November 2021

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         Why get out there at night in November?  It’s Lunar Eclipse Month! Well, partially…   Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter are rocking the sunsets, we technically have a meteor shower, turkey day night will be awesome, and, most importantly, we can witness an almost total lunar eclipse.

         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 

Naked-eye PLANETS...

Sunset – Venus, Saturn, Jupiter

• Venus (SW) – Once again, staying about 10˚ above the horizon all month, Venus is a glorious sight for those looking West after sunset. Venus sets around 8:30pm.
• Saturn, Jupiter (S) – Throughout November, Saturn and Jupiter will appear in the South right as it gets dark. Excitingly, they move closer and closer to Venus in the SW until they are almost equally separated by the 30th.  Jupiter will be the bright point of light on the left, with Saturn about 15˚ to the right.    In the beginning of the month Saturn sets at midnight, with Jupiter trailing at 1am.  By the end of the month, Saturn and Jupiter set in the SW at about 10pm and 11:30pm, respectively.

Throughout the night – None

Morning – None

EVENTS...

Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)

New Moon – 4th (darkest skies)

Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)

First Quarter Moon – 11th (Visible until midnight)

Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)

Full Moon – 19th (Visible all night)

Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)

Last Quarter Moon – 27th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

2nd – 3rd – Close Encounter – Moon, Mercury – Even though this would be a tough find, maybe you’ll get lucky.  Look ESE after 6:30am, but before sunrise.  You might catch a glimpse of a VERY thin crescent Moon VERY low on the horizon.  If you’re even luckier, you’ll see Mercury just 3˚ (pinky-widths held at arm’s length) below it.  In this moment you are looking at two objects in the solar system that, when shown up-close pictures, are often confused for each other.

7th – Daylight Savings Time Ends

7th – 12th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter – What a great week of encounters!  Imagine the planetary setup.  Venus is low in the SW, but SUPER bright and easy to find.  Hold your fist out in front of you with your pinky and pointer fingers extended, and move three of these widths (15˚ each) up and to the left and you’ll find the pretty darn bright planet Jupiter (the brightest part of that area of the sky).  If you backtrack 1/3 of the way toward Venus, you’ll find the modestly bright Saturn.  But starting on the 7th, a very thin crescent Moon joins this party.  On the 7th, the Moon is all the way to right of them, just 4˚ to the right of Venus.   Each night the Moon will move to the left 13˚, and get a bit thicker.  Hence, on the 8th, it will be between Venus and Saturn, but closer to Venus.  On the 9th, still in be