November 2015 – Skies News

Focus Constellations: Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, Lyra, Cygnus, Pegasus, Andromeda, Pisces, Perseus, Auriga, Taurus

Comet Journal

Twenty km. wide C/2013 US10 (Catalina) rises in the southeast between Hydra and Virgo at 6th magnitude on Nov. 1st. It will brighten to naked eye visiblility after it reaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) on Nov. 15th. Catalina will pass through northern skies during the winter when it may reach 4th or 5th magnitude. It will be closest to Earth on January 17th and within 8° of Polaris on Jan. 31st. It is a long period first time comet from the Oort Belt, but gravitational influences during the passage through the inner solar system is accelerating it to solar escape velocity, never to return.

Tenth magnitude C/2014 S2 (PanSTARRS) passes through perihelion on Dec. 9th and will be between the cup of the Little Dipper and Draco in November.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is in Marathon Valley searching for the phyllosilicate clay minerals which were discovered via satellite spectral studies. Although the rover traveled 0.05 miles (0.09 km.) from Sol 4146 (Sept. 22, 2015) to Sol 4166 (Oct. 13, 2015), virtually all travel was in October due to a 9 day test of the Flash memory system in late September to assess current health and usability for data storage. Flash memory resets on the 25th, 29th, and the 30th interfered with efforts to complete remote sensing panoramas and to drive another 28 feet (8.5 meters) for further panoramic imaging with the Navigation (Navcam) and targeted panoramic imaging with the color (Pancam) Camera.

On Sol 4155 (Oct. 1, 2015), the rover returned to RAM-only mode (no Flash for storage) completing the drive and imaging. On Sol 4157 (Oct. 3, 2015), Opportunity drove again. A dog-leg maneuver avoided obstacles allowing collection of more color Pancam panoramas. The next sol produced more Navcam panoramas. On Sol 4159 (Oct. 5, 2015), the rover moved eastward, traveling over 48 feet (14.5 meters) and collecting pre- and post-drive Pancam and Navcam panoramas. The rover continued moving on the 10th through the 13th in order to approach north facing slopes on the south side of Marathon Valley which provide the better solar energy collecting conditions required for the upcoming winter.

Opportunity has now traversed 26.48 miles (42.62 kilometers) over the Martian surface. Solar energy in the last month ranged from 325 to 352 watt hours per day.

Curiosity is climbing the lower slopes of Mt. Sharp over the sandstones of the Stimson member at the base of the Washboard Unit. The dark sandstone of the Washboard Unit over which the rover has been traveling since August 27th displays lighter large scale cross-bedded layers typical of windblown sand deposited as dunes on Earth. In September, Curiosity followed a southward course parallel to the cross- bedded layers in order to reach an access location for drilling which occurred on October 29th in a rock outcrop named “Big Sky.” Drilling samples taken from the 2.6″ deep drill hole will be analyzed later in the two onboard laboratories.

What We Think We Know

The sequence of higher (and progressively younger) layers above the cross-bedded layers which scientists hope to examine with Curiosity in the future, includes the following:

—a long ridge of darker rock which may contain
abundant hematite (Fe2O3),
—a gentle slope possibly containing clay rich minerals
—uppermost rounded buttes which may be composed
of sulfate minerals.

Examination of remnants of layers which filled Gale Crater reveals an early geologic history of filling by alternating lakebed, river and stream, and windblown sediments formed by repetitive sequences of environments in which streams filled the crater with water which slowly evaporated. More recently, dry conditions dominated. Spectral satellite evidence shows little if any evidence of water or water formed minerals in the younger upper rock layers of Mt. Sharp.

The mountain appears to be the central remnant of a sequence of sedimentary layers which once filled Gale Crater and have since eroded. The remnant layers show evidence for abundant surface waters early in the history of a much warmer Mars. The water disappeared as the atmosphere of the planet was blown away/escaped and wasn’t replenished from internal or external sources. Scientists have not determined the relative significance of internal (volcanic, etc) and external (comets/meteoroids,etc.) sources in the maintenance of atmospheres which constantly escape from planets due to particle/radiation bombardment from space.

Compared to Earth, Mars is subject to less radiation from the Sun, has less magnetic field protection, and receives higher cosmic ray radiation due to its location in the Solar System. It is also smaller with weaker gravity to hold an atmosphere and less internal geologic activity to resupply the gases lost to space.

Meteor Showers

The Taurid Meteor Shower is a late October/early November shower peaking on the 12th which may produce fireballs caused by pebble sized meteors flying through the southeastern skies in the evening and southwestern predawn skies. Debris from former passages of Comet 2P Enke is thought to be the source of the shower.

The Leonid Meteor Shower which peaks in the predawn hours of the 18th is one of the highlights of the year. Comet 55P Tempel-Tuttle sheds debris along its orbit as it passes through the inner solar system and circuits the Sun every 33 years. The Earth’s orbit intersects that of the comet causing our planet to pass through the trail of comet dust every November. The comet passage in 1833 produced sufficient debris to cause a meteor storm of 1000’s of meteors per hour. Following the 1965 perihelion of 55P Tempel-Tuttle, a storm producing 144,000 meteors per hour in Arizona occurred in November, 1966. The last comet passage was in 1998, and the last meteor storm was in 2002. The 1st quarter Moon will provide no competition for the Leonids as it sets long before the early morning peak of the shower.

