What's in the Sky: Remember to ‘fall back’ Nov. 5

Remember that we switch to “standard time” on November 5. “Fall back” by setting your clocks back an hour.

Bright Jupiter comes into opposition, when it is closest to us, on November 3. That makes November an excellent month to view the Solar system’s giant. Train your binoculars or telescope on Jupiter, and you can easily spot its four largest moons, lined up along the planet’s equator.  Saturn also remains easily visible in November, low in the western sky. The two giant planets are the brightest objects in the evening sky, except of course the Moon.

November’s new Moon will come on the 13th, with full Moon following on the 27th. Early in the month the Moon will be in the morning sky. If you are an early riser, look for the thin crescent Moon just below bright Venus on the morning of the 9th. On the 24th, the bright Moon will lie just to the right of Jupiter, and on the next night will be between Jupiter and the bright star cluster Pleiades.

Bright Venus will be the “morning star” in November, located in the constellation Virgo the entire month.

If skies are clear, the Leonid meteor shower presents a good show, peaking on November 18 and 19. Best viewing is late in the night, around midnight or later when the radiant (location where meteors appear to originate from in our sky) is above the eastern horizon. Also, the Moon will have set by then, meaning skies will be darker. Bundle up, if skies are clear late at night in later November, you can be sure it will be cold!

Bright winter constellations are coming into view in November, especially later in the month. Look for Orion and Taurus to be above the eastern horizon in late November by 9 p.m., and by midnight earlier in the month.

Finally, a challenge for November. Jupiter is not the only planet that comes into opposition in 2023; the other is Uranus, our next-to-outermost planet, which is in opposition on the 13th. Uranus is also in a good position to locate in November, right between Jupiter and the Pleiades star cluster. Uranus is technically bright enough to see with the naked eye, but just barely. A pair of binoculars, or even a small telescope will help. Use the pictures with this article as an aid. There are several stars of similar brightness just above Uranus, labeled in one of the pictures. Uranus often appears to have a green hue, which you might pick up, especially with a telescope. Let me know if you find it!