Astroblog: Thursday November 7 to Thursday November 14

Tuesday, November 05, 2024

Thursday November 7 to Thursday November 14

The First Quarter Moon is Saturday November 9. Late on the 8th is a good chance to see the Lunar X in telescopes. In the evening Venus has left the Scorpion with Mercury taking its place. Mercury is close to Antares on the 10th. Venus is close to the Lagoon Nebula on the 13th. On the 11th Saturn is close to the waxing gibbous Moon. In the morning Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart. Mars has left Gemini and is now in Cancer.

The First Quarter Moon is Saturday November 9. Late on the 8th is a good chance to see the Lunar X in telescopes.

Western evening sky on Sunday, November 10 as seen from Adelaide at 20:55 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is readily visible and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus passing from the Scorpion in Sagittarius. Mercury is below and close to the red star Antares.

The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Western evening sky on Wednesday, November 13 as seen from Adelaide at 21:35 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is close to the Lagoon Nebula. The inset is the binocular view at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

The northern sky at 21:32 ACDST Monday, November 11 as seen from Adelaide (90 minutes after sunset).

Saturn is past opposition and is visible all evening long. Saturn is close to the Moon, and the Moon will occult the faint star 96 Aquarii later in the evening. The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. (click to embiggen).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Northern morning sky on Saturday, November 9 as seen from Adelaide at 05:06 ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise), Mars and Jupiter form a line with the red star Aldebaran. Mars is leaving Gemini for Cancer.

The inset is the telescope view of the Jupiter at this time. (click to embiggen).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Western evening sky on Friday, November 8 as seen from Adelaide at 23:19 ACDST (1249 UT), The Lunar X will be visible in telescopic views.

The Lunar X (also known as the Werner X) is a chiaroscuro effect in which strong contrasts of light and shadow create the appearance of a letter 'X' on the rim of the Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach craters of the Moon and a letter V from the rim of the crater Ukert, along with several smaller craters. (click to embiggen).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at 1249 UT (23:49 AEDST, 22:49 AEST, 20:49 AWST).

Whole sky on Saturday, November 9 as seen from Adelaide at 21:29 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn is now above the northern horizon as Venus sets on the western horizon. Scorpius is now setting in the west with the heart of the milky way now below the zenith. The Southern Cross is low in the Southern sky. The moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are fading.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight below Venus. Mercury is close to Antares on the 10th.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. Venus is close to the Lagoon Nebula on the 13th.

Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars passes into Cancer.

Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars. Jupiter is now rising before midnight but is best in the morning.

Saturn is high in the evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long. On the 11th Saturn is close to the waxing gibbous Moon.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky