Crab & heads for Leo the Lion; use yr scope!  SATURN [ * ] is getting better & better in Virgo the Virgin; use yr scope!  VENUS [* ] is dropping fast from Virgo the Virgin into Libra the Scales; catch it while you can!

{Pluto is no longer a planet.  See my “SkyWatch for September, 2005” for why.}

OBSERVING HIGHLIGHTS:

Last month, I mentioned the lovely dim “water” constellations which dominate the southern sky this time of year --- Pisces the Fishes (with its “Circlet,” the western fish), Aquarius the Water Bearer (with its 4-star “Water Jar”), Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish which looks exactly like a child’s drawing of a fish with the bonus of bright Fomalhaut in its mouth, & Cetus the Whale which looks exactly like an orca, a killer whale.  But I want to emphasize, they are dim & require dark skies & dark-adapted eyes to make them out, but it’s well worth the effort.  So give it a try!

 

TIERRA DEL SOL:

          LAT = 32º 36' 48" N ( ± 0.l" ), LONG = 116º 19' 55" W ( ± 0.1" ), ELEV = 3710' 

( ± 5' ), at the bathroom, as determined from USGS 7.5 min 1/24000 map.  (See my essay on GPS at www.sdaa.org/tds.  If you’re already online, go to home page & click on “MORE…” under “Tierra del Sol.”) 

Send comments & questions to me by phone (619/225-9639), USPS (4538 Long Branch Av., San Diego, CA 92107) or my e-mail address (1happyalien@cox.net).

¡HAPPY VIEWING!

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright© 2008 San Diego Astronomy Association

Contact the Webmaster with questions or suggestions.

Please review our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Non-profit Status.