Pocaster: Rob Webb
Title: Last Minute Astronomer November 2023
Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School
Link: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ;
https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ;
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrWebbPV
https://sites.google.com/site/pvplanetarium/home
follow me : @MrWebbPV on Twitter and Instagram
Don’t forget this podcast is found on my Podbean page, Stitcher, and iTunes. There’s also a video version on my YouTube Channel and I can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @mrwebbpv. The Pequea Valley Planetarium and its events and updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
Description:
Similar to October, in November Saturn and Jupiter are the steady highlights above, Venus shines brilliantly before dawn, and rocks fall from the sky.
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Transcript:
Similar to October, in November Saturn and Jupiter are the steady highlights above, Venus shines brilliantly before dawn, and rocks fall from the sky.
I’m Rob, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare. Let’s start by talking about the naked eye planets visible this month, the lunar phases, and then the meteor shower and other events, so you can plan further ahead than me.
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Saturn – About 30˚ above the horizon in the South. Fairly dim, but still brighter than all the stars around it.
Jupiter – SUPER bright in the East after 6:30pm. Just find the brightest point of light in that direction, and you’ve got it. Starts off low in the beginning of the month, and about 40˚ above the horizon toward the end of the month
Throughout the night
Saturn & Jupiter – With Saturn starting about 30˚ above the horizon in the South and Jupiter in the East, these two march westward through the night, with Saturn setting around midnight and Jupiter setting around 4:30 am, both in the West.
Morning
Venus – One of the highest and brightest appearances of Venus in a while, by my recollection. By 3am, Venus will be above the horizon, rising to about 40˚ above the horizon by sunrise. Brilliant, brighter than everything around it.
EVENTS
Last Quarter Moon – 5th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 13th (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 20th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 27th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
5th – Daylight Saving Time Ends
9th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Venus – The Waning Crescent Moon is just ½˚ away from Venus. Visible in the East after 3am until the sun rises. Venus will be occulted in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa, during the day.
17th – 18th – Leonid Meteor Shower – This annual, weak (10-15 per hour) meteor shower can have some wonderful years. This year is good because the waxing crescent Moon will already be set early in the evening, making it clear of lunar light pollution into the morning, the best time to view it.
Some advice for watching:
- Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock
- Look around Leo’s head. That is where the radiant is – where the meteors will appear to be coming from.
- The strategy to observe this year is to get out there whenever you can, but the later you stay up, the more you’ll see, since the radiant will be higher and you’ll be closer to the peak.
- Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear
- Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something.
- You never know when a nice meteor will burn up, to take a nice look at the sky in general, noting that the meteors will appear to go from the radiant in the head of Leo and outward.
19th – 20th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Saturn – The Moon is just 10˚ to the right of Saturn on the 19th, and moves to the other side by 6˚ on the 20th. Visible in the South after sunset, setting in the SW around 11:30pm.
23rd – Thanksgiving – Get your feast on, and then relax outside with three great telescopic objects to find: Saturn high in the South, but dim, Jupiter bright and low in the East, and a Waxing Gibbous Moon in between them.
24th – 25th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Jupiter – The Moon is just 6˚ to the right of Jupiter on the 24th, and moves to the other side by 10˚ on the 25th. Visible in the East after sunset, setting in the West around 5am.
CONSTELLATIONS…
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
After Dinner:
Pegasus & Andromeda – Look pretty much straight up you’ll be able to see the Great Square of Pegasus, with Andromeda curving off of one corner. If your skies are decently dark, you might catch the faint fuzz that is the Andromeda Galaxy.
Before Bed:
Andromeda, Perseus, Triangulum, Aries – Find Pegasus off to the West a little bit to find the cornucopia shaped Andromeda again. Keep following the cornucopia shape to find Perseus, which has kind of a similar shape, except opening up toward the southern horizon and the Pleiades. Below Perseus and Andromeda will be Triangulum, a small thin triangle, and Aries the Ram, which looks more like a curved walking cane on its side.
Before Work:
Orion – Look southwest to find the vertical bow-tie that is Orion the Hunter.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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