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November 4: Venus and Spica stand close
Tonight’s target is a bit of a test: How far south can you see? At a latitude of 40° north, NGC 55 in Sculptor — also called the Southern Cigar Galaxy or the String of Pearls Galaxy — only rises about 10° above the southern horizon at its highest, which occurs around 9 P.M. local time. Observers farther south will see it higher in the sky, while those farther north will see it closer to the horizon or be unable to make it out at all.
For those observers who can catch it, NGC 55 is a bright, 8th-magnitude edge-on barred spiral located just under 4° northwest of magnitude 2.4 Alpha (α) Phoenicis in Phoenix, which sits below the galaxy as you look south around this time of night. This galaxy is not only bright, it’s quite large, stretching roughly the width of the Full Moon (½°) at its longest. It is quite thin, however, only some 6’ wide along the other dimension. You’ll immediately see that its nucleus is not in the center, but offset to the west. Several other bright knots of star formation may also be visible within the galaxy’s plane — particularly if you drop in a nebula filter.
Sunrise: 6:34 A.M.
Sunset: 4:53 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:50 A.M.
Moonset: 2:53 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (10%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.
