Fall is in full swing.  Leaves have just about completed their seasonal color change and geese are moving to warmer feeding grounds.  The turn to colder weather will surely gain momentum as we move into and through November.  The first sign of that change is our switch back to Eastern Standard Time and the resulting earlier sunsets.  Maybe the weatherman will be good to us this month with many nights of clear skies before the snows really begin to fly. 

Take a few minutes before you begin your journey through November skies and go get your star map.  It is in PDF format which nearly everyone can use and print.  The site I'm using for starmaps is at the SkyMaps.com webpage.  Click this link and choose the PDF skymap for the Northern Hemisphere for November 2008.  Download and then print it out.  It's a 2-sided page with a skymap and almanac on the front and a reference sheet of visible objects on the back.  I usually print page 1 only, place that page back in my printer in the correct way, and then print page 2 only.  That way I have a single sheet with all the information I need for the month.  Now you're ready to explore the skies of November! 
 

The Milky Way passes just north of our zenith as it arches its way from the western to eastern horizons.  You may recall that in mid-summer our view was toward the center of our galaxy and its large number of star clusters and gas clouds.  In November, our gaze is out our galaxy's "south window" in a direction that looks towards some of our closest galactic neighbors, the members of The Local Group.  These galaxies, including M31, M32, and M33 will be covered in more detail in the constellation section. 

The Great Square of Pegasus has now moved into a position that straddles the meridian, high in southern skies.  Directly below the Square is the Circlet of Pisces, marking the western fish of that constellation.  Continue moving toward the southwest and you can carefully find your way through the dim zodiacal constellations of Capricornus and Aquarius.  Within them are Neptune and Uranus.  The western appendages of Pegasus seem to reach out to the bright constellations of summer as they approach the western horizon.  This month provides our last opportunities to check out such summer favorites as Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila.

Move above Pegasus and head directly through the zenith toward the North Star.  Facing north, you can easily find the "M" shape of Cassiopeia as it passes through its highest position in the sky for the year.  Look carefully along the northern horizon and you can see the Big Dipper at its lowest position for the year.

Attached to the upper left corner of the Great Square is Andromeda.  The stars of Andromeda point the way to Perseus and Auriga.  Capella is easy to find in this part of the sky.  Just below the central part of Andromeda, a trio of dim stars makes up Triangulum, the Triangle.  The Greeks gave this constellation the name "Deltotum" because it looked similar to the Greek letter Delta.  Lower still is Aries, the Ram.  Aries is the first sign of the zodiac because it once represented the location in the sky where the Sun passed the equator moving north.  This marked the time of the Vernal, or Spring, Equinox.  Over the past 2000 years or so, this place in the sky has shifted.  As the Earth rotates on its axis, it wobbles slightly just as a child's toy top might wobble as it spins.  This wobble, called precession, causes all the constellations to shift positions over time.  The position marking the Sun's crossing of the equator is now located in Pisces.
 

Finally, don't forget to turn your gaze to the western skies.  There you will find bright Arcturus approaching the horizon.  Move higher through Corona Borealis and into Hercules for a look at M13, one of the finest examples of a globular star cluster visible at our mid-northern latitude.  Shown here is an image of M13 taken with my telescope.

Solar System Rise and Set Time

Mercury completes a very favorable morning apparition having passed greatest elongation on October 23rd.  It now quickly moves back toward the Sun and is not visible after early November.  It reaches superior conjunction with the Sun on the 25th.

Venus continues to be a challenging object in evening skies.  Although it is, by far, the brightest object in western skies, it barely keeps up with the Sun's easterly motion through the sky.  Late this month, Venus' own orbital motion finally begins to cause the planet to move into darker skies.  By then it is setting over an hour after evening twilight has ended.  Watch as Venus and Jupiter approach each other all month setting up a spectacular evening conjunction with the crescent moon on December 1st.

Mars has now moved too close to the Sun to be visible.  It reaches conjunction with the Sun on December 5th and won't return to morning skies until January.

Jupiter is becoming a difficult object low in the southwest after sunset.  By January, the planet will be too close to the Sun to be visible.

Saturn rises before the start of morning twilight in early November and after midnight by month's end.  Telescope users will find that the rings are less open than in past years as Earth approaches another ring plane passage in a few years from now.

