The moon begins the month in the waning gibbous phase, meaning it appears humped, like a camel’s back, waning meaning it’s showing less and less of the sunlit side as time passes. On the night of Nov. 6 and morning Nov. 7, the moon passes within close range of Jupiter, Mars, and Venus — less than two degrees of all three planets. These will all be in the eastern morning sky before dawn. Nov. 13, the tiny sliver of a very young moon shares the evening twilight in the west with Saturn. Nov. 22, as the moon approaches full phase, Uranus is within a degree — an occultation for viewers in the very far Southern Hemisphere. Full phase is Nov. 25, and a few hours later, Aldebaran is within one degree, and is an occultation for viewers in eastern Asia, northern United States, Canada and Greenland.
Mercury fleetingly disappears behind the sun shortly after the month begins, heading for superior conjunction Nov. 17. Viewers may catch a glimpse of the speedy planet in the early morning eastern sky.
Venus is quite visible in the eastern dawn sky, making for a photogenic threesome with Jupiter and Mars — a foursome Nov. 7.
Mars rises in the east near 3 a.m. The Red Planet meets up with Jupiter and Venus for most of the month, making it four when the moon joins up Nov. 7.
Jupiter is a very early morning object, rising well after midnight and crossing the sky until daylight. Again, Mars and Venus are present in the same scene, joined by the moon Nov. 7th.
Saturn is very low in the western evening sky, gone by mid-month, as it vanishes behind the sun. Of course, it isn’t the Ringed Planet that is moving so quickly, but us here on Earth in our much speedier orbit that makes the outer planets appear to move backward, instead of their stately easterly orbits. This was the revelation of Copernicus and Galileo in the 16th and 17th centuries — the sun is at the centre of the Solar System, and the planets revolve around it.
Uranus is occulted by the moon in the far south. For us, it’s a close approach of the moon Nov. 22, with less than a degree separation.
Neptune is visible with telescopic aid in the evening sky, setting near midnight.
Daylight Saving Time ends for the rest of the world — here in Saskatchewan it’s just another inconvenience, adjusting to everywhere else.
— James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000 and is now the society’s president, assistant editor and a contributor to the Observer’s Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. He was given the RASC Service Award at the 2012 General Assembly in Edmonton.
