[The Month's Sky]
[The Observers' Glossary]

[History of Astronomy]
[We Are Stardust]
[Extraterrestrial Life]
[Coordinate Systems]
[The Calendar]
[Gravity]
[Astronomy and Astrology]
[Scale of the Universe]
[The Brightest Stars]
[The Solar System]
[Measuring The Stars]

[Readers' Feedback (Astronomy)]
[Feedback (Calendar)]
[Feedback (Extraterrestrial Life)]

[Language]
[Travel]
[Democracy]
[Eclipses]
[London]
[Astronomy]
[Mathematics]
[Physics]
[Chemistry]
[Football]
[Television]
[Other]

Sponsored Link
To place a link here contact the webmaster.

Monthly Skywatchers' Page

For London and the UK

The Sun and eight major planets (plus KBO Pluto) to scale. Earth is third planet from the left.

Support this web site
by making a donation

Introduction

The location of the stars and can be learnt throughout a single year from a book. Each month of the year, the same stars are visible from a given location. Different stars and constellations are visible as the year progresses. For example, in London, the constellation of Orion is always visible in the evenings of winter months of January and February. Scorpius is visible in the summer months of June and July around midnight.

The planets resemble stars except that, generally, they do not twinkle. Unlike the stars whose patterns are fixed, planets wander through the sky changing their positions amongst the starry background. This means that their periods of visibility change as the relative position of the Earth, Sun and planet vary. In one year Mars may be visible in August at midnight. In another year it may be behind the Sun and invisible from Earth during August.

This page gives the details of visibility for the five naked eye planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It also gives information about comets, meteor showers and non-regular phenomena like eclipses, transits and occultations.

The Observers' Glossary explains the terms used. Alternatively run the mouse cursor over terms in maroon.

The descriptions below are for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, especially London and the United Kingdom.
The planetary information is valid for any location at the same or similar Latitude (51.5°N).
Note that a degree in the sky is twice the apparent diameter of the Moon.

All times on this page are London (UK) times. This is normally GMT (Greenwich Mean Time also known as Universal Time).
In the United Kingdom, the clocks go forward by one hour for British Summer Time (BST) between mid March and late October.
A 24 hour clock is used so that 7pm is written 19:00.

November 2009

Mercury

Mercury passes through on 5th and remains unobservable throughout the month.

Venus

Venus rises an hour and a half before the Sun at the beginning of November. The planet is still visible above the Eastern horizon before dawn but no longer against a dark sky.

On 15th the very thin crescent Moon may be spotted close to the planet but this will not be an easy conjunction to view.

By the end of the month the planet will be lost in the morning twilight.

Mars

Mars now rises in mid evening in the North East among the stars of Cancer. During November, the planet doubles its brightness as it approaches the Earth for next January.

Its famous red colour is obvious to the naked eye. Between 1st and 3rd, Mars will be among the stars of the Beehive star cluster (binoculars will help).

On 9th, the planet will be close to the Moon.

Jupiter

Jupiter dominates the south western sky in the evening setting before 10pm by the end of November.

Jupiter is slightly yellowish in colour. It is brighter than any star and lies in Capricornus.

Through a telescope, the planet's four large moons are easily seen, forming changing patterns each night.

The Moon will be close to Jupiter on 23rd.

Saturn

Saturn rises in Virgo three hours before the Sun at the beginning of the month.

The planet's magnificent rings are slowly opening and will become visible through telescopes during the month. Look for the planet on 13th when it will be near the Moon.

By the end of the month, the pale yellow planet will be rising over five hours before the Sun.

The Sun

The Sun continues to move Southwards and this causes the days to continue getting shorter. At the beginning of November, the amount of daylight is 9 hours 39 minutes. By the end of the month this has dropped to 8 hours 13 minutes.

During November the time of midday is at its earliest (11:44 for the first ten days of the month). This shunts what little daylight there is into the morning sky.

For example, on the 5th, sunrise is at 07:01 (giving 4 hours 59 minutes of daylight before 12:00 noon). Sunset time is at 16:26 (which gives 4 hours 26 minutes of daylight after 12:00 noon). This means there are 33 minutes more daylight in the morning than in the evening.

The Sun enters Scorpius (only astrologers call it Scorpio) on 23rd. On 29th the Sun enters Ophiuchus (which is ignored by astrologers). Note that these dates do not tie in with astrology as astrologers are using dates from two thousand years ago.

