Title: November Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: November 2009
Comments: The Sun is setting earlier now, with long evenings to enjoy Stargazing in our beautiful autumn skies. JUPITER, at magnitude minus -2.4, is the brightest object in our evening skies, except for the Moon. The gas giant planet reaches its greatest altitude Ð directly in the south- shortly after sunset. With a small telescope or good binoculars, you can view Jupiter's 4 bright Galilean moons in their ever-changing configurations. Galileo first saw them nearly 400 years ago with a 1.5-inch telescope of lower quality than any available today. After a prolonged absence from the scene, MARS is finally returning to prominence. Mars rises at midnight on Nov. 1st, and by 11PM at month's end. The Red Planet brightens noticeably throughout the month & appears to grow larger. As the month opens, Mars passes thru the Beehive star cluster (M44), then spends the rest of November making its way thru Cancer the Crab, before crossing into neighboring constellation, Leo the Lion, on the 30th. Stunning VENUS rises from the Northeast, like a brilliant beacon, 90 minutes before the Sun on Nov. 1st. Our closest planetary "neighbor" easily outshines all other points of light in the sky & is so bright in fact, (magnitude minus -3.9) that radio stations often receive calls reporting it as a UFO! By month's end, Venus rises less than an hour before the Sun & will be hard to see in the bright twilight. SATURN rises much earlier & climbs higher into the predawn sky as November progresses. The Ringed Planet rises before 4:00 AM on Nov. 1st, & by 2:15 AM at month's end. Saturn appears among the stars of western Virgo and, at magnitude 1.1, shines at the same brightness as Spica, Virgo's brightest star. Observe the color difference between golden Saturn & blue-white Spica. While Saturn's glorious rings have been edge-on to Earth in recent months, the tilt of the ring system is increasing rapidly, and soon we will be able to view the Ringed Planet in all it's splendor. For November sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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