November 2009
The bright, beautiful constellations of winter creep into prime viewing time during the longer, cooler nights of November. Beautiful Orion rises in mid-evening early in the month, but by early evening at month's end. Taurus, the bull, charges into view ahead of Orion, with Gemini, the twins, rising to the north of Orion. The Dog Star Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, follows the hunter in late evening. Venus, the "morning star," disappears in the dawn glare by month's end, but Mars is growing brighter as we head toward winter.
3 Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, aligns just to the right of Venus, the brilliant "morning star," low in the eastern sky about 45 minutes before sunrise.
8-9 The Moon and Mars are low in the east shortly after midnight, and high in the south at first light. Mars is to the lower left of the Moon as they rise on the morning of the 8th, and much closer to its upper left on the 9th.
10 Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, is quite close to the left of the Moon as they rise after midnight. Orange Mars stands above them.
12-13 Saturn, which looks like a bright star, is to the left of the Moon at first light on the 12th, and above the Moon on the 13th. Spica is to their lower right.
17 The Leonid meteor shower peaks this morning. There is no Moon to interfere with the shower.
22-24 The Moon moves past Jupiter, which looks like a brilliant cream-colored star. They are in the south at nightfall. Jupiter is closest to the Moon on the 23rd, standing just below it.
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* Lunar phase times are listed for the U.S. Central Time Zone.
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