November 2008
The dazzling constellations of winter begin to creep into prime evening 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 about the same time as Orion, but farther north. The Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, follows the hunter in late evening. A special late-month treat is the pairing of Venus and Jupiter in the southwest at sunset. The crescent Moon closes in on them on the 30th, creating an especially striking tableau.
1 Venus, the brilliant "evening star," is to the right of the Moon shortly after sunset, quite low in the southwest. Slightly fainter Jupiter is far to their upper left.
2 Jupiter is to the upper left of the Moon early this evening, with brighter Venus farther to their lower right.
3 Jupiter stands barely above the Moon as darkness falls.
13 The Moon passes through Taurus. The bull's "eye," orange Aldebaran, is to the lower right of the Moon as they rise in mid-evening, with the Pleiades star cluster to the Moon's upper right.
17 The Leonid meteor shower peaks before dawn today, but a bright Moon will drown out all but its brightest meteors.
19/20 Regulus, in Leo, the lion, is the closest bright star to the Moon in the pre-dawn sky, with the planet Saturn below them.
21 Saturn is to the left of the Moon as they rise after midnight this morning.
24 Spica, in Virgo, stands above the Moon as they rise about three hours before sunrise.
30 Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon congregate low in the southwest in early evening. The two planets are to the upper left of the Moon, with Jupiter slightly higher in the sky.
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* Lunar phase times are listed for the U.S. Central Time Zone.
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