Find Jupiter, Venus and Saturn this month in the night sky. The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Nov. 17. 'Water' constellations are great skywatching targets as well.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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00:00 What's Up for November?
00:04 Venus and Jupiter on opposite sides of the sky, the Leonid Meteors return, and the celestial
00:10 sea surrounding Saturn.
00:13 This November, Jupiter is up in the sky all night and sets just before sunrise while Venus
00:18 rises in the early morning hours.
00:21 This means you can see them on opposite sides of the sky if you happen to be up before dawn.
00:26 You may recall that these two planets appeared super close together just a few months ago
00:29 back in March.
00:31 On the morning of November 9th, find the crescent moon hanging just beneath Venus in the early
00:36 morning sky before sunrise.
00:38 Then on the 17th, look for a beautiful crescent moon sitting low in the southwest all by itself
00:43 in the twilight following sunset.
00:46 Thanks to the moon illusion, which causes the rising or setting moon to look larger,
00:51 a crescent moon low near the horizon often appears extra captivating.
00:56 Even after sunset on November 20th, look toward the south to see the first quarter moon just
01:00 below ringed planet Saturn.
01:03 The pair are joined by bright stars Fomalhaut and Altair.
01:06 And then on the 24th, look for the nearly full moon close to giant Jupiter in the east
01:11 after sunset.
01:13 Some binoculars will be able to capture both of them in the same field of view.
01:18 Finally in the last few days of November, you'll notice Venus is rising in the morning
01:21 with a bright star very close by.
01:24 That star is Spica, which is actually two massive stars that orbit around each other
01:29 every four days.
01:32 The annual Leonid meteor shower returns this month.
01:35 The shower peaks overnight on November 17th, with the most meteors visible between midnight
01:40 and dawn on the 18th.
01:42 The Leonid meteors are dust particles that originate from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which
01:46 was discovered in 1865 and orbits the sun every 33 years.
01:51 Leonids tend to be bright, with many producing long trains that persist for a few seconds
01:55 after the initial flash of light.
01:58 To view the Leonids, find a safe, dark spot away from bright lights, lie down, and look
02:02 straight up.
02:04 The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky.
02:07 This year, the moon is near its first quarter phase on the peak night.
02:10 It sets just a couple of hours after nightfall, so it won't interfere with viewing the Leonids.
02:15 So bring a warm drink, bundle up, and enjoy your time searching for meteors in the November
02:19 sky.
02:22 Looking toward the south a couple of hours after dark in November, you'll find the planet
02:26 Saturn about halfway up the sky.
02:28 This region of the sky is full of water-related constellations.
02:33 For that reason, it's sometimes referred to as the sea or the water.
02:37 Saturn currently sits within Aquarius, the water-bearer, imagined as a human figure pouring
02:43 water from a jug.
02:45 Nearby are Pisces, the fishes, and Capricornus, the strange, mythical sea goat.
02:51 Just beneath Aquarius is the southern fish, and just above him is the dolphin.
02:56 To the east of Aquarius, you'll find the constellation Cetus, a sea monster or whale.
03:01 And next to Cetus is the constellation Eridanus, which represents a long, winding cosmic river.
03:08 These star patterns are not particularly bright or easy to pick out, but it is interesting
03:13 to note that this whole area of the night sky is populated by mythical figures related
03:18 to water.
03:19 And speaking of connections between water and wonder, NASA plans to launch its Europa
03:25 Clipper spacecraft next fall to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa, which is thought to contain
03:30 an ocean that might support life.
03:32 And you can send your name to Europa etched on the spacecraft.
03:36 Visit the link on screen to sign the message in a bottle that will be sent across the cosmic
03:41 sea from Earth to Europa, from one ocean world to another.
03:47 Here are the phases of the moon for November.
03:52 Stay up to date on NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.
03:56 I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this
04:01 month.
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04:04 (gentle music)
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