Paul Derrick's Stargazer

HOME * STARGAZER COLUMNS * PROGRAMS
STARGAZING INFORMATION * CLASSES * LINKS
ABOUT PAUL DERRICK * PAUL'S BOOKS

NOTE: If you find this page useful, or if you have suggestions for improving it (or any other parts of the website),
I'd appreciate your feedback sent to paulderrickwaco@aol.com. Thanks, Paul

[My primary data sources, both of which I highly recommend, are: (1) Guy Ottewell's Astronomical Calendar (annual edition), available through Sky Publishing Corp., and (2) TheSky (computer program) by Software Bisque.]

Monthly Night Sky Calendar

[ ** denotes "don't miss" events ]

November 2008

Events

[Held at arm's length, the width of your fist is 10º, the width of your index finger is 1º. The width of a full Moon is 1/2º.]

1 Sat. early evening: The crescent Moon is 8º to the upper left of Venus in the WSW.
2 Sun. 2 a.m.: Return to Standard Time -- set your clocks back 1 hour ("fall back"). [And remember the old Stargazer adage: When you set your clocks back, you repeat the last hour. Whatever you thought you did during the previous hour really didn't happen, so you have an opportunity to get it right this time!]
5 Wed. morning: The southern Taurid meteor shower peaks with the best viewing coming after the Moon sets at midnight.
13 Thu.: The full Moon is called the Frosty Moon and Beaver Moon.
17 Mon. morning: The Leonid meteor shower peaks but the Moon will interfere in the morning hours.
21 Fri. morning: The Moon is 5º below Saturn in the SE.
24 Mon. morning: The crescent Moon is 5º below Virgo's brightest star Spica low in the ESE.
25 Tue.: Mercury is at superior conjunction with (behind) the Sun, moving into the evening sky.

November Planets

[The Sun, Moon and planets rise in the east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east rotation on its axis.]

Mercury, starting the month very low in the morning sky, continues sinking ever nearer the rising Sun until it reaches superior conjunction with (passes behind) the Sun on Nov 25.
Venus is slowly climbing higher as the brilliant "evening star" in the WSW, where it will remain for the rest of 2008.
Mars is too near the setting Sun for practical viewing.
Jupiter still dominates the evening sky as the brightest object in the SW.
Saturn is now seen in the morning sky.
Uranus and Neptune are in the sky until after midnight.
Pluto, too faint for most amateur telescopes, is fairly low in the SW in the early evening.

The Planets on November 1

	Mag	Rises	Transits	Sets
Sun	-27	7:44 a.m.	1:12 p.m.	6:38 p.m.
Mercury	-0.9	6:36 a.m.	12:19 p.m.	6:02 p.m.
Venus	-4.0	10:48 a.m.	3:45 p.m.	8:43 p.m.
Mars	1.5	8:34 a.m.	1:51 p.m.	7:08 p.m.
Jupiter	-2.2	12:53 p.m	5:56 p.m.	10:58 p.m.
Saturn	1.1	3:48 a.m.	10:04 a.m.	4:21 p.m.
Uranus	5.8	4:13 p.m.	10:02 p.m.	3:55 a.m.
Neptune	7.9	2:52 p.m.	8:17 p.m.	1:46 a.m.
Pluto	14.0	11:21 p.m.	4:38 p.m.	9:55 p.m.

[Times are exact for Waco/Central Texas and may vary +/-30 minutes for other areas. / Mag = magnitude, a measure of brightness where the lower the number, the brighter the object. / Transit occurs when an object is on the meridian (the north-south line across the sky) and is at its highest point in the sky.

Morning planets one hour before sunrise (E to W):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Mercury	1º	100º ESE
Saturn	37º	108º ESE

Evening planets one hour after sunset (W to E):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Venus	11º	232º SW
Pluto	25º	228º SW
Jupiter	30º	208º SSW
Neptune	43º	167º SSE
Uranus	40º	130º SE

[Altitude = degrees above the horizon where 0º is at the horizon and 90º is straight overhead. / Azimuth = degrees around the horizon clockwise with N = 0º, E = 90º, S = 180º, and W = 270º.

