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November 17: The Moon hangs with Spica
The Leonid meteor shower should produce many bright meteors visible early this morning. The radiant, located in Leo to the upper left of bright Regulus and near the 3rd-magnitude star Zeta (ζ) Leonis, has climbed to more than 50° high in the east by 4 A.M. local time. The thin crescent Moon wont’ rise until around 5:30 A.M. local time, though even then it won’t interfere much.
Leonid meteors are often fast-moving and leave long, bright, persistent trains in the sky. You’re most likely to see the longest trains some 40° to 60° away from the radiant, so scan your eyes to the left and right of Leo in the sky once you’ve found it. Although the maximum rate at peak is only about 15 meteors per hour, the bright shower members that do appear will certainly be worth catching. No equipment is necessary for this — naked-eye observing is best!
Tonight in the evening sky, distant Neptune stands 2° due north of 27 Piscium, a 5th-magnitude star in Pisces. You can find the magnitude 7.7 planet in binoculars or a telescope by first locating bright Saturn. From here, skim about 4° northeast and look for a line of three stars that shine between 4th and 5th magnitude. The southeasternmost and brightest star in this line is 27 Psc, and Neptune is due north of it. Note there is another 5th-magnitude star about 1° northeast of 27 Psc, but this is not the planet. It will be much brighter than Neptune, as well as much closer to 27 Psc than the planet’s location.
Sunrise: 6:49 A.M.
Sunset: 4:41 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:23 A.M.
Moonset: 3:30 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (1%)
*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.
Tomorrow morning, the 19th, the Moon passes 6° south of Venus at 4 A.M. EST. When it rises around 6:30 A.M. local time, the Moon will be less than 1 percent lit and less than 24 hours from New, posing an extreme challenge for viewing. However, if you want to give it a try, it is possible — just take extreme care never to point any optics, such as binoculars or a telescope, near the rising Sun.
Earlier in the morning, however, there’s an easier observation to make: bright Venus near magnitude 2.8 Zubenelgenubi, also cataloged as Alpha2 (α2) Librae. Try for the pairing about 40 minutes before sunrise, when the two are about 3° high in the east. At magnitude –3.9, Venus is easy to find. Zubenelgenubi is 0.8° to the planet’s right, roughly even with it in altitude as it rises. If you can’t see the star without optical aid in the brightening sky, try using binoculars or a telescope. Both will appear in the same field of view.
