November 2000

by Steve Stefanik

Now that we are back on Standard Time the sun sets by 4:30 p.m. but before the November nightsky fully envelopes us the planet Venus hovers about 8 degrees above the southwestern horizon for about an hour. You might mistake this brilliant -3.9 magnitude object for an airplane with its headlights on coming in for a landing. On the evening of November 29, a four day old waxing crescent moon will be just 2 degrees above the planet emulating some familiar national flag emblems.

The main events of the month however will be the oppositions of the two planets Jupiter and Saturn have which been rising earlier and appear higher in the eastern sky with each passing night. Opposition occurs when a planet is positioned directly opposite the sun from our perspective. This is significant because the planet is at its brightest and remains visible from sunset to sunrise. The first to rise and reach opposition will be Saturn on the night of the the 19th. Look for the -0.4 magnitude ringed planet in the constellation Taurus about 7 degrees lower and to the right of the Pleiades open star cluster. This year it is noticeably bigger and brighter than last years apparition because its rings are tilted more toward us than any year since 1990 and because it is only three years from perihelion (closest it gets to the sun) in its 29 1/2 year orbit. Jupiter which rises about half an hour after Saturn, reaches opposition on the night of the 27th. Although it too is in the constellation Taurus it is unmistakable at -2.8 magnitude because it is bigger than Saturn and closer to us. Jupiter is more than 10 degrees lower and to the left of Saturn but because it is closer to us it will close the gap throughout the month and over the next several months.

The planets Uranus and Neptune are still well placed in the south among the stars of the constellation Capricorn as night falls but you’ll need a telescope to spot them.

Two remaining planets, Mercury and Mars, can also be seen but you’ll have to be awake in the early morning hours to spot them. Mars rises in the east around 3:00 a.m. in the constellation Virgo. It is still quite dim at magnitude +1.8 because it is still quite far from the sun and doesn’t reach opposition until June 2001. You should have a much better chance of spotting Mercury this month. It rises about 1 1/2 hours before sunrise in the east also in the constellation Virgo. It is considerably brighter than Mars at -0.3 magnitude. It reaches greatest western elongation (furthest west it gets from the sun) on the 15th but you should be able to spot it between November 10th and the 20th.