Date	Sunrise	Midday	Sunset	Length of Day	Sun's Noon Altitude	Notes
01-Nov	06:54	11:44	16:33	9h 39m	24.0°
02-Nov	06:56	11:44	16:31	9h 35m	23.7°	Full Moon at 19:14
03-Nov	06:58	11:44	16:30	9h 32m	23.3°
04-Nov	06:59	11:44	16:28	9h 28m	23.0°
05-Nov	07:01	11:44	16:26	9h 25m	22.7°
06-Nov	07:03	11:44	16:25	9h 21m	22.4°
07-Nov	07:05	11:44	16:23	9h 18m	22.1°
08-Nov	07:06	11:44	16:21	9h 14m	21.9°
09-Nov	07:08	11:44	16:20	9h 11m	21.6°	Moon close to Mars - Morning Half Moon
10-Nov	07:10	11:44	16:18	9h 08m	21.3°
11-Nov	07:12	11:45	16:17	9h 05m	21.0°
12-Nov	07:13	11:45	16:15	9h 01m	20.7°
13-Nov	07:15	11:45	16:14	8h 58m	20.5°	Moon close to Saturn
14-Nov	07:17	11:45	16:12	8h 55m	20.2°
15-Nov	07:19	11:45	16:11	8h 52m	20.0°	Moon close to Venus
16-Nov	07:20	11:45	16:10	8h 49m	19.7°	New Moon at 19:14
17-Nov	07:22	11:45	16:08	8h 46m	19.5°
18-Nov	07:24	11:46	16:07	8h 43m	19.2°
19-Nov	07:25	11:46	16:06	8h 40m	19.0°
20-Nov	07:27	11:46	16:05	8h 37m	18.8°
21-Nov	07:29	11:46	16:04	8h 34m	18.5°
22-Nov	07:30	11:47	16:03	8h 32m	18.3°
23-Nov	07:32	11:47	16:01	8h 29m	18.1°	Moon close to Jupiter - Sun enters Scorpius
24-Nov	07:33	11:47	16:00	8h 27m	17.9°	Evening Half Moon
25-Nov	07:35	11:48	16:00	8h 24m	17.7°
26-Nov	07:37	11:48	15:59	8h 22m	17.5°
27-Nov	07:38	11:48	15:58	8h 19m	17.4°
28-Nov	07:40	11:49	15:57	8h 17m	17.2°
29-Nov	07:41	11:49	15:56	8h 15m	17.0°	Sun enters Ophiuchus
30-Nov	07:42	11:49	15:56	8h 13m	16.8°

The Moon

Date	Notes
2	Full Moon
9	Half Moon
9	Moon close to Mars
13	Moon close to Saturn
15	Moon close to Venus
16	New Moon
23	Moon close to Jupiter
24	Half Moon

Next Month

Mars and Saturn in the morning sky, Jupiter in the evening sky. Solstice.

All times on this page are London (UK) times.

Sources: Astronomy Now magazine, Starry Night Pro, USA Naval Observatory and UK Nautical Almanac Office.

Books From Amazon.co.uk

Observers' Glossary

The Observers' Glossary

An explanation of the terms used by sky observers. Includes descriptions of how the objects of the solar system behave in the sky as seen from Earth (especially the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes).

KryssTal Related Pages

The Solar System

Tables and data about the Sun, Earth, Moon, planets, asteroids and comets. All terms used are explained.

Measuring The Stars

An account of how various properties of stars can be measured by studying starlight. Includes brightness, distance, luminosity, temperature, mass, radius, density and an introduction to the H-R Diagram.

The Brightest Stars

A table containing a list of the 20 brightest stars in the Earth's sky. Explanations of all the associated terms like magnitude, spectral type and radial velocity.

Eclipses, Transits and Occultations

A detailed account about eclipses, transits and occultations. These are irregular phenomena that can be observed in the sky. Includes eclipse trips around the world with photos and well as photos of recent transists of Mercury and Venus.

The Scale of the Universe

In astronomy distances and times are confusing because of the large numbers of zeros in the figures. This is an easy-to-understand scaling of the Universe in both space and time. Distances in space are represented by the time light takes to travel there. The chronology of the Universe is compared to a real year.

A Brief History of Astronomy

How humanity came from believing Creation Myths to postulating the Inflationary Big Bang Theory. The key stages in our understanding of our place in the cosmos and the people who broadened our understanding.

The Calendar

What do we mean by the words day, week, month, year? Who invented our calendar? When did the third millennium begin? The relation between time and astronomy.

Gravity

The force that moves apples and planets. A short introduction to the ideas of Kepler and Newton that culminated with the theory of Universal Gravitation.

Spherical Trigonometry

A look at the mathematics of a sphere with a section on sundials and the equation of time.

External Skywatching Links

These links will open in a separate window

StarDate Online
An excellent online skywatchers' magazine featuring detailed monthly information about astronomical events.

Astronomy Picture of the Day
A different image each day with an extensive archive and explanations.

Society for Popular Astronomy
Monthly planet and star gazing details with maps for young people.

Telescope House
A London based source of astronomical equipment, telescopes, software, maps and books.

Southern Sky Watch
Sky watchers information for the southern hemisphere.

Starry Night Pro
Superb planetarium software. Simulate the sky from anywhere on the Earth and any time.