November Moon

[Except when doing lunar viewing, stargazers regard the Moon a "natural" light pollution which interferes with viewing the night sky, just as human-created light pollution does. This is why most evening star parties are held around 3rd quarter and new Moon.]

Wednesday, Nov. 5 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
Thursday, Nov. 13 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
Wednesday, Nov. 19 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
Thursday, Nov. 27 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)

October 2008

Events

[Held at arm's length, the width of your fist is 10º, the width of your index finger is 1º. The width of a full Moon is 1/2º.]

1 Wed. early evening: The crescent Moon is 6º below Venus low in the WSW with much fainter Mars 12º to their lower right.
3 Fri. evening: The Moon is 5º to the lower right of the star Antares.
6 Mon.: Mercury is at inferior conjunction with the Sun – between Earth and Sun – and passes into the morning sky.
6 Mon. evening: The Moon is 4º below Jupiter.
8 Wed. morning: The Draconid (Giacobinid) meteor shower peaks to a dark moonless sky after the Moon sets at midnight.
14 Tue.: The full Moon is called the Hunter’s Moon.
20/21 Mon. evening/Tue. morning: The Orionid meteor shower peaks with the best viewing likely before the Moon rises at midnight.
22 Wed. morning: Mercury is at greatest elongation west of the rising Sun.
25 Sat. morning: The crescent Moon is 7º to the lower right of Saturn low in the east.
26 Sun. evening: Venus is 3º to the upper right of the star Antares low in the southwest.
31 Fri.: The thin crescent Moon is less than 3º to the upper left of the star Antares with Venus 5º above, all low in the SW 45 minutes after sunset.
31 Fri.: Halloween, a traditional cross-quarter day celebrating the middle of fall.

October Planets

[The Sun, Moon and planets rise in the east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east rotation on its axis.]

Mercury starts the month in the Sun (at inferior conjunction Oct. 6), then emerges in the morning sky by mid-month, reaching greatest elongation Oct. 22.
Venus is gradually climbing higher as the brilliant "evening star" low in the W, where it will remain for the rest of 2008.
Mars is still lower and fainter in the W at dusk, slipping nearer the setting Sun.
Jupiter dominates the evening sky as the brightest object in the S.
Saturn is emerging in the morning sky.
Uranus and Neptune are in the sky until the wee hours of morning.
Pluto, too faint for most amateur telescopes, is in the SW in the evening and sets around midnight.

The Planets on October 1

	Mag	Rises	Transits	Sets
Sun	-27	7:22 a.m.	1:18 p.m.	7:12 p.m.
Mercury	2.8	8:17 a.m.	1:51 p.m.	7:26 p.m.
Venus	-3.9	9:46 a.m.	3:12 p.m.	8:37 p.m.
Mars	1.6	8:55 a.m.	2:30 p.m.	8:06 p.m.
Jupiter	-2.4	2:41 p.m	7:42 p.m.	12:44 a.m.
Saturn	1.0	5:34 a.m.	11:54 a.m.	6:14 p.m.
Uranus	5.7	6:17 p.m.	12:07 a.m.	6:01 a.m.
Neptune	7.9	4:55 p.m.	10:20 p.m.	3:49 a.m.
Pluto	14.0	1:20 p.m.	6:38 p.m.	11:55 p.m.

Morning planets one hour before sunrise (E to W):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Saturn	10º	87º E

Evening planets one hour after sunset (W to E):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Venus	5º	249º WSW
Pluto	36º	208º SSW
Jupiter	35º	188º S
Neptune	34º	141º SE
Uranus	23º	112º ESE

October Moon

Tuesday, Oct. 7 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
Tuesday, Oct. 14 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
Tuesday, Oct. 21 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
Tuesday, Oct. 28 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)

September 2008

Events

[Held at arm's length, the width of your fist is 10º, the width of your index finger is 1º. The width of a full Moon is 1/2º.]

