November 4, 2004
November Astronomy Note
November 2004 has the appulse of Venus and Jupiter; the Leonid, South Taurid, North Taurid,and Alpha Monocerotid meteor showers; Saturn goes retrograde, and we get a good look below our galactic wheel.
--Not everything is oh-dark-thirty in the morning this month, but the most visually exciting event is. About 45 minutes before dawn, Venus and Jupiter, will be approaching each other very closely, less than one degree apart on 5 Nov. This closest approach is called "appulse". They are fairly bright right now, so it looks a little like an old pickup driving in the sky.
--The only bright planet in the evening sky is Saturn, rising around 10pm now. Saturn halts its forward motion on the 8 Nov, and begins its "retrograde" motion, actually caused by earth's circling in its own orbit. Saturn will be rising nearer 8pm at the end of the month.
--Four meteor showers this month: Leonids peak Wed, 17 Nov; South Taurids on Fri, 5 Nov; North Taurids on Fri, 12 Nov; (Taurids are known for FIREBALLS!); and Alpha Monocerotids-near the Little Dipper- peak on Sun, 21 Nov.
--If you read the article in the AZ Republic last weekend, they talked alot about Andromeda Galaxy...but they forgot to say why. It's because during November, the Milky Way, our galaxy, appears in our sky running East to West, due to the combined tilts of the Earth's axis and orbit this time of year. This means that we get a good view "below" the wheel or disk of the Milky Way in which we spin. And that is where we find Andromeda.