Star Calendar

November 2015

Star Calendar Planets:

Moon sweeps the foot of Gemini on the first evening of November, then wends its waning way with early morning visitations to Regulus, Jupiter, Venus/Mars and Spica during the subsequent week. On the 12^th The Moon serves as an aid to our last view of Saturn for a month or so – but only for those with a clear view to the WSW. The 26^th provides an opportunity to see an occultation – of Aldebaran – but that will be just hours after Full Moon – so Aldebaran may not compete well. A daytime occultation with a crescent Moon is coming in December…

Mercury spends this month crossing the far side of the Sun.

Venus swaps places with Mars as the pair cross into Virgo on the 2^nd. She then scoots for the protection of ascending Spica, reaching her by the end of the month.

Sun has again been very active in unusual ways, and has even produced aurora visible in daylight.

Mars does a turn with Venus and then ascends as Venus descends. Mars will not meet Spica until Christmas.

Jupiter also heads for Virgo but slows to a crawl, stopping just shy of the boundary to Virgo after Christmas to begin his loop in Leo early next year. Jupiter will not step into Virgo until next August.

Saturn will be overtaken by the Sun on the 30^th and will visible again some morning in mid-December.

Star Calendar Dates:

1      Daylight Time ends; 2AM=1AM Standard Time

          Moon near foot of Gemini (Alhena) in SW before sunrise

          Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 6:27/16:52 EST (10h25m daylight)

1-2     Moon passes through the feet of Gemini

2-3     Venus falls beneath Mars just as the pair cross into Virgo; predawn ESE

3      Clocks furthest ahead of Sun for the year (Equation of Time maximal)

5      Moon below Regulus, SE predawn

6      Moon beside Jupiter, SE predawn

7      Moon beside Venus/Mars, SE predawn

          Calendrical midpoint between equinox and solstice

9      Moon near Spica, ESE predawn

10      314^th day; temporal circumference of circle with diameter of April 10 (day 100:-)

11      Martinmas, traditional cross-quarter day (see the 7^th)

12      Moon (beside Saturn; last glimpse ‘til Dec.) 5:15 PM if very good WSW view!

17      Mercury crosses far side of Sun (Superior conjunction)

18      Leonid meteors peak – face east in the early morning

25      Full Beaver Moon 5:44PM

26      Just-Full Moon occults Aldebaran, around 5:45AM in west (use binoculars)

29      Venus passes Spica, predawn in SE

30      Sunrise/sunset in Spring Valley at 7:01/16:29 EST (9h28m daylight)