WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:02.370 [upbeat music] 2 00:00:02.370 --> 00:00:04.350 What's up for November? 3 00:00:04.350 --> 00:00:06.470 Seeking out the Pleiades, 4 00:00:06.470 --> 00:00:08.740 the Moon with Jupiter and Saturn, 5 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:11.650 and understanding Earthshine. 6 00:00:11.650 --> 00:00:13.610 Evenings in November are a good time 7 00:00:13.610 --> 00:00:15.830 to start looking for the Pleiades. 8 00:00:15.830 --> 00:00:17.220 This bright cluster of stars 9 00:00:17.220 --> 00:00:19.140 is a well-known site to most stargazers 10 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:20.820 and is best enjoyed in the cooler 11 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:23.590 fall and winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. 12 00:00:23.590 --> 00:00:24.940 The Pleiades is what's known 13 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:26.670 as an open star cluster. 14 00:00:26.670 --> 00:00:28.060 It's a loosely-bound grouping 15 00:00:28.060 --> 00:00:30.450 of a couple thousand stars that formed together 16 00:00:30.450 --> 00:00:33.030 and are slowly drifting apart over time. 17 00:00:33.030 --> 00:00:35.030 A handful of the brightest stars in the cluster 18 00:00:35.030 --> 00:00:36.920 are visible with the unaided eye, 19 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:38.670 and with binoculars or a telescope 20 00:00:38.670 --> 00:00:40.620 you can see hundreds. 21 00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:42.630 Astronomers estimate the age of the cluster 22 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:44.890 is only about 100 million years. 23 00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:48.090 It's located a bit more than 400 light years away. 24 00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:49.550 The brightest stars in the Pleiades 25 00:00:49.550 --> 00:00:52.700 are many times brighter than our own star, the Sun. 26 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:54.230 In fact, if you were to visit 27 00:00:54.230 --> 00:00:55.950 the Pleiades and look homeward, 28 00:00:55.950 --> 00:00:57.890 you wouldn't even be able to see the Sun 29 00:00:57.890 --> 00:00:59.870 without a small telescope. 30 00:00:59.870 --> 00:01:01.530 line:15% On cool, November evenings, 31 00:01:01.530 --> 00:01:03.160 line:15% look for the Pleiades in the east 32 00:01:03.160 --> 00:01:05.200 line:15% in the couple of hours after dark. 33 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.780 line:15% The cluster rises to its highest point around midnight. 34 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:10.810 line:15% You can also enjoy an early morning view 35 00:01:10.810 --> 00:01:12.460 line:15% of the Pleiades near the Moon, 36 00:01:12.460 --> 00:01:14.481 line:15% before dawn, on November 2nd. 37 00:01:14.481 --> 00:01:15.320 [whoosh] 38 00:01:15.320 --> 00:01:17.250 line:15% On November 18th and 19th, 39 00:01:17.250 --> 00:01:19.300 line:15% enjoy a lovely crescent moon 40 00:01:19.300 --> 00:01:21.790 line:15% near Jupiter and Saturn after sunset. 41 00:01:21.790 --> 00:01:23.710 The two planets have been brilliant highlights 42 00:01:23.710 --> 00:01:25.350 of the night sky for much of this year, 43 00:01:25.350 --> 00:01:27.650 and are now getting closer together in advance 44 00:01:27.650 --> 00:01:30.320 of their super-close pairing in mid-December. 45 00:01:30.320 --> 00:01:32.010 More about that next month, 46 00:01:32.010 --> 00:01:34.090 line:15% but for now, be sure to watch as they draw 47 00:01:34.090 --> 00:01:36.538 line:15% a little nearer to each other each week. 48 00:01:36.538 --> 00:01:37.450 [whoosh] 49 00:01:37.450 --> 00:01:40.070 You may have marveled at how brightly a full moon 50 00:01:40.070 --> 00:01:42.130 can light up a nighttime landscape, 51 00:01:42.130 --> 00:01:44.120 but have you ever noticed how Earth 52 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:47.260 can illuminate the night side of the Moon? 53 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:51.080 This eerily beautiful glow is called Earthshine. 54 00:01:51.080 --> 00:01:53.440 It's sunlight that's been reflected off of Earth, 55 00:01:53.440 --> 00:01:56.890 then bounced off the Moonand back to our eyes. 56 00:01:56.890 --> 00:01:58.450 Earthshine is easiest to observe 57 00:01:58.450 --> 00:02:01.230 in the few days before and after the new moon, 58 00:02:01.230 --> 00:02:02.063 when the part of the Moon 59 00:02:02.063 --> 00:02:03.650 that's directly lit by the Sun 60 00:02:03.650 --> 00:02:06.070 appears as a slim crescent. 61 00:02:06.070 --> 00:02:07.680 This is partly because there's less 62 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.560 of the bright, sunlit surface to compete 63 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:11.800 with the dimmer Earthshine-lit portion, 64 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:13.380 and partly because the phases 65 00:02:13.380 --> 00:02:16.150 of Earth and the Moon are complimentary. 66 00:02:16.150 --> 00:02:18.660 When the Moon is a slim crescent in our sky, 67 00:02:18.660 --> 00:02:21.760 Earth seen from the Moon looks nearly full. 68 00:02:21.760 --> 00:02:24.760 Occasionally, NASA spacecraft use this phenomenon 69 00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:28.160 to make the night side of other planets and moons visible. 70 00:02:28.160 --> 00:02:31.150 For example, Saturnshine on Saturn's moons 71 00:02:31.150 --> 00:02:33.540 and ringshine lighting up Saturn itself, 72 00:02:33.540 --> 00:02:36.580 as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. 73 00:02:36.580 --> 00:02:39.070 The best times to observe Earthshine in November 74 00:02:39.070 --> 00:02:42.480 are on the 17th through the 20th, following sunset, 75 00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:45.610 and before dawn on the 9th through the 12th. 76 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:47.290 line:15% And, for an added treat on the 12th, 77 00:02:47.290 --> 00:02:50.860 line:15% the Moon, illuminated by both sunshine and Earthshine, 78 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:54.298 line:15% will appear just above the "Morning Star" Venus. 79 00:02:54.298 --> 00:02:55.150 [whoosh] 80 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:57.400 Here are the phases of the Moon for November. 81 00:02:59.890 --> 00:03:01.940 You can catch up on all of NASA's missions 82 00:03:01.940 --> 00:03:05.500 to explore the solar system and beyond at nasa.gov. 83 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:08.160 I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 84 00:03:08.160 --> 00:03:09.960 and that's What's Up for this month.