Sky & Telescope - November 2021 - 47

+30°
+40°
+10°
+20°
0°
30
-10°
LIBRA
-30°
-40°
10 am
8 am
6 am
4 am
2 am
Midnight
LOCAL TIME OF TRANSIT
10 pm
8 pm
Mars
Mercury
Spica
CORVUS
HYDRA
CANIS
MAJOR
Fomalhaut
10
6 pm
14h
RIGHT ASCENSION
12h
BOÖTES
Arcturus
27
Regulus
VIRGO
CANCER
Procyon
Betelgeuse
ORION
Rigel
Sirius
ERIDANUS
Saturn
CAPRICORNUS
Venus
SAGITTARIUS
4 pm
Nov 7
Antares
SCORPIUS
2 pm
-30°
-40°
The Sun and planets are positioned for mid-November; the colored arrows show the motion of each during the month. The Moon is plotted for evening
dates in the Americas when it's waxing (right side illuminated) or full, and for morning dates when it's waning (left side illuminated). " Local time
of transit " tells when (in Local Mean Time) objects cross the meridian - that is, when they appear due south and at their highest - at mid-month.
Transits occur an hour later on the 1st, and an hour earlier at month's end.
example, the Moon was east of Venus
when the two paired up, so the earlier
view (favoring the East Coast) was the
more striking one.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Here's one for binocular and smallscope
enthusiasts. As Mercury sinks
lower and lower at dawn it passes Mars,
which is only now slowly climbing away
from the Sun's glare, having had its
solar conjunction a little more than one
month ago. During morning twilight
today, the two planets meet very low in
Nov 18 - 20
Around 8 pm
Pleiades
Moon
Nov 18
Moon
Nov 19
TAURUS
Aldebaran
Moon
Nov 20
the east-southeast. At magnitude -0.9,
Mercury shouldn't present too much
difficulty if you have an unobstructed
horizon. Mars, however, is a different
story, glowing dimly at magnitude
1.6. So, your strategy is clear: First find
Mercury, then hunt very carefully 1° to
the lower right for Mars. This will be a
difficult observation to make, but if you
succeed, you'll get an early look at the
Red Planet as it begins a fresh apparition.
Thirteen months from now when
it's gleaming brilliantly in a midnight
sky, you'll recall this morning with
satisfaction and tell your friends, " I
remember back when Mars was a sad
little speck you could hardly see. "
If you're in the mood for something
less challenging (and at a more convenient
hour), look to the southwest this
evening to catch the first-quarter Moon
between Saturn and Jupiter, in Capricornus.
The Moon is roughly 6½° lower
left of Saturn tonight. By tomorrow
night, however, the Moon's eastward
motion will place it slightly more than
5° lower left of brilliant Jupiter.
ORION
Betelgeuse
Rigel
Looking East
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Less than 24 hours after undergoing
a nearly total eclipse (see page 48
for details) the Moon puts on another
(albeit far more modest) show. This evening
it rises bracketed by the Pleiades
and Hyades clusters in Taurus. Given
that the Moon is not yet 24 hours past
full, its glare will rob most of the cluster
stars of their prominence. But you can
be sure that 1st-magnitude Aldebaran
will shine through even though it sits
less than 7° below the Moon as they
clear the east-northeastern horizon
together. Ironically, Aldebaran doesn't
belong to the Hyades - it's simply an
attractive foreground star that only
appears to be a member of the cluster.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Here's another one for the binocular
and small-scope crowd. Once again,
it's Mars that's calling attention to
itself - this time by partnering up with
2.7-magnitude Alpha (α) Librae, also
known as Zubenelgenubi. Although
less than two weeks have elapsed since
its encounter with Mercury, the Red
Planet should be easier to spot now,
having gained roughly 2½° (five Moon
diameters) of altitude. Once you've
located Mars, look for the star appearing
like a stray Martian moon sitting
just 11′ above the planet.
Alpha Librae is best known for
its fun-to-say name and for being a
lovely double star in small telescopes.
Zubenelgenubi has a 5.2-magnitude
companion just a hair less than 4′ away.
Indeed, the two stars and Mars form
a wildly unequal three-in-a-row string
if you can spot them all. The key is to
find an unobstructed east-southeastern
horizon and to look as early as possible,
before brightening twilight completely
washes out the sky.
¢ Consulting Editor GARY SERONIK has
looked forward to each Martian opposition
since enjoying his first one in 1971.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * NOVEMBER 2021
47
CETUS
EQUATOR
14
Neptune
AQUARIUS
Jupiter
AQUILA
LEO
10h
8h
Castor
Pollux
24
Pleiades
TAURUS
Nov
18 - 19
ARIES
CYGNUS
PEGASUS
Uranus PISCES
HERCULES
OPHIUCHUS
0°
-10°
+20°
+10°
GEMINI
6h
4h
2h
0h
22h
20h
18h
Vega
+30°
16h
DECLINATION
ECLI
C
I
P
T

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Sky & Telescope - November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - November 2021