Uranus and Neptune still remain favorably placed in early evening skies.
 

The waxing crescent moon is just left (south) of Venus on the evening of the 1st.  By the 3rd, it is passing just south of Jupiter.  First Quarter Moon occurs on the 5th at 11:03 p.m.  Watch that evening to see the terminator as a perfectly straight line.

The waxing gibbous moon passes north of Neptune on the 6th and Uranus on the 8th.  The Full Moon of November is called the Beaver Moon and this year occurs on the 13th at 1:13 a.m.

The waning gibbous moon is near Pollux on the 17th and just south of M44, the Beehive Cluster, on the 18th.  Last Quarter Moon occurs on the 19th at 4:32 p.m. 

The waning crescent moon is near Saturn on the 21st and Spica on the 24th.  New Moon occurs on the 27th at 11:55 a.m. and marks the start of lunation 1063.

Jupiter and Saturn

Events involving the Galilean Moons of Jupiter

Jupiter moves closer and closer to the southwest horizon making for fewer events as the month progresses.
 

Special Events

Remember... recent legislation has CHANGED the DATE when our clocks fall back to Eastern Standard Time.  CHANGE your clocks on Sunday morning, November 2nd this year.  This is also a perfect time to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Have the grand displays of the Leonid Meteor Shower finally passed?  Maybe, maybe not.  Activity remained fairly high in 2007 with 40-50 meteors seen per hour.  This year there are several predictions of somewhat enhanced activity.  It is important to watch for an hour or so around the following time:  November 16th, 7:22 pm;  November 16th, 8:32 pm;  November 18th, 4:38 pm.  All of these times of predicted enhanced activity occur well before the radiant in Leo has risen.  So, right after skies darken each of these days, go out and look to the east in hopes of seeing some extra Leonids.  After Leo rises, the waning gibbous moon will brighten the sky dramatically washing out all but the brightest meteors.

Watch all month as Jupiter and Venus slowly approach each other.  They are closest together ( less than 2 degrees) on the evening of December 1st when they are joined by the crescent moon.  This will make for a spectacular photo opportunity!

Space Missions

SOHO
Here you can find the latest images and information on the Sun.   I placed this link here because of the unusual ABSENT solar activity.  August 2008 marked the first calendar month since 1913 when NO SUNSPOTS were visible at all!  September only showed a few!  Lack of sunspot activity, and therefore solar energy, has been linked to a cooling climate on the Earth.  Could it be true that we are now headed toward a global cooling trend?  Many climate experts believe this is happening, and they have more than a lack of sunspots on their side.  Check out this website for this and other climate information.

On May 25th, the Phoenix Polar lander touched down safely near the north pole of Mars.  For the next 3 months (Mars' northern hemisphere summer begins on June 24th) this lander will investigate this cold environment looking for signs of ice beneath the soils.  Early findings seem to show ice very close to the surface.  Check the website for all the latest information.

Messenger
This spacecraft recently completed its second close fly-by of Mercury (October 6th) and took hundreds of images of the part of Mercury not imaged in the 1970's (Mariner 10, 1974 and 1975).  This flyby adjusted the orbit slightly so that the spacecraft can flyby Mercury once more on Sept. 29, 2009 before entering orbit on March 3, 2011.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Right now, the most interesting news from Mars is coming from a spacecraft called the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.  The spacecraft is now in its operational orbit, achieved earlier this Fall.  From this orbit, the spacecraft is taking high resolution pictures and other measurements.  Pictures are already being sent back from the spacecraft that are among the best ever taken from orbit around Mars.  One even shows one of the Mars Rovers sitting at the edge of a large crater!   Amazing technology.  And sometime this month, Opportunity is going to be driven down into Victoria Crater.  It will use a gradual sloping area called "Duck Bay" to drive into the crater.  Scientists are hopeful they will find many layered rocks to explore within this crater and are willing to take the chance that Opportunity may not be able to climb back out should one of its 6 motorized wheels fail while in the crater. 

