[energetic music]
[Preston Dyches] What's Up for November?
Venus and Jupiter on opposite sides of the sky,
the Leonid meteors return
and the celestial sea surrounding Saturn.
This November, Jupiter is up in the sky all night and sets
just before sunrise
while Venus rises in the early morning hours.
This means you can see them on opposite sides of the sky
if you happen to be up before dawn.
You may recall that these two planets
appeared super close together
just a few months ago, back in March.
On the morning of November 9th, find the crescent moon hanging
just beneath Venus in the early morning sky before sunrise.
Then on the 17th, look
for a beautiful crescent moon sitting low in the southwest,
all by itself in the twilight following sunset.
Thanks to the Moon illusion which causes the rising
or setting Moon to look larger a crescent moon low
near the horizon often appears extra captivating.
Then, after sunset on November 20th, look toward the south
to see the first quarter moon just below Ringed Planet Saturn.
The pair are joined by bright stars Fomalhaut and Altair.
And then on the 24th, look for the nearly full moon
close to giant Jupiter in the east after sunset.
Some binoculars will be able
to capture both of them in the same field of view.
Finally, in the last few days of November,
you'll notice Venus is rising in the morning
with a bright star very close by.
That star is Spica, which is actually two
massive stars that orbit around each other every four days.
The annual Leonid meteor shower returns this month.
The shower peaks overnight on November 17th, with the most
meteors visible between midnight and dawn on the 18th.
The Leonid meteors are dust particles that originate
from comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was
discovered in 1865 and orbits the sun every 33 years.
Leonids tend to be bright, with many producing long trains
that persist for a few seconds
after the initial flash of light.
To view the Leonids find a safe, dark spot
away from bright lights, lie down and look straight up.
The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky.
This year, the Moon is near its first quarter
phase on the peak night.
it sets just a couple of hours after nightfall.
So it won't interfere with viewing the Leonids.
So bring a warm drink, bundle up and enjoy your time
searching for meteors in the November sky.
Looking toward the south, a couple of hours
after dark in November,
you'll find the planet Saturn about halfway up the sky.
This region of the sky is full of water-related constellations.
For that reason, it's
sometimes referred to as “the Sea” or “the Water.”
Saturn currently sits within Aquarius, the water bearer,
imagined as a human figure, pouring water from a jug.
Nearby are Pisces, the fishes,
and Capricornus, the strange mythical sea goat.
Just beneath Aquarius is the southern fish,
and just above him is the dolphin.
To the east of Aquarius, you'll find the constellation
Cetus, a sea monster or whale.
And next to Cetus is the constellation Eridanus,
which represents a long, winding cosmic river.
Now, these star patterns
are not particularly bright or easy to pick out,
but it is interesting to note that this whole area
of the night sky
is populated by mythical figures related to water.
And speaking of connections between water and wonder,
NASA's plans to launch its Europa
Clipper spacecraft next fall to study Jupiter's
icy moon Europa, which is thought to contain
an ocean that might support life.
And you can send your name to Europa etched on the spacecraft.
Visit the link on screen to sign the message in a bottle
that will be sent
across the cosmic sea from Earth to Europa, from one ocean
world to another.
Here are
the phases of the Moon for November.
Stay up to date on NASA's missions exploring
the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and that's What's Up for this month.