Star Calendar

November 2016

Star Calendar Planets:

Moon draws exceptionally near this month (nearest in 30 years) while also Full as it sets on the morning of the 14^th.

Mercury peaks into the evening sky as Saturn departs. Around the 23^rd will be the first chance to see Mercury – and the last for Saturn for this apparition. Failing that, try again on the 30^th when the razor-thin new crescent Moon may serve as a guide. If that fails too, try under the Moon on Dec. 1^st.

Venus crosses the Teapot (or Sagittarius) while making her oh-so-slow ascent into evening.

Sun is furthest ahead of Greenwich Time for the year on the 2^nd, but is still behind our clocks – until we finally fall back from Daylight-distortion Time on the 6^th.

Mars is beyond culmination (its highest altitude for that day, in South) at sunset now, and is being slowly overtaken by the Sun – but Mars will appear higher in the sky on successive nights at a given time because it is progressing beyond the midwinter portion of the ecliptic – and the ecliptic is more steeply inclined to the horizon at sunset. A little counter-intuitive.

Jupiter also appears higher every morning, but simply because the Sun is leaving it behind. The morning ecliptic is still very steep (October mornings are like March evenings in this respect) and will gradually drop through January. Jupiter gets a visit from the Moon on mornings of the 24-25^th.

Saturn settles into the sunset, next to appear some morning after midwinter.

Star Calendar Days:

  1      Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 7:28/17:51 (10h23m daylight)

  1, 2   Venus, Saturn & Moon over Antares in SW at 6:45PM

  2      Equation of time maximum for year 16m26s

  3      Moon above Venus in SW at 7:PM

  6      Mornings brighten after U.S. clocks move back to Standard Time

          Moon above Mars South and West in evening

  9      God help us from our dis-aster (bad star) – whichever way it went

11      Martinmas – begins cross-quarter winter

13-14 Super Duper Moon: Full Frost Moon 8:52 AM at extreme perigee

16      Moon rises ENE on the summer colure at 7PM

17      Leonids peak in poor viewing conditions (too much Moon, too nearby)

20-21 Moon passes Regulus without occultation (was one last time)

24      Mercury may just be visible with Saturn at 5:PM with perfect WSW horizon

25      Moon and Jupiter above Spica in SE at 6:AM

28      Solstice on Mars, mid-winter for northern half

30      Mercury to left of Hilal Moon in WSW at 5:PM

          Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 7:01/16:28 (9h27m daylight)