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F lmouth Strt P ortlnd, Maine 413
.6667° N .2667° W
ltitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded Jnury 1970
Julin date: 45879.16
- 2: LV
"This is the last time we'll buy our header from IKEA."
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Monday, November 4, 2019
November 2019 Night Sky Calendar Part I
Yet again, we'll be dividing the monthly night sky calendar into two parts,
principally because we're going to devote an inordinate amount of time to
the TRANSIT OF MERCURY scheduled for Monday, November 11, 2019. If
you've been following the DA for awhile, you will likely know that a week
from today, the first world will move directly across the Sun from our
perspective. This event is particularly noteworthy because after the 11
November event, we here in the eastern United States will not observe
another transit of Mercury until May 7, 2049!
The big event in part II will be the Leonid meteor shower peak.
*MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4: FIRST QUARTER MOON*
The moon is visible both in the day and night sky. Of course, at night,
the moon doesn't have to compete with the Sun for our attention. The first
quarter moon rises around noon and sets around midnight. These times do
vary throughout the year as the angle of the moon relative to the ecliptic,
the Sun's apparent path through the sky, changes. In Portland (ME), the
first quarter moon will rise at 1:19 p.m. and set at 11:09 p.m.
[image: scorpius_antares-e1341173408749.jpeg]
*SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10: VENUS 3.9 DEGREES NORTH OF ANTARES (BRONZE EVENT!)*
Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius the Scorpion, is quite low on the
southeastern horizon early this evening. There, also, will one find Venus,
the night sky's brightest planet. They will appear to be close together
tonight, their minimum angular separation being slightly than four degrees.
This closeness is merely illusory, as Venus will be about 140 million
miles from Earth while Antares is approximately 550 light years from Earth.
By scale, if Venus were an inch away from you, Antares would be 360 miles
away! For this reason, they even seem to be of equal size when viewed in
the sky In fact, 445 trillion Venus sized worlds could fit neatly inside
Antares!
[image: Transit_of_Mercury_November_11_2019_path_across_sun.png]
*MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11: TRANSIT OF MERCURY (PLATINUM EVENT!!!!)*
For the first time since May 9, 2016, Mercury will appear to move directly
across the Sun from our perspective. The transit of Mercury will begin in
Portland at 7:36 a.m. Mid transit occurs at 10:20 a.m. and the transit ends
at 1:04 p.m. for a transit duration of 5 hours and 28 minutes. The times
will vary only slightly in other New England and eastern American
locations. Do note that the transit beginning time refers to first contact.
Mercury first appears to touch the Sun's edge at 7:36 a.m. The entire
planet will be visible against the Sun about 1 - 2 minutes later.
As Mercury is so small and will be 63 million miles from Earth on November
11th, this transit is only observable through a telescope or binoculars.
One MUST either use a protective filter covering the end of the optical
tube** or must project the Sun onto an opposing surface to allow for safe
viewing.
Mercury will appear as a small black dot moving along a path that nearly
brings it across the Sun's center. This particularly long trajectory
will keep Mercury in sight almost five and a half hours. We'll have
plenty to time to observe this transit. One should certainly at least
spend a moment watching this transit, as we here in the eastern United
States will not be able to see another Mercurian transit until May 7, 2049!
(Mercury will transit the Sun twice in the intervening period: in 2032
and 2039. However, neither transit will be visible here.)
*TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12: FULL MOON*
Prepare for the full mourning moon, the traditional name of November's full
moon. The October 31st cross quarter day has passed and we're now
entering the coldest time of autumn, the period immediately preceding
winter's onset. Consequently, the nights are growing longer, the air
cooler, crops have perished, rivers run cold, and the once soft, lush
grasses are now stiffened by glistening morning frost. Our land is about
to pass into a period of protracted, but not permanent, dormancy. The
full mourning moon casts a rich luster that brightens, but cannot warm the
fields suddenly deprived of their fecundity. This moon light, like the
evergreens and pines that remain defiantly verdant throughout the winter,
is both a comforting reminder of the summer than was and a precursor of the
summer than eventually will be,