Some daily events in the changing sky for November 7 – November 15.
Jupiter is moving in on Venus. Keep watch all month.
Friday, November 7 Using binoculars, can you still pick out the star pattern of the Sagittarius Teapot between Jupiter and Venus, as shown here? The Teapot is 13° wide. That's about twice as wide as a typical 7× or 8× binocular's field of view. Saturday, November 8
The bright eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 11:07 p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten. (For a comparison-star chart and all times of Algol's minima this month, good worldwide, see the November Sky & Telescope, page 69.) Sunday, November 9
Vesta, the brightest asteroid, is just past opposition and still magnitude 6.6. It's easily visible with binoculars near the head of Cetus. Use the finder chart in the November Sky & Telescope, page 67, or online. Monday, November 10
The outstretched hand of the Andromeda constellation figure has a bunch of telescopic trophies that you may not know. See Sue French's "Deep-Sky Wonders" article and sky map in the November Sky & Telescope, page 71. Tuesday, November 11
The Taurid meteor shower, weak but long-lasting, remains active at least through mid-November. Actually, "weak" may not be the right word. Taurids are indeed few, but some of them are spectacularly bright. Moreover, this is a Taurid swarm year, when the shower is predicted to be above average. So watch for fireballs! Update: The Taurid fireballs are indeed happening; see news and photo gallery at Spaceweather.com.
Unlike many meteor showers, the Taurids are active in the evening as well as the morning hours. Compared to most meteors, Taurids move relatively slowly in the sky, and they often have a greenish tint. They're fragments of Periodic Comet 2P/Encke.
Algol should be at minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 7:56 p.m. EST. Wednesday, November 12
Full Moon tonight (exact at 1:17 a.m. Thursday morning EST). Thursday, November 13
November is the time of year when the Big Dipper rest horizontally at its lowest in the north-northwest after dusk. Canadians and Europeans should have no trouble seeing it, given an open view in that direction, but if you're as far south as Miami, it'll be below your horizon!
Getting closer. . . .
Friday, November 14 The brightest star shining high in the west after dark is Vega. Look even higher above it for Deneb. Look farther to Vega's left for Altair. These three stars form the big Summer Triangle. Saturday, November 15
The Moon is up in the east after dinnertime. Sparkling well to its upper left is Capella. A little less far to the Moon's right is Aldebaran. Above Aldebaran, can you see the Pleiades through the moonlight?
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