Celestial Events 
by Thomas D. Nicholson 
The Moon The waxing crescent moon 
decorates the western sky at sundown in 
early November, passing through Sagit- 
tarius on the 1st and 2nd, and entering 
Capricornus to become the first-quarter 
moon on the 4th. Full moon is on the 
11th, and the waning gibbous moon is 
above Aldebaran, in Taurus, on the 
12th. On the 17th and 18th, the last- 
quarter moon passes Regulus in Leo, as 
the moon and the star rise shortly before 
midnight. New moon is on November 
26, and the crescent moon of the next 
cycle should be seen on the 29th and 
30th. In early December, first-quarter 
moon is on the 4th, full moon on the 
11th. Perigee moon (nearest the earth) 
is on November 12 and December 10, 
apogee (farthest from the earth) on No- 
vember 26 and December 23. 
Stars and Planets The planet scene 
has clearly shifted into the morning sky 
this month (except for Venus), focused 
in Virgo, where Jupiter and Saturn clus- 
ter on either side of the bright star 
Spica. Look for the three from before 
dawn until they fade in the morning 
twilight. They rise as a triangle about 
four hours past midnight; Saturn will 
lead them, followed by Spica (to the 
left) and Jupiter (easily the brightest of 
the three). During the first week of 
November, Mercury passes through the 
group to make it a “four-star” event 
(three are actually planets, of course), 
and late in the month the waning cres- 
cent moon highlights the trio (see illus- 
tration below). Venus is the only bright 
evening planet. It reaches greatest east- 
Jupiter and Saturn, prominent evening 
stars this past summer, have now 
shifted to the morning sky, where they 
join the star Spica this month, rising 
in the east and visible from before 
dawn until twilight. Mercury passes 
the three objects in early November, 
as it goes through a favorable 
''morning" elongation, and the waning 
crescent moon highlights the trio in 
late November. This view shows the 
objects in the morning sky at about 
5:00 a m., looking east. 
erly (evening) elongation on the 10th, 
which ordinarily places it in the best 
position for viewing as an evening star. 
But this evening configuration of Venus 
is poor even at its best. Were it not for 
Venus’s brilliance, it might go unno- 
ticed. But bright it is (approaching its 
greatest brilliancy in mid-December), so 
don’t be surprised to see that beacon 
flash out in the west-southwest any 
evening during late twilight if the west- 
ern sky is clear or partly cloudy. 
November 1 : Look for the “teapot” of 
stars that marks Sagittarius, just below 
the crescent moon. 
November 1-2: The Taurid meteor 
shower reaches maximum tonight, dur- 
ing after-midnight hours. It is not par- 
ticularly bright or numerous (about 15 
per hour at maximum), but there is no 
moon to interfere with viewing. 
November 2-6: Mercury reaches 
greatest westerly (morning) elongation 
on the 2nd, and this is a favorable morn- 
ing cycle for the planet. Look for the 
planet near the “triangle” formed by 
Saturn, Spica, and Jupiter. Mercury 
(brighter than Spica, but less than half 
Jupiter’s brightness) is closest to Spica 
on the 2nd, closest to Jupiter on the 5th. 
Binoculars will help. By putting Jupiter 
in the center of the field, Mercury 
should be easily visible on the 4th, 5th, 
and 6th. Spica is below and to Jupiter’s 
right and much more distant than Mer- 
cury on those mornings. 
November 12: Expect stronger than 
usual tides today and tonight as the 
effect of the perigee moon adds to the 
spring tide accompanying the full moon 
of the 1 1th. 
November 16-17: The last-quarter 
moon will brighten the after-midnight 
sky during maximum of the famous 
Leonid meteor shower. This is also not a 
very productive shower (15 per hour at 
maximum in normal years), but the me- 
teors are swift and often very bright. 
You should see some, with patience, 
despite the moon. 
November 22-23: These are the 
mornings to watch the waning crescent 
moon pass the trio of Saturn, Spica, and 
Jupiter. The moon is nearest to Saturn 
on the morning of the 22nd, and to 
Jupiter on the 23rd, passing above both. 
November 30: The new crescent 
moon will guide you to Venus tonight. 
Look below the crescent as it becomes 
visible in the western twilight sky. 
December 10: Mercury is in superior 
conjunction with the sun. 
December 1 1 : Another perigee spring 
tide occurs. 
December 13-14: The relatively pro- 
ductive Geminid meteor shower (50 per 
hour) will be partly spoiled by the 
brightness of the full moon. 
Editor’s Note: The Celestial Events Sky 
Map in the October issue shows the 
evening constellations and stars for this 
month and gives the times for use. 
Helmut Wimmer 
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