Eyes on the Sky Update
Monday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Nov. 19
Monday, Nov. 13 – New moon occurred this morning at 4:27 a.m. In a few days, the lunar crescent will be easily visible during the early evening.
Tuesday, Nov. 14 –Venus, with its blazing light, is rising over the eastern horizon just before 3 a.m. By the time the sun rises at 6:46 a.m., Earth’s rotation has carried Venus over the southeastern horizon and more than a third of the way up the sky.
Wednesday, Nov. 15 – A thin, waxing crescent moon will be low in the southwestern sky by 5 p.m. It will be about one binocular field-of-view above the horizon at that time.
Thursday, Nov. 16 – Brilliant-shining Jupiter is about one-fourth of the way up the sky in the east around 5:45 p.m. Forty-five minutes later, Saturn is more than one-third of the way up the sky in the south. The waxing lunar crescent is obvious in the southwest during twilight. It will set by 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 17 – Orion’s belt stars are now rising over the eastern horizon just before 8 p.m. The Great Spiral Galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, is almost overhead around 9 p.m. It will appear as a faint patch of light to the eye when seen under a dark sky. A view through binoculars will enhance its brightness.
Saturday, Nov. 18 – This morning, the Leonid Meteor Shower is predicted to reach its peak. Best time to observe the Leonids will be from 2 a.m. until dawn. This meteor shower produces some of the fastest meteors of any meteor shower. Nonetheless, the Leonids only deliver about 15 meteors per hour when viewed from a dark-sky location. Sunset later at 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 19 – Keep those binoculars available and seek out the elusive planet Mercury. It will barely be above the horizon in the southwestern sky around 5 p.m., but will become easier to find over the next few weeks.
Editor’s Note: Richard Monda, assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy in the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Department, publishes updates to his HVCC Eyes on the Sky, a YouTube video series, each week.