Saturday: The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight after midnight. These are slow moving meteors that result in the occasional fireball. The Taurid meteor showers produce a few bright meteors every hour. The Waning Gibbous Moon will obscure the dim meteors. These meteors appear to come from a point in Taurus the bull, near the open star cluster called the Hyades. This point is about six and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southern horizon at midnight. You can follow this point throughout the night, as it will remain one and a half fists to the right of the V-shaped Hyades Cluster with its bright star Aldebaran (pronounced Al-deb’-a-ran). In case you miss them tonight, there will be increased meteors until December 2. Meteors are tiny rocks that burn up in the atmosphere when the Earth runs into them. The source of this shower is the asteroid 2004 TG10. Go to https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/taurid-meteors-all-you-need-to-know/ for more information.
Sunday: While Stonehenge is an ancient burial ground visited
by religious people for thousands of years, MIThenge is an 825-foot-long
hallway on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology visited by
the Sun’s rays twice a year. Every year in November and January, the setting
Sun lines up with a narrow window at the end of the long hall and the light
shines down to the opposite end. This season’s alignment is from November 9-11
at about 4:20 pm. For more information, visit http://goo.gl/0hwFQf
or visit MIT. While you are at it, challenge yourself to find a similar
alignment in your neighborhood.
Monday: Jupiter and the moon are about six fists above the
southwestern horizon at 6:15 a.m. Jupiter is to the lower right of the moon.
Venus is half a fist above the east-southeastern horizon at this time.
Tuesday: Are you planning to open your Martinmas gifts
today? Martinmas is a holiday in many parts of the world commemorating Saint
Martin of Tours. He was buried on November 11, 397. What does this have to do
with astronomy? Not much except that the celebration on November 11 often
doubles as a cross-quarter day celebration, a day that is halfway between an
equinox and a solstice. Also, according to an agricultural calendar, November
11 marks the practical beginning of winter.
Wednesday: Lieutenant Worf, the Klingon Starfleet officer on
Star Trek: The Next Generation, might say “Today is a good day to die.” But
Deneb, the bright supergiant star in Cygnus the Swan would say “two million
years from now is a good day to die.” This may seem like a long time. But,
compared to the lifespan of most stars, two million years from now is as close
as tomorrow. For example, the Sun will last about five billion years. Small
stars known as red dwarfs may last trillions of years. Prepare your astronomically
short goodbyes to Deneb tonight at 7:00 o’clock when it is seven fists above
the western horizon.
Thursday: Saturn is three fists above the southeastern
horizon at 6:00 p.m.
Friday: Along with the not-so-subtle drug reference in their
name, The Doobie Brothers could have made an astronomy reference in their song
lyrics if they would have written: “Old Earth water, keep on rollin’,
Mississippi moon won’t you keep on shining on me.” Astronomers now think that
some of the water on Earth may be older than the Solar System. The chemical
signature of the water indicates it came from a very cold source, just a few
degrees above absolute zero. The early Solar System was much warmer than this,
meaning the water came from a source outside the Solar System. For more
information about the old Earth water, go to https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/earth-water-formed-billions-years-ago-before-sun.
The positional information in this column about stars and
planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information
about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
All times are Pacific Time unless noted.
