November 2024 – What’s Up!

Week of 25th November

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18:06 GMT at the start of the week and at 18:03 GMT by the end of the week.
• Jupiter (-2.8) is starting to dominate our evening sky as it edges towards opposition next week. Look out for a transit of Io on Tuesday, starting at 18:55 GMT, followed by a GRS transit starting at 22:16 GMT.
• Deep sky targets to search for with binoculars or a telescope this week are just east of Jupiter. Start with the Crab Nebula, M1 (+8.4) in Taurus, then move further east to two open clusters: M35 (+5.1) in Gemini and M37 (+5.6) in Auriga.
• The Moon is New on Sunday.
• The Sun currently has 11 active regions and the sunspot number is 156.
• There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 18th November

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18:11 GMT at the start of the week and at 18:06 GMT by the end of the week.
• Jupiter (-2.8) is a great evening target now as it rises at around 17:00 GMT this week. Look out for its four Galilean moons and the Great Red Spot.
• Saturn (+0.9) remains well placed, transiting at around 19:00 GMT.
• Spend some time in Cetus this week, admiring three delightful double stars towards the southern horizon. First up is Tau Ceti (+3.5 and +13.1) with a separation of 90″, then to Mira (+5.0 and +14.0) at 71″, and finally Kaffaljidhma (+3.5 and +6.2) at a tricky 2″ separation Good luck!
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Saturday.
• The Sun currently has 5 active regions and the sunspot number is 71.
• There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 11th November

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18:19 GMT at the start of the week and at 18:12 GMT by the end of the week.
• The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Sunday. Its ZHR is only around 15, but the meteors it generates can be spectacular as they have a particularly high velocity. The shower’s progenitor is comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
• The planets continue to dominate the sky with Venus (-4.0) setting at 18:20 GMT, Saturn (+0.8) culminating at 19:30 GMT, Neptune (+7.8) at 20:25 GMT, and Uranus (+5.6) at 00:00 GMT. Jupiter (-2.8) rises at 17:35 GMT and Mars (-0.1) at 20:50 GMT.
• The Moon is Full on Friday – the Frost Moon.
• The Sun currently has 7 active regions and the sunspot number is 176.
• There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 4th November

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18:28 GMT at the start of the week and at 18:20 GMT by the end of the week.
• The planets are lining up: Venus (-4.0) sets at 18:06 GMT, Saturn (+0.9) culminates at around 19:50 GMT, Neptune (+7.8) is 14° to the east, with Uranus (+5.6) a further 59° east, Jupiter (-2.7) rises at around 18:00 GMT, and finally, Mars (-0.0) rises at around 21:00 GMT.
• Clusters abound overhead in the Milky Way with Caroline’s Rose, NGC 7789 (+6.7) and the Owl Cluster, NGC 457 (+6.4) in Cassiopeia, and the Double Cluster, NGC 869 (+5.3) and Messier 24 (+5.2) in neighbouring Perseus. Get your binoculars onto these widefield treats!
• The Moon is First Quarter on Saturday.
• The Sun currently has 14 active regions and the sunspot number is 242.
• There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).