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Dundee Astronomical Society
The Sky in November 2013
The Sky at 10pm on 15th November 2013
[Chart courtesy of www.heavens-above.com]
High in the sky looking southwards, the square of Pegasus is still the group of stars which
catches the eye, but the square is joined to the east by the ancient constellation of
Andromeda. Andromeda was the mythological daughter of Queen Cassiopeia and King
Cepheus who was rescued from Cetus, the sea monster, by Perseus riding on the back of
the flying horse, Pegasus. The brightest star of Andromeda, Alpheratz, forms the top left
hand star of the square of Pegasus and makes a link between the two constellations.
Johann Bayer, in his star atlas of 1603, catalogued Alpheratz as a star of both Andromeda
and Pegasus. Although Andromeda is one of the largest constellations in the sky, none of
its stars is particularly bright and I find it difficult to see any meaningful shape in the
arrangement of stars. It is worth scanning eastwards from Alpheratz with binoculars and you
are sure to locate the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. On a
clear moonless night it is possible to see this galaxy with the unaided eye. When you do find
it, reflect on the fact that the light which you are seeing has taken 2.5 million years to reach
your eyes. Rather bigger than our Milky Way, it is estimated that the Andromeda Galaxy is
home to one trillion stars.
Just below Andromeda lies the small constellation of Triangulum. Between the Andromeda
Galaxy and Triangulum is another fairly large and local spiral galaxy, Messier 33 or the
Pinwheel Galaxy. This galaxy is about three million light years distant but only contains
about 40 billion stars. It is a difficult object to see without optical aid but some with sharp
eyesight claim to be able to see it in good conditions.
The annual Leonid meteor shower peaks at 5pm on the 17th November. Because of a full
Moon it will not be the best year to view the Leonids. In the best conditions only 20 meteors
per hour are predicted although at roughly 33 year intervals the Leonids can produce a brief
storm of many thousands of meteors. For those willing to wait, the next Leonid storm should
be around the year 2032.
Leonid meteor radiant
Comet ISON will be closest to the Sun on the 28th November. It will be difficult for observers
in UK to see it before this date as it will be very low in the sky. The comet will pass the
Sun’s surface at a distance of only 724,000 miles and, if it survives such a close passage,
will rise higher in the sky during December. The brightness of comets is always difficult to
predict but it is likely that ISON will be easily seen with the unaided eye by mid month.
Below shows the orbital elements of ISON from mid October until the end of November.
Remember that the magnitude given (m1) is an ESTIMATE.
Date
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 10
2013 11
2013 11
2013 11
2013 11
2013 11
2013 11
2013 11
2013 11
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
R. A.(2000) Decl.
10 08 44.7 +14 04 47
10 11 37.4 +13 45 34
10 14 34.8 +13 25 38
10 17 37.1 +13 04 56
10 20 44.6 +12 43 26
10 23 57.6 +12 21 05
10 27 16.6 +11 57 49
10 30 41.8 +11 33 35
10 34 13.6 +11 08 20
10 37 52.6 +10 41 58
10 41 39.1 +10 14 26
10 45 33.6 +09 45 39
10 49 36.8 +09 15 33
10 53 49.1 +08 44 01
10 58 11.3 +08 10 58
11 02 44.0 +07 36 18
11 07 27.9 +06 59 55
11 12 23.8 +06 21 41
11 17 32.7 +05 41 31
11 22 55.3 +04 59 16
11 28 32.8 +04 14 48
11 34 26.1 +03 28 01
11 40 36.4 +02 38 47
11 47 04.9 +01 46 57
11 53 52.9 +00 52 25
Delta
1.7322
1.7020
1.6718
1.6416
1.6115
1.5814
1.5513
1.5213
1.4915
1.4617
1.4320
1.4025
1.3731
1.3440
1.3151
1.2864
1.2581
1.2300
1.2024
1.1751
1.1484
1.1221
1.0965
1.0716
1.0474
r
1.3751
1.3544
1.3335
1.3124
1.2912
1.2698
1.2482
1.2265
1.2045
1.1824
1.1600
1.1374
1.1146
1.0916
1.0683
1.0448
1.0210
0.9969
0.9725
0.9479
0.9229
0.8975
0.8718
0.8458
0.8193
Elong.
