By Heather Durham | October 30, 2019
Welcome to the November 2019 edition of Celestial Seasonings! This month of sky watching is not quite as prolific as last month. However we do have many exciting events to view and ponder including the Leonids, Mercury passing over the face of the sun as well as the second moon of autumn – the Beaver Moon – which will be full on the 12th. Lets get started……
November 2
A conjunction occurs when two planets look as if they are close to one another. This date brings the Moon and Saturn as well as the Moon and Pluto into conjunction.
November 4
Taurid is an annual meteor shower coming from the comet Encke. As well, Taurid is a dwarf shower that is part of the Taurus Constellation. You might hear them referred to as Halloween Fireballs because it is autumn. Rather than being as small as dust grains, they larger like small stones or pebbles. For this reason, they can be as bright as the Moon.
Today also marks the First Quarter of the Moon.
November 11
Mercury will be at inferior solar conjunction which also means that it is passing, more or less, between the Sun and Earth. This is also known as the Transit of Mercury, meaning it passes over the Sun, blocking out a small space of the solar disk (Wikipedia, 2019)
November 12
Asteroid 4 Vesta. This type of name describes a name-number combination given to a minor planet designation.
Not only is it one of the largest designations in the asteroid belt, it is also known as the brightest asteroid visible from Earth.
The full Beaver Moon will be before us tonight.
November 16
Mercury will be at Perihelion, meaning its closest point from the sun. It’s interesting to note that the orbit of Mercury is elliptical rather than circular as others are.
November 18
On this date, we are having a Leonid Meteor Shower which tends to be quite prolific. This shower comes from the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. (in-the-sky.org, 2019)
November 19
This date brings us the Last Quarter of the Moon.
November 21
Alpha-Monocerotid. This is a reliable minor meteor shower. This one should not be confused with the one occurring next month (Wikipedia,2019).
November 24
Today the Moon and Mars appear to be close together (in conjunction).
Venus and Jupiter will be in close proximity of each other (in conjunction).
November 26
Today brings us a New Moon.
November 28
Orionid, an annual as well as prolific shower from Haley’s comet comes from the constellation Orion.
Ceres is the largest object from the main asteroid belt, it lies between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
The Moon will be at Perihelion (its closest to the Sun).
November 29
The Moon and Saturn will look as though they are in close proximity to one another (in conjunction).
November 30
Venus and Ceres will appear to be close together (in conjunction).
Previous in sequence: Celestial Seasonings – October 2019; next in sequence: Celestial Seasonings – December 2019
References:
in-the-sky.org. (2019). Leonids. Retrieved from in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20191118_10_100
spacetourismguide.com. (2019, October). What to See in the Night Sky in 2019. Retrieved from spacetourismguide.com/night-sky-2019/
space.com. (2019, October). Stargazing and Night Sky Watching. Retrieved from www.space.com/skywatching/2
timeanddate.com. (2019, October). Sights to See. Retrieved from www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/sights-to-see.html
Wikipedia. (2014, July 30). Alpha Monocerotids. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Monocerotids
Wikipedia. (2019, September 12). Apsis. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsis
Wikipedia. (2019, October 27). Asteroid 4 Vesta. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta
Wikipedia. (2019, October 26). Ceres (Dwarf Planet). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres _(Dwarf_Planet)
Wikipedia. (2019, September 17). Conjunction (Astronomy). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunction_(astronomy)
Wikipedia. (2019, September 30). Fornax. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornax
Wikipedia. (2019, September 22). Leonids. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonids
Wikipedia. (2019, October 23). Mercury (Planet). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)
Wikipedia. (2019, October 9). Meteor Shower. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_shower
Wikipedia. (2019, September 1). Minor Planet Designation. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_planet_designation
Wikipedia. (2019, June 9). Opposition (Astronomy). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_(astronomy)
Wikipedia. (2019, September 30). Orionids. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orionids
Wikipedia. (2019, October 16). Pleiades. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades
Wikipedia. (2019, September 28). Taurids. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurids
Wikipedia. (2019, October 27). Transit of Mercury. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Mercury
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