November brings several opportunities for skywatchers: the Taurid and Leonid meteor showers, a close apparent pairing of Mars and Jupiter, a milestone for NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, and a full supermoon on November 24.
- Around November 5: The southern Taurids peak, with occasional bright fireballs.
- Around November 12: The northern Taurids peak. Under ideal conditions, about five meteors may be visible per hour.
- November 15–16: Mars and Jupiter appear 1.2 degrees apart before sunrise.
- November 17: Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light Day Activation.
- November 17–18: The Leonid meteor shower is best viewed after moonset and before dawn. Under ideal conditions, it can produce up to about 15 meteors per hour.
- November 24: A full supermoon begins a sequence of three consecutive supermoons.
Meteor showers
November offers plenty of chances to see meteors streak across the sky. The southern Taurids peak around November 5, followed by the northern Taurids around November 12. These names refer to two areas in the constellation Taurus where meteors are likely to appear.
The Taurid meteor shower produces only a few meteors per hour—about five under ideal conditions—but occasional bright fireballs make it worth watching.
The Leonid meteor shower follows later in the month. For the best viewing, try the early morning hours of November 17 and 18, after the Moon has set. Under ideal conditions, the shower could produce about 15 meteors per hour, although most viewers will see fewer.
For better viewing, find a dark location, give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust, and look across as much of the sky as possible.
Mars and Jupiter draw close
There is another reason to head outside before sunrise in the middle of the month. Looking toward the southeast on the mornings of November 15 and 16, you will see Mars and Jupiter appear to approach each other.
The planets will appear approximately 1.2 degrees apart, slightly more than the width of two full Moons placed side by side. Jupiter will be the brighter point of light, with reddish Mars nearby.
Both planets are easily visible with the unaided eye. Although they remain far apart in space, they will appear almost next to each other from Earth. Watching them over several mornings will show them drawing closer before they begin to separate again.
Voyager 1 reaches a light-day milestone
This month, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft will reach a historic milestone by becoming the first human-made object to travel one light-day from Earth.
This means that a signal traveling at the speed of light takes 24 hours to reach the spacecraft, and another 24 hours for a signal from the spacecraft to return.
To imagine the direction in which Voyager 1 is traveling, look toward Ophiuchus, the constellation associated with the serpent.
On November 17, join the “Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light Day Activation” to celebrate the milestone. More information is available at nasa.gov/voyager.
November’s supermoon
A supermoon will light up the evening sky on November 24.
The Moon’s orbit is slightly elliptical, so its distance from Earth varies. When a full Moon occurs near the part of its orbit closest to Earth, it appears larger and brighter than average, although the difference can be subtle.
This supermoon will begin a run of three consecutive supermoons in November, December and January.
Look east around sunset and watch the Moon rise. It may appear even larger near the horizon, but that effect is an illusion common to all full Moons.
The phases of the Moon in November are as follows:
NASA Science provides updates on NASA missions exploring the solar system and beyond.
I’m Raquel Villanueva from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is this month’s What’s Up.
Source: science.nasa.gov