November would be an important month for space viewers as several celestial events could be observed in the sky, especially starting from Friday, November 10. Space events like the Taurid meteorite, Leonid meteor showers and other important events could be witnessed in the sky during the month.
The sky observers need to look for the objects at their appropriate location at the given duration.
A visible planet guide or a skywatch forecast could help a person to know where how of the event. Various telescopic observatories provide opportunities for the space enthusiasts to observe the events and even smaller telescopes would be handy. Some of the noted events to check out during the month are:
Nov. 10-11: The northern Taurid meteor shower would be visible during the nights of Nov. 10 and 11. The observers in the Northern Hemisphere could get the best views on both nights. However, the viewers could see it from anywhere on earth during the midnight apart from the South Pole. They might appear to come from the constellation Taurus, the bull. Taurus, the bull could be seen northeast of the constellation Orion. A red star named Aldebaran holds the position of the bull's eye.
The observers need to look at the nearby constellations for a better view of the shooting star as they would have shorter trials and would be difficult to spot near the Taurus stars. Even though the shooting stars are typically bright with their long trials, they are lesser in numbers.
Nov. 13: The planets Venus and Jupiter will come closer to each other on Nov. 13. The duo planets would be visible in the east-southeast horizon about 45 minutes before the sunrise. They will also be visible in the western sky in the evening and would remain as the brightest objects in the sky till they disappear in the west-southern horizon.
The planets had made similar encounters in 2015 and 2016 which had appeared much closer than this year's event.
Nov. 17-18: The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, this month. It would be visible in the sky throughout the November month. The best time recommended for viewing the asteroid is during the early morning.
Nov. 18: The New Moon: The moon would be almost invisible as it positions itself between the Earth and the Sun. The part of the moon which faces Earth would not reflect any sunlight and would be partially lit by sunlight which is reflected from the Earth.
Nov. 23: Mercury will be at 22 degrees east of the sun on Nov. 23. This point is considered the highest position of the planet in the horizon in the evening sky. It could be spotted on the western horizon after the sunset.
Comet C/2017 O1, which was discovered in July by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae would be visible in the Northeast sky throughout the month in the late evening.
Simple tips here will be useful to view the meteors the best way:
- Adjust the eyes to the dark sky for at least 15 minutes before to view the meteorites or dim stars.
- Rural areas are better places to watch meteorite showers, dim stars or planets as the cities would have an abundance of light which disrupts the vision.
- A planet like Venus could be seen during the daytime. But the location of the planet should be clarified prior to observation
- Protective glasses should be used to view the sun.
[Sourced from: space.com]