1 Mon. early evening: A half hour after sunset look for brilliant Venus accompanied by fainter Mercury 3º to its left, much fainter Mars 6º to Venus' upper left, and the crescent Moon 4º to Mercury's lower left - all very low in the west. (Keep watching the 3 planets as they get closer - especially Venus and Mars on Sep. 11.)
2 Tue. evening: The crescent Moon is 5º below the star Spica.
3 Wed.: Saturn is at conjunction with (behind) the Sun and moves into the morning sky.
6 Sat. evening: The nearly quarter Moon is 1º (two moonwidths) below Scorpius' brightest star Antares; Mercury is 3.5º below fainter Mars with Venus to their right - all near the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset.
9 Tue. evening: The Moon is 4º below Jupiter in the south.
11 Thu. early evening: Venus passes less than a moonwidth above Mars with Mercury 3º to their lower left, all near the western horizon a half hour after sunset.
12 Fri.: Uranus is at opposition.
15 Mon.: The September full Moon is this year's Harvest Moon, being the full Moon nearest the fall equinox.
19 Fri. early evening: Venus, Mars, Mercury and the star Spica are grouped near the western horizon a half hour after sunset.
19 Fri. late evening: The Moon is 1.5º (three moonwidths) below the Pleiades star cluster when they rise soon before 10:30 p.m.
22 Mon.: Fall (autumn) equinox, the first day of fall when the day and night are of equal length.
24 Wed. morning: The crescent Moon is 6º above the Beehive cluster, and tomorrow morning is 8º below the cluster.
26 Fri. morning: The crescent Moon is less than 2º to the right of the star Regulus low in the east.
27 Sat. morning: A thin crescent Moon is 4º to the upper right of Saturn near the eastern horizon just before dawn.

September Planets

[The Sun, Moon and planets rise in the east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east rotation on its axis.]

Mercury spends the early part of the month low in the W in the early evening mear Venus and Mars, and is lost in the Sun by month's end.
Venus is emerging as the brilliant "evening star" low in the W, where it will remain for the rest of 2008.
Mars is even lower and fainter in the W in the early evening, edging nearer the setting Sun.
Jupiter continues to dominates the evening sky as the brightest object in the S.
Saturn spends the most of the month hidden in the Sun's glare and begins to emerge in the morning sky by month's end.
Uranus and Neptune are now in the sky nearly all night with Uranus coming to opposition at mid-month.
Pluto, too faint for most amateur telescopes, is in the SSW in the evening and sets after midnight.

The Planets on September 1

	Mag	Rises	Transits	Sets
Sun	-27	7:04 a.m.	1:28 p.m.	7:51 p.m.
Mercury	0.1	9:03 a.m.	2:59 p.m.	8:54 p.m.
Venus	-3.9	8:52 a.m.	2:54 p.m.	8:57 p.m.
Mars	1.7	9:20 a.m.	3:15 p.m.	9:10 p.m.
Jupiter	-2.5	4:35 p.m	9:36 p.m.	2:42 a.m.
Saturn	0.8	7:14 a.m.	1:38 p.m.	8:01 p.m.
Uranus	5.7	8:18 p.m.	2:09 a.m.	8:05 a.m.
Neptune	7.8	6:55 p.m.	12:21 a.m.	5:50 a.m.
Pluto	14.0	3:17 p.m.	8:35 p.m.	1:57 a.m.

Morning planets one hour before sunrise (E to W):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Uranus	25º	248º WSW

Evening planets one hour after sunset (W to E):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Mars	4º	264º W
Pluto	41º	185º S
Jupiter	34º	167º SSE
Neptune	22º	124º SE
Uranus	6º	99º E

September Moon

Sunday, Sep. 7 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
Monday, Sep. 15 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
Monday, Sep. 22 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
Monday, Sep. 29 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)

August 2008

Events

[Held at arm's length, the width of your fist is 10º, the width of your index finger is 1º. The width of a full Moon is 1/2º.]