The Alpha Monocerotid Shower peaking on the 22nd is a minor shower now in Canis Minor which is in southern skies in the wee hours after moonset. Debris producing the shower appears to surround the orbit of an unknown long period comet.

Planet Plotting

Saturn (+0.4 to +0.5) in Scorpius is an early evening planet in the first part of November. It is close to the southwestern horizon near Antares an hour after the Sunset. It reaches Solar Conjunction on the 29th and will reappear in southeastern skies right before dawn in late December. Neptune (+7.9) is in Aquarius in southeastern skies after sunset and sets well before dawn. Uranus (+5.7) in Pisces sets 2 hours after Neptune.

Morning planets are Venus (-4.5 to -4.3), Jupiter (-1.8 to -2.0), Mars (+1.7 to +1.5), and Mercury (-1.0 to -1.3 to +0.8).

Mercury in Virgo is closest to the Sun in early November and reaches Superior Conjunction in Libra on the 17th. It will move into evening skies in Scorpius in December. The innermost planet will set 30 minutes after the Sun on the 1st.

Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are together in Leo on Nov. 1st. Mars will rise before Venus after which Jupiter makes its appearance above the eastern horizon. Venus will appear to pass within 1 degree of Mars on the 3rd and then will rapidly outpace Mars as both drop below Jupiter and appear lower in the eastern sky during the rest of November. At the end of the month, Venus will be half way between Jupiter and the horizon and Mars will be half way between Venus and Jupiter.

Planet……Constellation……Magnitude……Planet Passages

Sun..Virgo, Libra, Scorpius..-26.8…………..New Moon, ………………………………………………………11/11, 12:47PM EST Mercury..Virgo, Libra, Scorpius..-1.0 to+ 0.3 to -1.0
……………………………………………………….Superior Conjunction ……………………………………………………….11/17, 10:00AM EST Venus….Leo, Virgo……-4.5 to -4.3………..Mars, 0.7°N, ………………………………………………………..11/3, 11:00AM EST
Mars……Leo, Virgo……+1.7 to +1.5……….Venus, 0.7°S, ………………………………………………………..11/3, 11:00AM EST
Jupiter……Leo…………..-1.8 to -2.0
Saturn……Scorpius…….+0.5 to +0.4………Solar Conjunction ………………………………………………………..11/29, 7:00PM EST Uranus…….Pisces………………+5.7
Neptune…Aquarius……………+7.9

November Moon

Lunation 1149 begins with the New Moon of November 11th at 12:47PM EST. It ends 29.70 days later with the New Moon on December 11th at 5:29AM EST.

The Full Moon for November in Aries at 5:44PM EST on the 25th would have been another “Supermoon” if the closest approach of the Moon (perigee) on the 23rd at 3:07PM EST had occurred closer to Full Moon. In September and October the timing difference between perigee and Full Moon was about 12 hours and 23 hours respectively and the Full Moon was closer so that it appeared larger, producing “Supermoons. ”

November’s Full Moon, called the Frosty or Beaver Moon by Colonial Americans, was the “Snow Moon” to the Medieval English. It is the 12th Moon of 2015 due to two Full Moons in July and is designated by the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) of the northern Great Lakes as “Manidoo-gizisoons” (Small Spirits Moon). Celts called the November Full Moon the “Dark Moon” while the Chinese disagree and call it the “White Moon.”

Apogee distance (maximum orbital distance) is 252,103 miles (63.61 Earth radii) from Earth on the 7th at 4:49PM EST. Perigee distance is 225,444 miles or 56.89 Earth radii.

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passage..Moon ………………………………………………………………….Phase/Age

Sun………Libra…….-26.8…………………..12:47PM EST, 11/11 ………………………………………………………………New ~ 0 days Mercury…Libra…….-1.2…………..3.2°NNE, 4AM EST, 11/11 …………………………………………Waning Crescent ~ 29.33 days Venus……Virgo……..-4.5…………1.2°S, 9AM EST, 11/7 …………………………………………Waning Crescent ~ 25.54 days Mars……..Virgo…….+1.6…………1.8°S, 5AM EST, 11/7 …………………………………………Waning Crescent ~ 25.37 days Jupiter……Leo.. …….-1.8…………2.0°S, 11AM EST, 11/6 …………………………………………Waning Crescent ~ 24.62 days Saturn….Scorpius….+0.5………….3.0°N, 8PM EST, 11/12 …………………………………………Waxing Crescent ~ 1.32 days Uranus….Pisces…….+5.7………….0.9°S, 2PM EST, 11/22 …………………………………………Waxing Gibbous ~ 11.05 days
Neptune..Aquarius…+7.8…………3.0°N, 9PM EST, 11/19 …………………………………………Waxing Gibbous ~ 8.74 days