Thursday, November 10
Lunar Orbiter 2 entered orbit around the Moon, 50 years ago (1966).
The Iridium 62 satellite ("Samarium") will sunglint to -1.0 magnitude around 5:40:41 p.m. at azimuth 35° (NE) and altitude 57° (565 miles), between Cassiopeia and Cepheus, during nautical twilight.
The 17.3-magnitude Jupiter-family comet nucleus 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR may pass in front of the 10.0-magnitude star Tycho 2963-1845-1 in Lynx (δ=+40.0°; spectral type unknown; 501-560 ly) for up to 0.8 seconds around 9:33:47 p.m. ± 4.3m. Probability of seeing the event along the predicted centerline is 0.1%.
Friday, November 11
The Moon crosses the celestial equator heading north at 7:20 a.m. (below horizon).
Jim Lovell (1928-; 2nd spaceflight) and Buzz Aldrin (1930-; 1st spaceflight) began the final mission of the Gemini program (Gemini XII), 50 years ago (1966).
The Macau meteorite fall in Brazil occurred, with reports of cattle being struck, 180 years ago (1836).
Tiangong-2, "Heavenly Palace-2", will cross the sky from 5:27:36 to 5:33:26 p.m. (W to E). Peak magnitude: +1.0; Highest altitude: 81°; Closest distance: 238 miles. Nautical twilight. 5:28:50 p.m. Head of Serpens; 5:30:20 Lyra; 5:30:34 Cygnus; 5:31:14 Square of Pegasus; 5:32:29 near Uranus and to the left of the Moon; 5:33:26 disappears into the shadow of the Earth in Pisces.
North Taurid meteors may be seen around this date (radiant altitude 13° at the end of evening twilight; 63° at the expected worldwide peak around 11 p.m.; 68° at midnight).
Saturday, November 12
North Taurid meteors may be seen around this date (5 meteors per hour, or less; radiant altitude 69° at meridian transit at 12:24 a.m.; 40° at moonset at 4:07 a.m.; 28° as morning twilight begins).
Percival Lowell (1855-1916), American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer, died 100 years ago.
Seth Barnes Nicholson (1891-1963), rural Illinois astronomer who became interested in astronomy while a student at Drake University, was born 125 years ago.
Sunday, November 13
The Cassini Saturn orbiter passes within 983 miles of the surface of Titan at 3:00 a.m.
The 19.4-magnitude asteroid 43657 Bobmiller may pass in front of the 8.7-magnitude star HD 286346 in Taurus (δ=+14.9°; K7; 1,977-6,613 ly) for up to 0.4 seconds around 4:10:40 a.m. ± 24s. Probability of seeing the event along the predicted centerline is 0.7%.
Andromedid meteors may be seen around this date (7 meteor per hour, or less; moonlight interferes).
The Moon is nearer to SW Wisconsin than at any other time since January 26, 1948 (217,072 miles, surface-to-surface) at 11:36 p.m. It will not be this close again until November 25, 2034.
Monday, November 14
Full Moon; rises 4:31 p.m. Sunday; transits 11:30 p.m. Sunday; sets 6:38 a.m.; δ = +13° in Aries
John Martin Schaeberle (1853-1924) discovered the white dwarf Procyon B using the 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory, 120 years ago (1896).
Venus reaches its most southerly declination this year (-25° 35' 32.68" in Sagittarius) at 12:49 p.m.
Venus sets at its most southerly point along the western horizon this year at 6:55 p.m.
Tuesday, November 15
The 13.8-magnitude asteroid 156 Xanthippe may pass in front of the 11.4-magnitude star Tycho 234-1485-1 in Hydra (δ=+5.6°; spectral type & distance unknown) for up to 6.2 seconds around 4:26:17 a.m. ± 2s. Probability of seeing the event along the predicted centerline is 91.5%. For more information, visit http://asteroidoccultation.com/asteroid.htm.
Aldebaran is near the Moon this morning before dawn.
Jim Lovell (1928-) and Buzz Aldrin (1930-) completed the final Project Gemini mission, Gemini 12, 50 years ago (1966).
Wednesday, November 16
Jules Violle (1841-1923), French physicist and inventor, was born 175 years ago.
"Galactic Archaeology" by Eva Grebel, Professor of Astronomy and Director Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (Astronomical Calculation Institute), Heidelberg University; DeLuca Forum, Discovery Center Institute, UW-Madison, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Leonid Meteor Shower (radiant rises at 10:50 p.m.; altitude 11° at midnight). Moonlight interferes with this shower all night.
The Pleiades cross the celestial meridian at midnight.
Thursday, November 17
The Moon reaches its most northerly declination this month (+18° 23' 48" in Orion) at 2:41 a.m.
Leonid Meteor Shower (15 meteors per hour, or less; expected worldwide peak around 4 or 5 a.m.; radiant altitude 65° as morning twilight begins)
"Dwarf Galaxies: Fossils of Galaxy Evolution" by Eva Grebel, Professor of Astronomy and Director Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (Astronomical Calculation Institute), Heidelberg University; 4421 Sterling Hall, UW-Madison, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Camelopardalis, The Giraffe, is one of those dim, easy-to-forget constellations, and certainly not one known to the ancient Greeks. In fact, its origin is relatively recent, first appearing on a celestial globe designed by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius (1552-1622) in 1613, not long after the invention of the telescope.
From our latitude, Camelopardalis is a circumpolar constellation, which means it is close enough to the north celestial pole so that it never sets. Even though it is the 18th largest constellation (out of 88), it contains no star brighter than 4th magnitude.
Here's an easy way to remember where Camelopardalis is in the sky. Camelopardalis is a six-syllable word. The first accented syllable Cam begins with the letter C. The second accented syllable Par begins with the letter P. In your mind's eye, draw a line between the zero-magnitude star Capella and the 2nd-magnitude star Polaris. Midway between these two stars lies the heart of Camelopardalis!
Interestingly, all the letters needed to spell the names "Capella" and "Polaris" exist within the word "Camelopardalis".
There are a surprising number of interesting celestial objects in Camelopardalis, but they get almost no attention because of the challenges of star hopping in this ghost of a constellation.
After visiting some friends who live in the country one evening ten years ago I shall never forget, my wife and I took a walk along a little-used paved country road adjacent to a state wildlife area about 10 miles northwest of Dodgeville. There were no lights nearby, nor cars traveling down the road.
We didn't have a flashlight with us, and didn't need one. The nearly-full moon was near the meridian and illuminated the landscape beautifully. It was a magical scene, one that I suspect few people have ever experienced—or taken the time to notice. With no bright lights to ruin our night vision and the moonlight gently bathing the terrain at around 0.01 footcandle, I realized just how horrendously overlit our society has become and that there are alternatives.
As often is the case, nature shows us the way. White light is good. Glare is bad. Uniform illumination is good. Less light is best.
