WASHINGTON, D.C. — Skywatchers across the country get a busy calendar this month, with three meteor showers, a tight pairing of two bright planets before dawn and a supermoon near Thanksgiving week, according to NASA’s monthly viewing guide.
Taurids, early and mid-month: The Southern Taurids reach their peak around Nov. 5 and the Northern Taurids around Nov. 12. Both seem to fly out of the constellation Taurus. Neither is heavy, roughly five meteors an hour in a dark sky, but they are known for the occasional bright fireball.
Mars and Jupiter, Nov. 15-16: Before sunrise on those two mornings, face southeast to find the planets only about 1.2 degrees apart, a gap a bit wider than two full moons. Jupiter is the brighter of the pair, with Mars glowing reddish beside it. No telescope is needed, and checking on several mornings in a row shows them slide together and then apart.
Leonids, Nov. 17-18: The year’s main November shower is best in the hours before dawn on the 17th and 18th, once the moon has set. NASA says a dark site could yield around 15 meteors an hour, though most people will count fewer. Leonids are among the fastest meteors, hitting the atmosphere at about 44 miles per second, and can leave colorful trails. About every 33 years the shower can turn into a storm of a thousand or more meteors an hour; the most recent one came in 2002.
Supermoon, Nov. 24: The full moon arrives while near the close point of its orbit, so it looks a little larger and brighter than usual. Watch it come up in the east around sunset. It is the first of three supermoons in a row, with the next two in December and January.
NASA also notes that Voyager 1 is about to become the first spacecraft to travel one light-day from Earth, meaning a radio signal needs a full 24 hours to reach it. The probe lies in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, and the agency has planned a public celebration of the milestone on Nov. 17.
For any of the meteor showers, get away from city lights, allow your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust, and dress for cold. Lying back with your feet pointed east lets you take in the widest view.