Mars Global Surveyor
The Mars Global Surveyor has fallen silent.  Last November, something happened that caused the spacecraft to go into safe mode.  After that initial communication, nothing more has been heard from the spacecraft.  Speculation is that one or more of its solar panels have failed thus shutting down all the electrical systems.  Launched on November 7, 1996 MGS achieved orbit around Mars on September 11, 1997.  Over those last 9+ years, the spacecraft has returned more than 240,000 images and untold megabytes about the environment of the Martian surface and atmosphere.

Mars Rovers
The two American Mars explorers, Opportunity and Spirit, are still functioning fairly well and returning amazing data from Mars!  Both are well over TWO years of operation on the surface of Mars.   One rover, Opportunity, is now on the rim of Victoria Crater.  From that location it has spent much time taking very detailed images of the crater walls.  It has started to travel around the crater looking for more targets to image as well as a way into and out of this crater.  Engineers want to get a closer look at the interior of the crater, but would rather do so fully expecting to be able to drive out later.  Even so, there is some thought being given to the idea of driving into the crater for those detailed studies even if it means not being able to get back out - basically sacrificing the Rover for this important study.  Latest news.....  !!

A solar mission that continues to produce results is the STEREO solar mission.  STEREO consists of two space-based observatories - one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind. With this new pair of viewpoints, scientist will be able to see the structure and evolution of solar storms as they blast from the Sun and move out through space. 
 

Another solar spacecraft, Hinode, an international space effort, continues its studies of our nearest star in stunning detail.  Hinode is Japanese for sunrise. 

Venus Express
The European Space Agency placed a spacecraft in orbit around Venus in April.  Since then the spacecraft has been slowly adjusting its orbit.  Scientific data about this cloud covered planet is now being returned.

Cassini mission to Saturn    
Now in orbit around Saturn!  This spacecraft is sending back amazing pictures.  Recent images of Titan have shown methane lakes!

Stardust
On January 15, 2006, after more than 7 years and billions of miles of travel through space, the Stardust spacecraft returned to Earth with some precious cargo -- pristine samples of comet and interstellar dust. Stardust will provide the world's first opportunity to analyze preserved samples of the fundamental building blocks of our Solar System that formed 4.6 billion years ago.  Analysis will begin soon as materials are distributed to various labs throughout the world for study. During a brief but daring encounter with Comet Wild 2 on January 2, 2004, Stardust captured thousands of particles and began its arduous two-year journey back to Earth, where its Sample Return Capsule (SRC) landed in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) within the Great Salt Lake Desert.

New Horizons
Next up for NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Science Lab is the mission of the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto.  After a couple of days of delays, the mission started with a spectacular launch on January 19th.  Even with launch this year and being given the greatest velocity ever given to a spacecraft during launch, New Horizons won't reach Pluto until 2015.  Just the other day, the spacecraft sent back a starfield used for calibration in which Pluto could be seen.  Of course, it was just a dim pinpoint of light, but the spacecraft is operating exactly as it should be at this time.

A mission, not well-publicized, may not have had the success hoped for.  A Japanese spacecraft called Hayabusa flew in formation with a tiny asteroid called Itokawa last September.  In late November, the spacecraft was successful in making a soft landing on the asteroid.  This success came after one attempt failed.  Japanese scientists believe at the time that the spacecraft was able to gather up material from that landing location.  This may not have occurred.  Another task, to leave a small, automated lander, was not successful.  The spacecraft backed away from the asteroid a small distance and went into safe mode after it detected a problem with a control jet.  Recently, Japanese scientists have been able to regain communication with the spacecraft.  The hope to turn on the ion engines early next year and have the spacecraft return to the earth in 2010.

Deep Impact
Performed as advertised and delivered an impactor into the Comet Tempel 1.  The results were dramatic as the impactor and flyby mother craft both recorded fine detail in the comet and the resulting ejecta cloud.  Check this web page for all the latest results and images.

European Space Agency's Huygens web site.
Archived information about the Huygen's probe which landed on Titan.

Mars Express
This European Space Agency craft continues to send back images using a high resolution camera.  

SIRTF
Space Infrared Telescope Facility:  Go to this website and search for NGC7331.  The image you find is of a galaxy many astronomers feel looks just like our Milky Way galaxy would look from 50 million light years!

2001 Mars Odyssey
Mapping the surface of Mars.  

Latest Images from Mars Odyssey

SOHO
Here you can find the latest images and information on the Sun.