“STAR TRAK for November: Jupiter and Leonid meteor shower - PhysOrg” plus 1 more |
| STAR TRAK for November: Jupiter and Leonid meteor shower - PhysOrg Posted: 05 Nov 2010 11:19 AM PDT Jupiter will be easy to see in the south as night falls in November. The best time to observe this bright planet with a telescope will be from dusk to midnight as it travels high across the sky from southeast to southwest. Jupiter's four brightest moons will be visible with binoculars. The planet Uranus will be about 3 degrees northeast of Jupiter all month, offering a rare opportunity to use the conspicuous larger planet as a marker. Their apparent separation is about a third of the width of your fist at arm's length. Saturn will rise in the east a little before the start of morning twilight at the beginning of November and as early as 2 a.m. local time by month's end. The yellow planet will be slightly brighter than the bright white star Spica below it. Saturn's rings are opening rapidly after being almost edgewise as seen from Earth. Venus will rise in the east-southeast less than a half hour before the sun at the start of November, and it will be noticeably higher each day after that for observers at mid-northern latitudes. By month's end, Venus will rise more than three hours before the sun and reach the peak of its brightness as it approaches Spica directly above it. Mercury will gradually emerge very low in the southwest as the weeks of November go by. It will form a triangle with Mars and the bright orange star Antares, but all three objects will be hard to see so close to the horizon. Mars will be barely visible with binoculars very low in the southwest a half hour after sunset during November. The pumpkin-colored planet will be too dim to see without optical aid in such bright twilight, and it will disappear from view by month's end. Meteor showers The annual Leonid meteor shower will peak on the night of Nov. 17-18, just three days before full moon. Moonlight will make for impaired viewing conditions before midnight, but as many as 20 meteors per hour may be visible in a clear sky. The Leonid meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Leo the Lion. They are actually caused by streams of fast-moving dust particles from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The best time to watch for meteors will be after the moon sets around 3 a.m. local time, as sickle-shaped Leo gets higher in the east. The farther Leo climbs above the horizon, the more meteors there will be all over the sky. The bright star Regulus is part of Leo and can serve as a marker for the radiant, the point from which the meteors appear to come. Another meteor shower, the Southern Taurids, will peak before dawn on Nov. 5, when the new moon will not interfere. These meteors will seem to come from the constellation Taurus the Bull, whose bright orange star Aldebaran is easy to spot. Watch to the west between midnight and dawn. More information about meteor showers is available from the American Meteor Society at: http://www.amsmete … showers.html . Moon phases The moon will be new on Nov. 6, at first quarter on Nov. 13, full on Nov. 21 and at third quarter on Nov. 28. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Featured sight for week of 11/14: the Leonid Meteor Shower is coming! - Examiner Posted: 14 Nov 2010 05:58 AM PST Meteors will soon start streaking through the sky thanks to the Leonid Meteor Shower. In a few days, the Leonid Meteor Shower for 2010 will come to a peak. However, despite what most of the news media may lead you to believe, there is a lot more to the Leonid Shower than the night of the peak. While most news outlets only focus on the peak night, the fact is that the Leonids are already blazing trails through the sky. Unlike what may have been suggested by most non-astronomical news sources, the Leonid shower lasts for about two weeks, a week on either side of the peak night. Why? The shower is caused by Earth running into a trail of space debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle every year. Think of it as a rainstorm. When driving into a rain shower, the rain does not come and go in a sudden burst. Likewise, the trail of cometary debris is the same way in that it starts very light, gets thicker until the deepest point is reached, and then starts lightening up again until the Earth passes completely through. The shower is called the Leonid because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Leo. Every November, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk, reaching the deepest concentration on the night of November 17. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see around 20-30 meteors per hour. The best time to view is in the pre-dawn hours as Leo is at its highest at this time, just about due East. To improve odds of seeing meteors, travel out of light-polluted Cleveland and to the suburbs or, even better, the country if you can. In the suburbs, just going from the front to back yard can make a dramatic difference, too. Unfortunately, the Moon is going to be a waxing gibbeous at the time of the Leonids, which is a real bummer. For some good news, the Moon will be setting in the wee hours of the morning, which means that, for the best chance to see meteors, get up a few hours early before going to work/school. . Now for viewing. The Cleveland area weather forecast is looking very good for the next week, especially considering that it's mid-November. So, for an even more up-to date, hour-by-hour forecast, check out the Cleveland Clear Sky Clock to see what the night will bring. Live somewhere else? Find a clock near you. Good luck and clear skies to all. For more astro news: Like this? Why not check out my photography column? Want more? Stop by and visit my personal website: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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