52.5
52.7
52.9
53.1
53.2
53.4
53.4
53.5
53.5
53.5
53.5
53.4
53.3
53.1
52.9
52.7
52.3
52.0
51.5
51.0
50.4
49.8
49.0
48.2
47.3
Phase
35.1
35.8
36.6
37.4
38.2
39.0
39.8
40.7
41.6
42.6
43.6
44.6
45.6
46.7
47.9
49.1
50.3
51.7
53.0
54.5
56.0
57.5
59.2
60.9
62.7
m1
9.8
9.7
9.6
9.5
9.4
9.3
9.2
9.1
9.0
8.9
8.8
8.7
8.6
8.4
8.3
8.2
8.1
7.9
7.8
7.7
7.5
7.4
7.2
7.1
6.9
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
13
13
13
13
13
14
14
14
14
15
15
15
15
16
16
01
08
16
24
33
42
52
02
13
24
36
49
02
16
30
45
01
18
35
56
23
21
01.6
32.7
27.4
47.3
34.0
48.9
33.6
49.4
37.6
59.5
55.9
27.6
35.4
19.8
41.7
43.0
27.6
04.9
58.7
28.7
17.4
22.2
-00
-01
-02
-03
-04
-05
-06
-08
-09
-10
-12
-13
-14
-16
-17
-18
-20
-21
-22
-22
-19
-16
04
05
08
14
23
35
50
07
27
48
11
34
57
18
38
53
05
09
05
43
52
20
55
10
22
33
43
47
36
57
30
48
18
20
06
40
00
57
11
59
31
29
48
28
1.0240
1.0016
0.9802
0.9600
0.9411
0.9236
0.9077
0.8936
0.8813
0.8713
0.8635
0.8584
0.8561
0.8569
0.8612
0.8693
0.8819
0.8998
0.9244
0.9595
0.9762
0.9125
0.7924
0.7651
0.7372
0.7089
0.6799
0.6504
0.6201
0.5892
0.5574
0.5247
0.4910
0.4561
0.4199
0.3820
0.3423
0.3002
0.2551
0.2058
0.1501
0.0826
0.0322
0.1145
46.3
45.2
43.9
42.6
41.1
39.6
37.9
36.0
34.1
32.0
29.8
27.5
25.0
22.5
19.9
17.1
14.3
11.4
8.2
4.6
1.8
5.3
64.6
66.6
68.7
70.9
73.3
75.7
78.2
80.8
83.6
86.4
89.3
92.3
95.3
98.4
101.4
104.3
107.0
109.3
110.4
106.9
107.8
127.4
6.7
6.6
6.4
6.2
6.0
5.8
5.6
5.4
5.2
5.0
4.7
4.4
4.1
3.8
3.5
3.0
2.5
1.8
0.7
-1.3
-4.5
-0.2
Mercury moves away from the Sun in early November and by the middle of the month will
rise about an hour and a half before the Sun. It may be seen quite low in the south-east
before sunrise for a few days round the 16th.
Venus is furthest east from the Sun on the 1st November but because of its low elevation will
only be seen towards the south to south-west after sunset if the view to the horizon is low.
Mars rises at about 1am during November and remains in the constellation of Leo. Mars is
still quite distant and it will be in April 2014 that it is closest to Earth.
Jupiter rises at 7.30pm mid month and is a prominent object in Gemini throughout the night.
It will be very well placed for observation throughout the winter months.
Saturn is too close to the Sun to be seen during November.
Uranus can be found in Pisces and is well placed for observation throughout the evening.
Neptune remains in Aquarius and will be low in the south-west before midnight.
The Moon will be new on the 3rd, at first quarter on the 10th, full on the 17th and at last
quarter on the 25th.
Ken Kennedy
Director of Observations