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In the Sky This Week – November 5, 2019

By Robert Trembley  |  5 Nov 2019

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This entry is part 41 of 246 in the series In the Sky This Week

Southwestern sky after sunset

Jupiter is low on the horizon, and Saturn is high in the southwestern sky after sunset  this week.

Southwestern sky after sunset Saturn is high and Jupiter low above the southwestern horizon after sunset this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley

Mars appears low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

Eastern horizon before dawn The planet Mars low on the eastern horizon before dawn this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley

The Moon appears in the south-southeastern sky after sunset this week – going from first quarter, to a waxing gibbous, to full early next week.

Moon in the south-southeastern sky The Moon moves eastward each day in the south-southeastern sky – going from first quarter, to waxing gibbous, to full this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley

The full Moon appears high in the southeastern sky above the constellation Orion at 10:00 PM on Nov. 11th.

Full Moon The full Moon appears high in the southeastern sky at 10:00 PM on Nov. 11th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley

The Pleiades star cluster (M 45) and the constellation Taurus with the bright red star Aldebaran appear nearly overhead at midnight all week.

Pleiades and the constellation Taurus The Pleiades (M 45) and the constellation Taurus appear nearly overhead at midnight this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley

Venus appears low on the southwestern horizon after sunset

Venus low on the horizon Venus appears low on the horizon just after sunset on Nov. 5th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley

 

Transit of Mercury

Transits occur when a planet or another body moves in between another distant body and an observer; transits of our Sun are rare and fascinating astronomical events, and one is happening on November 11, 2019 from 7:36 AM-1:04 PM EST! You will need a telescope to see Mercury cross the face of the Sun; the NASA Night Sky Network has a list of  Mercury Transit events and observing locations: [LINK].

Mercury transit Mercury transit on May 9, 2016. Credit: Tom Polakis of Tempe AZ.

If it’s cloudy at your location, you can follow the transit online at: https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/. More information on the eclipse is available at Fred Espenak’s website: http://eclipsewise.com/oh/tm2019.html

 

The first-quarter Moon occurred on Nov. 4th; the Moon is a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, up for most of the night.

The full Moon occurs on Nov. 11th, the Moon rises at sunset, is visible high in the sky around midnight, and visible all night.

Moon The Moon from Nov. 5-11, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

 

Moon News

What’s the Moon made of? ?

Lunar scientist Sarah Noble answers questions about the ? & our plans to send humans there with #Artemis, in preparation for eventual trips to Mars. Watch now: https://t.co/bmYnhNdO9j pic.twitter.com/nUXNd3haeW

— NASA (@NASA) November 4, 2019

The sun has been spot-free for only 2 days; a spot from a few days ago has faded. Coronal holes appear at both poles, and a couple smaller coronal holes pepper the surface of the Sun.

Sun in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Nov. 5, 2019. Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

It looks like there are a couple large prominences on the Sun’s limb today!

Sun in 304 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Nov. 5, 2019. Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10220252356399981&set=gm.2758580024153324&type=3&theater&ifg=1

The solar wind speed is 415.4 km/sec (↑), with a density of 5.4 protons/cm3 (↓) at 1700 UT.

SOHO LASCO C2 Latest Image Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.

Sun News

Earth’s radiation belts are full of charged particles, which sometimes get knocked out of place and fall into our atmosphere — but what pushes them out? A tiny NASA satellite uncovered some clues about this process. ? https://t.co/l6P4IbyajG pic.twitter.com/OfNXqkyf4f

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) November 5, 2019

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2019 UE13
2019-Nov-06
8.3 LD
8.9
26
2019 UM13
2019-Nov-06
11.5 LD
5.9
17
2019 UL4
2019-Nov-07
16.7 LD
9
30
2019 UO7
2019-Nov-07
3.8 LD
4.1
10
2019 VM1
2019-Nov-08
11.3 LD
6.1
19
2019 UM12
2019-Nov-08
1.3 LD
13.6
41
2019 UR4
2019-Nov-08
7.3 LD
4.5
15
2019 UB7
2019-Nov-10
13.7 LD
17.5
56
2019 VN
2019-Nov-11
3.1 LD
13.6
32
2010 JG
2019-Nov-12
19.6 LD
14.9
235
2019 UB14
2019-Nov-12
4.9 LD
15.4
22
2019 UH1
2019-Nov-13
9.5 LD
9.1
50
2019 UN12
2019-Nov-13
3.8 LD
28.8
141
2019 VX
2019-Nov-13
4.1 LD
10.8
31
2019 UE8
2019-Nov-15
7.7 LD
6.6
27
2019 UR2
2019-Nov-18
18 LD
13.4
126
2019 UK6
2019-Nov-20
15.4 LD
7.7
63
481394
2019-Nov-21
11.3 LD
7.9
372
2019 VK
2019-Nov-21
5.8 LD
7.6
43
2008 EA9
2019-Nov-23
10.5 LD
2.2
10
2019 VF1
2019-Nov-25
13.4 LD
17.3
87
2017 AP4
2019-Dec-03
8.5 LD
7.5
15
2018 XW2
2019-Dec-07
17.4 LD
13
28
216258
2019-Dec-20
15.3 LD
11.8
324
2013 XY20
2019-Dec-21
18.4 LD
1.9
28
2017 XQ60
2019-Dec-22
11 LD
15.6
47
310442
2019-Dec-26
19 LD
12.3
372
2019 AE3
2020-Jan-02
4.9 LD
8.2
13