1 Fri.: Lammas, a traditional cross-quarter day celebrating the middle of summer; and this new Moon produces a an early morning total eclipse of the Sun that won't be visible from our part of the world.
2 Sat. early evening: A half hour after sunset a thin crescent Moon will be 7º to the left of Venus near the western horizon.
3 Sun. evening: The crescent Moon is 6º below Mars and 9º to the left of Saturn low in the west.
6 Wed. evening: The Moon is 4º to the lower left of the star Spica.
** 11/12 Mon. evening/Tue. morning: The Perseid meteor shower peaks with the best show likely to come between 3 a.m. and dawn, after the Moon sets.
** 13 Wed. early evening: Venus passes within ½º of Saturn very low in the west - begin looking 30 minutes after sunset.
14-16 Thu.-Sat. early evenings: Venus (brightest), Saturn, and Mercury (faintest) are closely grouped near the western horizon - begin looking 30 minutes after sunset; binoculars will help.
15 Fri.: Neptune is at opposition.
16 Sat.: The full Moon, called Green Corn Moon and Grain Moon, features a partial eclipse that won't be visible from here.
20 Wed. early evening: Mercury is 1º (two moonwidths) below much brighter Venus just above the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset.
28 Thu. morning: The crescent Moon is less than 2º (about three moonwidths) above the Beehive cluster low in the east just before dawn.

August Planets

[The Sun, Moon and planets rise in the east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east rotation on its axis.]

Mercury starts the month near the Sun but soon becomes visible low in the W in the early evening; it passes Saturn and Venus at mid-month and is near Venus and Mars at month's end.
Venus is emerging as the brilliant "evening star" low in the W, where it will remain for the rest of 2008.
Mars is still low in the W in the early evening, gradually edging nearer the setting Sun each night.
Jupiter increasingly dominates the evening sky as the brightest object in the SE.
Saturn starts the month low in the W, and by month's end is lost in the setting Sun.
Uranus and Neptune are now in the sky nearly all night with Neptune coming to opposition at mid-month.
Pluto, which is too faint for most amateur telescopes, is in the SSW in the evening and sets after midnight.

The Planets on August 1

	Mag	Rises	Transits	Sets
Sun	-27	6:45 a.m.	1:34 p.m.	8:24 p.m.
Mercury	-1.7	6:58 a.m.	1:50 p.m.	8:41 p.m.
Venus	-3.9	7:54 a.m.	2:35 p.m.	9:15 p.m.
Mars	1.7	9:50 a.m.	4:05 p.m.	10:20 p.m.
Jupiter	-2.7	6:45 p.m	11:47 p.m.	4:53 a.m.
Saturn	0.8	8:59 a.m.	3:25 p.m.	9:52 p.m.
Uranus	5.8	10:23 p.m.	4:15 a.m.	10:11 p.m.
Neptune	7.8	8:59 p.m.	2:26 a.m.	7:56 a.m.
Pluto	13.9	5:20 p.m.	10:38 p.m.	4:00 a.m.

Morning planets one hour before sunrise (E to W):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Uranus	49º	214º SSW
Neptune	25º	234º SW

Evening planets one hour after sunset (W to E):

Planet	Altitude	Azimuth
Saturn	6º	279º W
Mars	11º	269º W
Pluto	38º	157º SSE
Jupiter	26º	143º SE
Neptune	4º	110º ESE

August Moon

Friday, Aug. 1 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)
Friday, Aug. 8 -- 1st quarter (good morning stargazing, poor evening)
Saturday, Aug. 16 -- Full Moon (poor stargazing all night)
Saturday, Aug. 23 -- 3rd quarter (good evening stargazing, poor morning)
Saturday, Aug. 30 -- New Moon (good stargazing all night)

Return to Top

Return to HOME PAGE

Paul Derrick's Stargazer

HOME * STARGAZER COLUMNS * PROGRAMS STARGAZING INFORMATION * CLASSES * LINKS ABOUT PAUL DERRICK * PAUL'S BOOKS

Monthly Night Sky Calendar

November 2008

Events

November Planets

The Planets on November 1

November Moon

October 2008

Events

October Planets

The Planets on October 1

October Moon

September 2008

Events

September Planets

The Planets on September 1

September Moon

August 2008

Events

August Planets

The Planets on August 1

August Moon

HOME * STARGAZER COLUMNS * PROGRAMS
STARGAZING INFORMATION * CLASSES * LINKS
ABOUT PAUL DERRICK * PAUL'S BOOKS