Sky & Telescope - November 2022 - 46

NOVEMBER 2022 OBSERVING
Sun, Moon & Planets by Gary Seronik
To find out what's
visible in the sky from
your location, go to
skyandtelescope.org.
The Moon Greets Spica at Dawn
Planets, stars, and even a cluster are on the lunar agenda this month.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1
For those who enjoy keeping up with
the brightest members of the solar
system, the November evening sky is
chock-full of excitement as two planets
are in their post-opposition primes,
while another one is only a month
away from reaching that milestone.
And the waxing Moon visits all three,
starting tonight with Saturn. The
Ringed Planet was at opposition back
in August and now reaches the meridian
(the imaginary line that joins north
to south and passes directly overhead)
before any of the other planets. Indeed,
as November gets underway, +0.7-magnitude
Saturn is due south (and
highest) a little after 7:30 p.m. local
daylight-saving time. On the evening of
the 1st, the Moon is just 4½° away for
a fine naked-eye pairing.
Nov 4 - 5
9 pm
PISCES
Moon
Nov 9
Jupiter
Moon
Nov 5
AURIGA
Moon
Nov 4
10°
CETUS
GEMINI
Looking Southeast,
halfway up in the sky
46
NOVEMBER 2022 * SKY & TELESCOPE
Looking East-Northeast
Looking East-Northeast
TAURUS
Moon
Nov 10
Mars
Moon
Nov 11
Castor
Pollux
Moon
Nov 13
GEMINI
Aldebaran
Moon
Nov 12
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Three nights after its encounter with
Saturn, the Moon is positioned a little
less than 3° from Jupiter. This gettogether
is considerably more striking
than the one with Saturn, both because
Big Jove is so much brighter and because
the Moon approaches quite a bit closer
- three Moon diameters closer, as a
matter of fact. At magnitude -2.8, Jupiter
is by far the brightest planet visible
in the sky this evening. It's 25 times
brighter than Saturn and outshines
Mars by 4 times.
Mind you, that " brightest planet "
title is temporary and falls to Jupiter
only because brilliant Venus remains
hidden in the Sun's glare, having had
its solar conjunction on October 22nd.
Jupiter's dominance will end when
Venus reappears at dusk towards the
Nov 9 - 11
8 pm
end of November to reign once again as
the Evening Star.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Jupiter's main rival this month is
Mars. At dawn today, the waning
gibbous Moon pulls up alongside the
Red Planet for the closest Moon-andplanet
encounter in November. The
two objects are situated between the
stars marking the tips of Taurus's horns
and are less than 2½° apart as morning
twilight begins. Although Mars
glows brightly at magnitude -1.5, I'd
suggest using your binoculars anyway.
The planet's rich, orange hue is even
more apparent with an optical boost -
especially when boldly contrasted with
the neutral gray of the lunar disk. It's a
striking effect. This is a fine conjunction
and definitely worth rising early
Pleiades
Nov 11-13
9:30 pm
Mars
Moon
Nov 11
http://www.skyandtelescope.org
Sky & Telescope - November 2022

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