1 week Ago By Jamie Carter, Senior Contributor
The full "Beaver Moon "rising behind Gran Sasso dItalia picks is seen from LAquila, Italy, on ...
[+] November 7, 2022. (Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Each Monday, I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere). Check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.
The Night Sky This Week: Nov. 11-17, 2024 The rise of the last “supermoon” of the year is the sky-watching highlight this week. It will turn “full” on Saturday, but look large all week.
The weekend’s Leonids could be difficult to see, but expect the brighter Northern Taurids to pepper the night skies with moon-proof “fireballs” for most of the week. For those that stargaze under a very dark sky — and/or have a large telescope — this is also the best week to look for dim and distant Uranus, which comes to its annual opposition. Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing and sky-watching this week: "Fireballs"—very bright "shooting stars"—are possible this week.
Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 11-12: Northern Taurid Meteor Shower The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight at around midnight. It’s not a major meteor shower, with only about five “shooting stars” per hour, but its peak is not particularly well-defined.
So any “shooting stars” you see this week are probably Taurids. With a bright moon bleaching the night sky this week, you might think that this meteor shower’s peak doesn’t have the best prospects, but Taurids tend to be bright “fireballs.” They’re the result of dust and debris left in the inner solar system by Comet 2P/Encke.
A 94 percent illuminated waxing gibbous moon rises behind the EdgeNYC outdoor observation deck at ...
[+] Hudson Yards in New York City on November 16, 2021, as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images) Bitcoin Crosses $82,000 For The First Time—Boosted By Trump’s Win Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Monday, November 11 Trump Says Former ICE Head Tom Homan Will Serve As His ‘Border Czar’—Here’s What He’s Said About Mass Deportations Saturday, Nov. 16: Full ‘Beaver Supermoon’ The eleventh and penultimate full moon of 2024 and the second of fall in the northern hemisphere, the “Beaver Moon”— also known as the “Frost Moon” and the “Mourning Moon” — is, technically speaking, a supermoon — 2024’s last.
However, it will be the third-smallest of 2024’s four “supermoons.” Catch as it rises in the east-northeast at moonrise where you are for a spectacular view. You’ll see Saturn to the left of the full moon.
November’s full moon takes its name from the beavers that fill the banks of rivers and build their dams and dens to take refuge for winter. Sunday, Nov. 17: Leonid Meteor Shower Although it has been known to spit over 100 “shooting stars” per hour close to its peak, don’t get your hopes up for tonight’s Leonid meteor shower.
It’s a reliable source of around 15 meteors per hour after midnight tonight, but the recent rise of a full “supermoon” will mean the night sky is bleached and bright. Look east-northeast about two hours after sunset to see Uranus in the constellation Taurus, close to ..
. [+] the Pleiades. Planet Of The Week: Uranus Saturday, Nov.
16, sees Uranus at opposition, a time of the year when the Earth’s orbit takes it between the seventh planet and the sun. For a few nights, the distance between Earth and Uranus is at its minimum, so Uranus shines a little brighter. Effectively, the opposition of Uranus isn’t a single night but many weeks on either side, during which its greenish-blue disk is a little easier to see.
Rising in the east at sunset and shining at a magnitude of +5.6, Uranus is technically visible to the naked eye in a dark sky. However, the best advice is to use a telescope, with its color just about obvious in a sixth-inch telescope.
The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium . Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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