The moon is few days past full when November begins. Last quarter is Nov. 5 — “quarter” being one-fourth of the lunar month (“moonth”), beginning at new moon. Each quarter is approximately 7.4 days, times four equals approximately 29.5 days from one full moon to the next full moon. Nov. 3, Pollux, one of the Gemini twins, is 1.4 degrees north of the moon. Nov. 9, Venus is one degree south of the moon, an occultation in Canada’s extreme north. Nov. 20, Saturn is three degrees north of the first-quarter moon, followed by Neptune 1.5 degrees north Nov. 22. Jupiter and Uranus are three degrees south of Luna Nov. 25 and 26, respectively. Also Nov. 26, the nearly full moon glides through the stars of the Pleiades.
Mercury appears in the western evening sky about mid-month but poses a significant challenge for Northern Hemisphere viewers because the planet hugs the horizon, setting shortly after sundown.
Venus dominates the eastern sky as the Morning Star. The brightest of planets rises around 4 a.m., well before sunrise. The ecliptic climbs steeply in the winter mornings, just the opposite of the evening apparition of Mercury, so Venus rises high as November begins and remains there throughout the month. The moon is very close Nov. 9.
Mars is too close to the sun to be seen.
Jupiter is at opposition Nov. 3, meaning at midnight, with the sun behind the Earth, Jupiter lies straight south. This is a great time to observe the giant gas planet and its Galilean moons. These four moons perform a daily dance around Jupiter, first noted by the Italian astronomer, Galileo. Hence the name. Sometimes all four moons are visible; other times, one or more may be behind the planet. Nov. 6 is one of those times when Callisto, Io and Europa are each occulted in succession. The moon is three degrees north of Jupiter Nov. 25.
Saturn has been retrograding, and Nov. 4 appears stationary against the starry background. Then the Ringed Planet begins prograde motion eastward. Saturn rises in the late afternoon, becoming visible against the stars of Aquarius in the southeast after sunset. It sets in the southwest around midnight. The waxing crescent moon is nearby on the evening of Nov. 20.
Uranus is at opposition Nov. 13, a tiny bluish dot among the stars of Aries. An “astronomical unit” or “au,” is the mean distance from Earth to the sun. To give an idea of the Solar System scale, Uranus is 18.6 au from Earth – that’s 2 billion, 790 million kilometres away. The reflected sunlight coming from the planet, travelling at approximately 300 million metres per second, takes 2.6 hours to reach us.
Neptune is resident among the stars of Pisces throughout most of the month, slowly moving into Aquarius in the latter days. Well placed for viewing through the night, but a considerable challenge without optical aid – it’s even further away than Uranus at 29.4 au.
The south Taurid meteors peak Nov. 5; Daylight Saving Time ends that same day.
The north Taurid meteor shower peaks Nov. 11.
James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000, was national president for two terms, is now the editor of the Observer’s Handbook, and production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour and in 2021 he was awarded a Fellowship of the RASC.