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Red highlighted entries are asteroids that either pass very close, or very large with high relative velocities to the Earth. Table from SpaceWeather.com

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 41, this year: 2540 (+98), all time: 21439 (+92)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2018  (last updated  Oct. 1, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 839,919 (+7469)

Asteroid News

.@Livermore_Lab research shows that a #nuclear impulse could deflect an #asteroid from hitting Earth. ☄https://t.co/Uc02EJOtSo pic.twitter.com/Dez3dZQQ2Q

— NNSA (@NNSANews) November 5, 2019


On Nov. 5, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 83 fireballs.
(69 sporadics, 11 northern Taurids, 2 Orionids, 1 chi Taurid)

Fireball Orbits In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). From: Spaceweather.com

Fireball News

Fireball over Hampshire at 00:43 this morning (28/10/2019) pic.twitter.com/PnAKY6IDPo

— Richard (@nova_foresta) October 28, 2019

Comet News

The interstellar comet 2I/Borisov contains alien water, @sciam reports: https://t.co/pMIULvH9EN

Though it comes from another planetary system, 2I/Borisov bears a remarkable resemblance to local space rocks. https://t.co/R0bMG6qT3o

— NOVA | PBS (@novapbs) November 2, 2019

I’m getting a little miffed that the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov doesn’t have pointy ears or nose ridges or *anything*.

Some alien visitor it’s turning out to be.https://t.co/IsoJ0SJB0F

— Phil Plait (@BadAstronomer) November 5, 2019

Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system:

Inner Solar System Position of the planets and some spacecraft in the inner solar system, Nov. 5, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

It looks almost like these three spacecraft want to get together:

Spacecraft Party The Kepler Space Telescope, STEREO Ahead and the Parker Solar Probe in the inner solar system look like they are rendezvousing for a spacecraft party – Nov. 5, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets and a couple bodies in the middle solar system:

Middle Solar System Position of the planets in the middle solar system, Nov. 5, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Universe Sandbox has a recent update which includes the 20 new moons of Saturn, and an impressive tour of the historical timeline of the discovery of Saturn’s moons:

Saturn's 20 New Moons Update to Universe Sandbox includes Saturn’s recently discovered moons. Credit: Universe Sandbox / Bob Trembley

SpaceEngine has a recent update with new textures for Saturn’s moon Titan:

[gallery type=”slideshow” columns=”1″ size=”large” ids=”https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Titan-Saturn-and-the-Sun.jpg|Artist’s conception of Saturn’s moon Titan – Saturn and the Sun appear in the background. Saturn’s rings are edge-on to Titan, and are difficult to see. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley,https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Above-Titan.jpg|Artist’s conception of Titan seen from its hazy upper atmosphere, with Saturn in the distance. Saturn’s rings are edge-on to Titan, and are difficult to see. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley,https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Above-Titan-No-Clouds-or-Atmosphere.jpg|”Pining for Titan’s fjords.” Artist’s conception of Titan seen from above its surface with atmosphere and clouds removed. This image highlights the new surface textures for Titan added to a recent update of SpaceEngine. Saturn can be seen in the distance; Saturn’s rings are edge-on to Titan, and are very difficult to see. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley,https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Titans-Lakes.jpg|Artist’s conception of Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes seen an altitude where the clouds and haze clear enough to see surface features. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley,https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2

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More Posts in this Series:
"In the Sky This Week"

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

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69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  25 Mar 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

40  |  In the Sky This Week – June 25, 2019

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42  |  In the Sky This Week – June 11, 2019

By Robert Trembley  |  11 Jun 2019

43  |  In the Sky This Week – November 19, 2019

By Robert Trembley  |  19 Nov 2019

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