November 5: Beaver Super Moon
Like last month’s full Moon, November’s full Moon—which rises on November 5—can be considered a supermoon. A supermoon occurs when a full Moon (or new Moon) is close to its perigee, or closest point to Earth. As a result, a supermoon may look slightly bigger and brighter than a typical full Moon. November’s is the closest supermoon of the year, being fewer than 222,000 miles from Earth. This month’s full Moon earns the nickname the “beaver supermoon,” as this is the time of year when the large American rodents are busy finishing up their winter homes.
Images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Leonid meteor shower
The Leonid meteor shower peaks the night of November 17th through the early morning darkness of November 18th. Only around ten Leonid meteors per hour are expected in a typical year under dark skies—with even fewer seen in light-polluted areas. However, the Leonids are historically known to have sporadic outbursts of many meteors. In rare cases in recorded history, the Leonids have turned into meteor storms, with many meteors per minute. While we don’t expect a meteor storm until around 2099, you may still want to check out this lovely medium-strength meteor shower for yourself. This year, the waning crescent Moon on November 17–18 doesn’t rise until nearly dawn, allowing a better opportunity for darker skies. The darker the sky, the better the viewing!
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Saturn's rings are disappearing!
If you want to see Saturn’s rings through an earthly telescope, do it soon. The ringed planet will appear to lose its famed rings this month! Right now – especially from the viewpoint of astronomers using small telescopes on Earth – Saturn’s rings are appearing thinner and thinner. What’s happening? Of course, Saturn’s rings are the same as we’ve always seen them, if viewed from a vantage point in space. But, as seen from Earth, Saturn’s angle of tilt toward Earth places the rings edge-on from our vantage point approximately every 13 to 15 years. And Saturn’s rings are remarkably flat. When they’re turned precisely edge-on to us, they’ll seem to disappear! The inclination has been decreasing and will reach a minimum of just below 0.4 degrees during mid November/early December. After this time, it will increase again. This period will therefore be the last time to observe very narrow rings until around the time of the next equinox in January 2039.
Saturn and Titan Image courtesy of NASA
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