This Week's Sky at a Glance for November 12 – 20

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Some daily events in the changing sky for November 12 – 20

by Alan M. MacRobert

Venus, Spica, Saturn, and fainter Gamma Virginis are up in early dawn.Sky & Telescope diagramFriday, November 12

  • Algol, the brightest eclipsingvariable star, is at its minimum light (magnitude 3.4 instead of itsusual 2.1) for a couple hours centered on 9:52 p.m. PST (12:52 a.m. onthe morning of the 13th EST).
  • Jupiter's new South Equatorial Belt Outbreakcrosses the planet's central meridian around 2:05 a.m. Saturday morningEST, or 11:05 p.m. Friday evening PST. It transits 3 hours 40 minutesafter the Great Red Spot.

    Saturday, November 13

  • First-quarter Moon(exact at 11:39 a.m. EST). This evening the Moon forms a nearlyequilateral triangle with Jupiter to its left and fainter Fomalhautbelow them both.
  • Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet's central meridian around 10:25 p.m. EST.

    Sunday, November 14

  • Mira, the brightest long-period red variable star, is beginning to fade abit from its unusually bright maximum. As of November 10th observerswere reporting it at about magnitude 3.4, still obvious to the unaidedeye. Mira is up in good view in the east-southeast after about 7 p.m.Use the comparison-star chart in the September Sky & Telescope, page 58.
  • Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet's central meridian around12:03 a.m. Monday morning EST; 9:03 p.m. Sunday evening PST.

    Monday, November 15

  • The waxing gibbous Moonposes to the upper right of Jupiter this evening. Although they lookclose together, Jupiter is 1,630 times farther away — and 40 timeslarger in diameter.
  • Algol is at minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 9:41 p.m. EST.

    Anew bright white spot (indicated) in the latitude of Jupiter 's SouthEquatorial Belt was the first sign of events that will probably lead tothe whole belt's return. Discoverer Christopher Go took this image at10:24 UT November 10th. Compare with the image below taken two dayslater. South is up.Christopher Go

  • Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet's centralmeridian around 7:55 p.m. EST. Jupiter's new South Equatorial BeltOutbreak spot crosses the central meridian 3 hours 40 minutes later,around 11:35 p.m. EST.

    Tuesday, November 16

  • This evening the Moon is to Jupiter's upper left.
  • The Leonid meteor shower should be at its best in the early hours ofWednesday and/or Thursday — after the Moon sets around 3 a.m. Wednesdaymorning, and 4 a.m. Thursday morning. But the Leonids have been far fromspectacular in these off-years. You might see 20 Leonids per hour, and 4Taurids, from a dark, rural site.
  • In the Wednesday dawn, Venus is the closest it will get to fainter Spica: 3 3/4° below it.

    Wednesday, November 17

  • It's a busy eveningat Jupiter for telescope users! Io reappears from eclipse out ofJupiter's shadow, just off the planet's eastern limb, around 6:33 p.m.EST. A small telescope will show it gradually swelling back into view.Ganymede reappears from behind Jupiter's eastern limb itself around 7:15p.m. EST. The tiny black shadow of Europa is on Jupiter's disk until8:28 p.m. EST. Then, out in the clear, Ganymede goes into eclipse inJupiter's shadow at 9:04 p.m. EST and re-emerges at 12:00 midnight EST.

    (For a complete listing of all such Jupiter satellite events in November, good worldwide, see the November Sky & Telescope, page 58.)

  • Oh, that's not all. Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet'scentral meridian around 9:33 p.m. EST. And Jupiter's new SouthEquatorial Belt Outbreak spot crosses the central meridian 3 hours 40minutes after that, around 1:13 a.m. Thursday morning EST.

    Thursday, November 18

  • Vega in Lyra remainsthe brightest star in the west-northwest these evenings. The brighteststar higher above it is Deneb in Cygnus.
  • Algol is at its minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 6:30 p.m. EST.

    Friday, November 19

  • A twilight challenge: use binoculars to scan for Mercury very low in the southwest no more than a half hour after your local sunset time.Now, can you detect fainter Mars less than 2° to Mercury's upper right?That's about a third the width of a typical binocular's field of view.
  • Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet's centralmeridian around 11:12 p.m. EST. Jupiter's new South Equatorial BeltOutbreak spot crosses the central meridian 3 hours 40 minutes later.

    Saturday, November 20

  • By 9 p.m. sparkly Orion has risen in the east-southeast. Look for it far below this evening's high, bright Moon.
  • Jupiter's Great Red Spot crosses the planet's central meridian around7:03 p.m. EST. And Jupiter's new South Equatorial Belt Outbreak spotcrosses the central meridian 3 hours 40 minutes after that, 10:43 p.m.EST.

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