November Explodes with Nighttime Viewing

The weather becomes less humid just in time for a busy month of nighttime sky gazing in November with three meteor showers and a partial lunar eclipse being the – ahem – stars of the show.

First, a quick note about meteor showers and their radiant point. You don’t really need to know that radiant point in order to see meteors. Many times, you won’t see the meteors until they are about 30-degrees away from their radiant point. Basically, they are streaking out in all directions. So just keep an eye all over the sky. The radiant point can be considered a starting point.

The Taurids meteor shower has been ongoing since October 20 but its peak is expected late night November 11 into early morning November 12. Not as prolific as other showers, you may still see up to 10 meteors an hour. Bonus is that there will be little interference from the moon. As the name suggests, look for the Taurids radiant point in the constellation of Taurus which means in the east/southeast sky.

Next up is the Leonids meteor shower, produced by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Considered an average shower, it can produce up to 15 meteors an hour at peak. Leonids can happen from November 15 through November 20 with peak expected the morning of November 17 (start watching after midnight). An almost full moon will dampen viewing prospects but it will still be possible to see some. The Leonids radiate from the constellation Leo which would be in the north/northeastern sky. Look for the Big Dipper – that means you are in the right part of the sky.

An interesting note to the Leonids is that it has something called a “cyclonic peak,” which means approximately every 33 years it produces hundreds – or more - of meteors an hour. In 1966, observers in the southwest reported 40 to 50 meteors per second!! I was witness to the last cyclonic peak in 2001 and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was like watching the end of a Fourth of July fireworks show. By my rough math estimations, we only have 13 more years to wait for the next one!

The last meteor shower of the month is the Orionids. Yep, the same Orionids that happen in October. This meteor shower runs from November 13 through December 6, with peak expected November 28. The lowest meteor count of all the November showers at about three per hour, you’ll want to look towards Orion and sweep your eyes out from there.

The main event for November is the partial lunar eclipse on November 19. Up to 97% of the moon will be covered at the maximum so it will look like a total full eclipse! The first stirrings start just after 1:00 AM. This is called the penumbral eclipse and it’s showing the diffuse outer shadow of the Earth on the face of the moon. The partial/more recognizable portion of the eclipse starts after 2:15 AM with the maximum eclipse coverage at 4:02AM. Southwest Florida won’t get to see that shadowy penumbral end as it happens after 7:00 AM when our sun will have risen. But we will get to see the end of the partial eclipse at 5:47 AM. It’s going to be a partly red blood moon, so much more exciting to see than last year’s grey version. Take a nap and then head out for an early breakfast afterwards.

November Planets: Venus appears at dusk all throughout the month. It’s monthly encounter with the moon happens on November 15th – you’ll see the waxing crescent moon less than four-degrees to the lower right of Venus. Mars becomes visible at dawn in November and can be seen with the naked eye after the 22nd. And of course, Jupiter and Saturn still shine brightly. On the 10th, the Moon is between and below both planets.

November Moon: The partial eclipse full moon on November 19 is known as The Beaver Moon, so named for those industrious rodents who are collecting wood and getting their dams ready for winter. The November full moon is also known as the Frost Moon as this is the month frost generally makes its first appearance.

Historical Events: 

1500 – Copernicus sees a lunar eclipse from Rome.

1784 – William Herschel discovers NGC 922. NGC 922 is a ring galaxy formed by the collision of two galaxies.

1924 – Edwin Hubble confirms that the spiral nebulae is actually a distant stellar system.

1964 – NASA launched the Mariner 4 spacecraft, the first successful mission to Mars. It encountered Mars in July 1965.

1969 – NASA launched Apollo 12, the second lunar landing mission. President Nixon was on hand as the first U.S. President to attend the launch of a manned space flight.

2014 – The Philae, a European Space Agency robotic lander, made its first-ever soft landing on a comet nucleus.

Keep looking up!