As the skies darken on November 1st, watch for Mars to become visible in the constellation Aquarius, just east of the Third Quarter Moon. Both will have risen before sunset. Southern hemisphere observers will be able to catch a glimpse of Venus low along the western horizon at sunset. Northern hemisphere observers will have to wait until around the 15th to see Venus. Saturn rises over North America around 9:30 p.m. amongst the stars of Gemini and around 11:30 p.m. over Australia. Around midnight the Moon will descend into the western horizon over North America followed by Mars around 1:30 a.m. These rise and set times are also increased by two hours for Australian observers. An hour after Mars sets in the west, Jupiter will rise in the east amongst the stars of Leo. It will be daylight before Saturn and Jupiter set no matter which hemisphere you are in. Around midmonth if you see shooting stars around Jupiter, you are witnessing the Leonid Meteor Shower.
On the night of the 2nd, the Moon hangs beneath Mars in the northern hemisphere. By the 3rd she will appear to the east of the Red Planet. Both of these bodies are in south declination, Mars in a higher degree. In the Northern hemisphere we face south to locate the Ecliptic. Therefore Mars, in the higher degree is higher in our night sky than the Moon. The reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere. There we face north to locate the Ecliptic and the Moon will hang higher than Mars in the night sky. The Moon hangs directly above Mars in the night skies over Australia on the 2nd.
On the 8th at 8:13 p.m. EST the Moon moves into opposition with the Sun, resulting in a Full Moon. At this time, the Moon is 4 degrees and 17 minutes from the North Node. This close proximity means there will be an eclipse. When the Full Moon is within 3 degrees and 45 minutes of either Node, the eclipse will always be total. When it is between 3:45 and 6 degrees the eclipse can be either total or partial. On this particular evening, there is a Total Lunar Eclipse where the Moon will become completely immersed in the Earth’s shadow. The penumbral portion of the Eclipse begins at 5:15 p.m. EST, though we probably won’t be able to detect a shadow on the Moon until 6:00 p.m. EST. The Total Eclipse begins at 8:06, peaks at 8:18, and ends at 8:30 p.m. EST. It will take until 11:21 p.m. EST for the Moon to completely clear the Earth’s shadow. Observers in Europe, Africa and the Eastern Americas will be able to witness the lunar eclipse. For those of you on the Pacific Coast, the eclipse will be occurring close to sunset. You will be able to witness the shadow leaving the Moon’s surface as evening progresses. For Australian and eastern Asian observers, this eclipse will not be visible
The Moon reaches apogee, her furthest distance from Earth of 252,464 miles on the 10th.
From the first of the month through the 12th, Australian viewers can watch as Venus comes closer to Antares, the alpha star of Scorpius. Antares translates to “rival of Mars” and is the bright red star representing heart of the Scorpion. At sunset on the 12th the pair will appear next to each other low along the western horizon. By month’s end Venus will reach the Scorpion’s tail. Northern hemisphere observers will likely find the tilt of the ecliptic not very observer-friendly to this conjunction. It probably won’t be until around the 15th in the northern when we can catch a glimpse of Venus at sunset. Since the Scorpion is heading into the western horizon at a steep angle we won’t likely see Antares at all. In Australia, though, Scorpio is heading more perpendicular into the western horizon, therefore allowing the conjunction of Venus and Antares to be visible.
On the 13th the Moon will rise with Saturn around 9:00 p.m. over North America and around 11:00 p.m., over Australia. The Third Quarter Moon occurs on the 16th at 11:15 p.m. EST. On the 18th she will rise at 1:00 a.m. half an hour ahead of Jupiter over North America. She passes him in her eastern trek through the zodiac to rise half an hour later on the 19th. In Australia, the Moon will rise 15 minutes ahead of Jupiter on the 18th.
While you are watching the Moon and Jupiter amongst the stars of the constellation Leo on the 18th, watch for the Leonid meteor shower to peak. This shower, compliments of comet Tempel-Tuttle, is expected to produce less meteors than in the last few years over North America and the estimates range from a few per hour to a few hundred per hour. So who knows?! Watch for yourself and see what this year’s passage through the remnants of the Leonids’ parent comet brings. This year the timing of Earth passage through the debris of Temple-Tuttle provides the most meteors over the skies of Europe.
The New Moon occurs on the 23rd at 5:59 p.m. EST. Also on this day she reaches perigee, her closest distance to Earth of 221,712 miles at 6:16 p.m. EST. This particular conjunction of the Sun and Moon result in a Total Solar Eclipse. The distance between the South Node and the two luminaries is 10 degrees and 31 minutes. When the New Moon occurs less than 9 degrees and 55 minutes from either Node, the result is always a Total Solar Eclipse. When it occurs between 9:55 and 11 degrees and 15 minutes, it can be either total or partial. Again this month we find ourselves experiencing a total eclipse from within this either/or range. The Moon, at her largest size in closest proximity to Earth, will pass completely in front of the Sun. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow begins at 5:19 p.m. EST over the Indian Ocean. Totality peaks at 5:50 over Antarctica and lasts until 6:19 p.m. EST. Observers in most of Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina will witness a partial eclipse. Europe and North America will not witness this at all.
On the evening of the 25th, a slender sliver of the Moon climbs east away from the Sun, to dance with Venus at sunset low in the western horizon of North America. By month’s end Mercury will appear below Venus at sunset. If you are observing from Australia, you will be able to see Venus above the Moon’s sliver and Mercury below on the 25th as twilight encroaches. In fact you should be able to see Mercury from about the 15th through month’s end. On the 15th Mercury is about as far below Antares as Venus is above. On the 19th Mercury will be to the right of Antares, passing him by on the 20th. Sky maps of the evening of the 25th for both the northern and southern hemispheres are available in the OCA public library. The southern map is the western horizon at 7:45 p.m. and the northern at 6:00 p.m.
The First Quarter Moon occurs on the 30th at 12:16 p.m. EST. Mercury sets over North America around 5:45 p.m. with Venus in tow a half hour later. Saturn rises around 7:30 p.m.; Jupiter rises around 12:45 p.m. Mars sets around 1:00 a.m. about an hour after the Moon. Mercury sets over Australia around 8:15 p.m. followed by Venus at 8:45. Saturn rises around 9:30 p.m. Around 1:00 a.m. Jupiter rises and Mars sets.
Happy stargazing!
Julene M. Johnson, NCGR-III
Media Director, OCA
Instructor, OCA
ONLINE College of Astrology
www.astrocollege.com
FIRST in Online Astrological Education
