Fomalhaut a feature in November night sky

When I think of November from an amateur astronomer’s perspective, I think of COLD. Being as old as I am, I know I feel cold more acutely than I did when I was younger. To me, November is the beginning of cold and increased rain, if not the occasional snow. If I am going to observe at night, I need to dress accordingly — long coat, boots, and, often, gloves. But…the longterm forecast for the coming winter suggests a fairly warm winter, especially in the south. Great! I know many of my readers like snow but, being from California, I don’t …

November heralds the end of the visibility of the Milky Way and the beginning of the socalled ‘winter constellations’— Orion the Hunter, Taurus the Bull, the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades), Auriga and Gemini. One can still see, disappearing toward the west, the Summer Triangle (Vega, Deneb and Altair) composed of very bright stars that form a natural triangle in the summer sky, but this big triangle, is fast fading.

Directly south in the November sky, but low, is an oft-neglected star, Fomalhaut. It is one of the brightest stars in the fall sky and easily seen with the naked eye. Because it is low, at least in Arkansas, its light passes through the thickest part of the atmosphere and always twinkles nicely. Google it and see its specifications. In the northern hemisphere, it is very low in the sky and in more northern states, it can’t be seen at all. I observed it last week and said to myself, “Fomalhaut—fall and winter are here.”

On the second day of November, the Moon will pass 4 degrees south of the planet Uranus. Some people with exceptional vision can see Uranus with the naked eye. I am not one of those people so I use 70mm binoculars when I am hunting it. Uranus is the next planet out from Saturn and it is far away and demanding to find. The Moon would be a good marker for searching for it but the Moon will also be quite bright and this will make finding this dim planet even more difficult than usual.

At dawn, should you be up and about, you can see the very bright planet Venus, a bit south of directly east. As the month goes on, look for the giant gas ball, Jupiter. On the 13th, Venus passes just .3 degrees north of Jupiter at 1 a.m. EST. You can see this close pass a bit earlier in the evening as long as they have both risen above the eastern horizon.

The annual Leonid meteor shower peaks under a Moon-free sky on Nov. 17. I have observed this shower before and it is characterized by many small meteors, coming from an easterly direction. There will be few very bright meteors but many small ones that are fun to watch. Good weather and clear, dark skies will be advantageous if they occur.

If weather permits, I am going to be doing astrophotography with more dedication and perhaps I can share some of my better images, should I get any.

Brave the night sky in brisk November — it will be worth it!

— Dr. David Cater is a former faculty member of JBU. Email him at starbug352@yahoo.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.