November Skies

by Dick Cookman

November 4, 2024

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, November Moon

Focus Constellations: Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Camelopardalis, Auriga, Taurus, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Triangulum, Aries, Pisces, Pegasus, Aquarius, Cygnus, Lyra

Comet Journals

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas moves from Ophiuchus into Aquila in November. Until the 9th, glare from the waxing crescent Moon will create some competition as the comet drops to 6th magnitude, but observers should still obtain views with binoculars. Objective lenses of at least 50 mm provide best views. Perihelion passage was in late September and the comet passed perigee (closest to Earth) on October 12. It is now retreating to its origin in the Oort Cloud.

Mars Landers

Anushree Srivastava, Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Institution and member of Mars 2020 SHERLOC Science and Operations Team notes that in January 2024, a fault in the motor of the SHERLOC instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Rover caused the dust cover and autofocus mechanism to become inoperative, putting the rover’s SHERLOC Raman spectroscopy capability at risk. In March, a fortunate motion of the arm on Sol 1077 opened the dust cover allowing the team to look for ways to focus the optics and operate SHERLOC with the open dust cover. The problem was solved by June, when a successful observation of the rock target Walhalla Glades. In July 2024, SHERLOC’s Raman performed multiple calibrations, scans, and observations on a rock named Cheyava Falls and the team was thrilled to discover the mission’s most compelling evidence for organics in Jezero Crater. Determination of whether the organic compounds were formed through biological or non-biological processes can be done when the rocks are eventually returned to laboratories here on Earth.

Meteor Showers

The four meteor showers in November include the southern and northern Taurids, the Leonids, and the Alpha Monocerotids. The two Taurids are weak showers during the waxing crescent Moon, the minor Alpha Monocerotid shower and the somewhat stronger Leonids compete with the waning gibbous Moon’s glare.

• November 5: Southern Taurids. Active Oct.1-Nov. 25. Radiant 3h20m +13°. ZHR 5. 27 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet Enke.
• November 10: Northern Taurids. Active Oct.1-Nov. 25. Radiant 3h52m +22°. ZHR 5. 29 km/sec. Waxing Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 2004 TG10.
• November 17-19: Leonids Active Nov. 14-Nov. 21. Radiant 10h12m +22°. ZHR 10, variable to storm. 70 km/sec. Waning Gibbous Moon. Progenitor: Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
• November 21: Alpha Monocerotids. Active Nov. 15-Nov. 25. Radiant 7h48m +01°. ZHR 2. 70 km/sec. Waning Crescent Moon. Progenitor: Asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

Planet Plottings

The Evening planets in November include Mercury (-0.2 to 2.0) in Scorpius and Ophiuchus, Venus (-3.9 to -4.0) in Ophiuchus and Sagittarius, Saturn (0.8 to 1.0 in Aquarius, Neptune (7.8 to 7.9, in Pisces), Uranus (5.6) in Taurus, and Jupiter (-2.6 to -2.7) in Taurus. Mars (0.0 to -0.5) in Cancer rises about 11PM EST but is best viewed in the southwest in predawn skies when Jupiter and Uranus are in western skies. On the 3rd, the waxing crescent Moon passes Mercury which is low in the southwest in the 1st half of the month and reaches greatest eastern elongation (23° from the Sun) on the 16th. Venus dominates the western sky in the early evening. On the 4th, it is accompanied by the waxing crescent Moon then proceeds to brighten each evening in November and December. Saturn is high in the southern sky after sunset and is passed by the waxing gibbous Moon on the 10th which then passes Neptune on the 11th. 3.5 hours after the full Frosty or Beaver’s Moon on the 15th, the waning gibbous Moon passes Uranus. It then passes Jupiter on the 17th and Mars on the 20th. Jupiter rises about 8:30 PM EST, providing an eastern beacon to complement Venus in the west. Mars is approaching its January, 2025 opposition when it will be in closest proximity to Earth and is getting brighter. In November, the red planet rivals the brightest 1st magnitude stars in the night sky.

November Moon

The New Moon of November is in Libra on the 1st at 8:47AM EDT. New Moon marks the start of Lunation 1260 which ends 29.73 days later with the New Moon of December in Scorpius on the 1st at 2:22AM EST.

The Full Moon on the 15th occurs at 4:29PM EST in Aries. It is also a Supermoon which appears larger and brighter than normal because the Full Moon occurs about 34.2 hours after lunar perigee, its minimum distance during the month. November’s Full Moon is the Frosty or Beaver’s Moon. Colonial Americans called it the “Beaver Moon”. To the Celts it was the “Dark Moon”, and it is the “White Moon” for the Chinese. Medieval English thought of it as the “Snow Moon”, and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people of northern Michigan recognize it as “Gashkadino-Giizis” (Freezing Over Moon).in the western dialect and ”Baashkaakodin-Giizis” (Freezing Moon) in the eastern dialect.

Ontario’s Earth Haven Farm presents cultural teachings explaining the cycle of life and nature of their 13 Grandmother Moons. “The eleventh moon of Creation is the Freezing Moon, a time when the Star Nation is closest to us. As every creature being prepares for the coming fasting grounds, we are reminded to prepare ourselves for our spiritual path by learning the sacred teachings and songs that will sustain us.”

Lunar perigee – Nov.14, 6:16AM EST. The Moon is at 223,762 mi. (56.46 Earth radii). Lunar Apogee (maximum lunar distance) – Nov. 26 at 6:56AM EST. The Moon’s distance is 251,850mi. (63.54 Earth radii).