Our views of several planets improve this month, most notably that of Jupiter, which approaches its closet approach to Earth in early December. Already Jupiter is well up in the eastern sky by 10 pm and it is the brightest object there, among the stars of background constellation Taurus. Jupiter will also gain in brightness throughout the month. A bright Moon will be seen just above Jupiter on November 17th.
Venus is easy to find just after sunset in the western sky and remains visible for two hours after the Sun goes down. On November 4th a waxing crescent Moon is just above Venus; making a nice opportunity to make a photograph of the two.
Saturn continues high in the southern sky among the star of Aquarius. In a telescope, Saturn’s rings appear very thin this month as Saturn’s tilt is widest to our line of sight right now. So we see the rings almost edge on. Indeed they almost disappear, and by the end of the year, they will. Saturn will be seen just above a ten day old Moon on November 10th.
Mars is growing brighter in the eastern morning sky all month and by the end of November will actually be seen about 40 degrees up in the East by midnight. Mars will move closer to Earth and be at is best in two years early in 2025. On November 20th the Moon (waning gibbous) will be near Mars.
Mercury makes a brief appearance below and right of Venus and will be visible for about an hour after sunset; although pretty close to the horizon. Best evenings to look for it will be from November 16th to the 20th. Binoculars and a clear view down to the western horizon will help.
Remember this is the month we return to Standard Time, so when we retire of Saturday night (November 2nd) we set our clocks back one hour. This means that night descends earlier in the evening; by 5:00 to 5:30 pm. More opportunity to het our earlier and become a “Sky-Watcher!”
Full Moon for November is November 15th.
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