Last Minute Astronomer - November Episode

I’m Rob Webb, your Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare.  Let’s start by talking about the naked eye planets visible this month, the lunar phases, and then the meteor shower and other events, so you can plan further ahead than me. 

Similar to October, in November Saturn and Jupiter are the steady highlights above, Venus shines brilliantly after sunset, and rocks fall from the sky.

A highlight:

17th - 18th – Leonid Meteor Shower – This annual, weak (10-15 per hour) meteor shower can have some wonderful years.  This year is good because the waxing crescent Moon will already be set early in the evening, making it clear of lunar light pollution into the morning, the best time to view it.

Some advice for watching: 

• Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock
• Look around Leo’s head.  That is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from. 
• The strategy to observe this year is to get out there whenever you can, but the later you stay up, the more you’ll see, since the radiant will be higher and you’ll be closer to the peak.  
• Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear 
• Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something.  
• You never know when a nice meteor will burn up, to take a nice look at the sky in general, noting that the meteors will appear to go from the radiant in the head of Leo and outward. 

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