The Night Sky: Mars and the Leonids Meteor Shower

NASA'S Artemis 1, which has been besieged by delays, is set to have another attempt at launching into space on Monday November 14.

The last aborted attempt fell on September 27, and with windows of opportunity to launch not coming to fruition during October, NASA is now eyeing up November to finally see the uncrewed mission finally get under way.

With the launch scheduled to take place from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Artemis 1 marks the first serious revival in interest of returning to the Moon since the 1970s.

A newly-discovered ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid, (meaning astronomers will have to keep an eye on its movements), passed Earth safely during Hallowe'en at around 1.43 million miles distant - relatively close in astronomical terms.

Measuring between 330 and 740 metres in diameter, the asteroid whizzed by at around 52,500 mph. Nasa flags any object which comes within 120 million miles of Earth as a “near-Earth object” - 2022 RM4, as this asteroid has been labelled, is now one of them.

Partial Solar Eclipse

I was very impressed with the array of fabulous photographs taken by the South Wales Argus Camera Club - well done!

Two further pictures have been submitted by Martin Griffiths from the Vale of Glamorgan, and Richard Marshall who captured the partial eclipse from his home in New Inn.

Picture by Richard Marshall

Picture by Martin Griffiths

On November 8 Wales and the UK misses out on a total eclipse of the Moon, with the eclipse starting just after the Moon has set.

You can submit astrophotography pictures for inclusion in The Night Sky by emailling thenightsky@themoon.co.uk

Constellations

The return of the winter constellations marks the chilly shorter days of the approaching season.

Orion, the Hunter, slowly ascends in the south-east portion of the sky, gaining height as the weeks pass to once again be the dominant constellation during winter months.

If you seek out the Pleiades star cluster, (‘Seven Sisters’), you can sweep back toward the south eastern horizon to see Orion rising.

As Vega, the bright star that commanded the skies overhead during summer months, edges toward the western horizon, its winter replacement, Capella, climbs higher and higher in the east during November.

Mars

Mars begins to make its presence felt as we enter November, with opposition, (closest point to Earth), on Thursday, December 8.

If you have never seen Mars, the coming weeks present a good opportunity to do so with the planet on view all night. As we pass through November, Mars edges closer and closer to Earth and as it does so, it almost doubles in brightness before its closest approach.

The Moon plays a big role in your tracking of Mars this month. On the evening of November 9, the Moon passes between the Pleiades star cluster and Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. The following evening the Moon lies between Aldebaran and Mars, with the Pleiades positioned to the upper right. On the evening of November 11, the Moon is positioned to the left of Mars, making for a lovely sight.

Leonids Meteor Shower

Of all the annual meteor showers the Leonids remains one of the most intriguing of them all.

Whereas the Perseids in August tend to generate a consistent number of meteors, the Leonids have been prone to some spectacular outbursts which history recalls as literally filling the sky with ‘shooting stars’

At present, we are in a quiet phase for the Leonids with the Zenith Hourly Rate, (ZHR – number of meteors expected per hour during maximum activity), around the 15 mark.

However, every 33 years, that rate rockets delivering one of the most spectacular of astronomical sights. At present, we are in the more ‘normal’ range of meteors, but in 2032/33, we could well see another significant outburst.

The reason for the elevated number of meteors is that every 33 years, comet Tempel-Tuttle returns and during its trek around the Sun, deposits additional debris to add to the existing rubble it has already ejected from its ‘body’ as it travels through space.

On November 17, 1966, in the hours before dawn, it was said that rates topped 1,000 meteors per minute, (not per hour), during one particularly 15-minute span.

The comet was ‘discovered’ independently by German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel in December 1865, and American astronomer Horace Parnell Tuttle, who sighted the comet during the first week of 1866.

Despite its regular orbit, comet Tempel-Tuttle has only been observed just a handful of times over the last 600 years, last coming under scrutiny when it reached perihelion, (closest point to the Sun in the comet’s orbit), in February 1998.

With the radiant for the shower located in Leo the Lion, the best time to observe the Leonids is several hours before dawn on the mornings of November 18 and 19. You do not need binoculars or a telescope to observe the shower, just a good view of the south-east portion of the sky, preferably away from any house or street lighting.

Planets

The brilliant Jupiter, although past its closest point to Earth, continues to dazzle in the southern half of the night sky making for the second brightest object on display at night in November after the Moon.

On November 4 and 5 Jupiter can be seen positioned above the Moon, the pair making for a lovely spectacle.

Once you have located Jupiter, pan down and to the lower right and you’ll find Saturn, dimmer in brightness when compared to Jupiter, but still worth trying to spot.

As a guide, on the evening of November 29, Saturn will be positioned to the right of the Moon. As we head toward the end of November, the encroaching twilight will make Saturn increasingly difficult to spot so take every chance you can to see the ringed world.

The two innermost planets, Mercury and Venus, are too close to the Sun to be observed during November, but they will both return as evening objects during December, as Venus switches from being the ‘morning star’ to the ‘evening star’

Society meetings

Barry Astronomical Society – ‘Icy moons of the solar system and the potential for life’. Monday, November 14. 7.15pm. Barry Community Centre, Friars Road, Barry.

Bridgend Astronomical Society – ‘UK MON’ (Meteors) – Ed Cooper. Wednesday, November 16. 7.30pm. Bridgend Tennis, Squash and Bowls Club. Parking at Halo Recreation Centre, Angel Street.

Moon phases

• First quarter November 1;
• Full Moon November 8;
• Third quarter November 16;
• New Moon November 23;
• First quarter November 30.

Sunrise/sunset times

• Start of November: Sun rises at 7.05am. Sets at 4.44pm.
• End of November: Sun rises at 7.54am. Sets at 4.04pm.

Jonathan is a contributor to the BBC Sky at Night magazine with articles also published in Astronomy Now. He has written three books on astronomy, Cosmic Debris; Rare Astronomical Sights and Sounds (which was selected by ‘Choice’ magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2019); and From Cave Art to Hubble, all of which are available from Amazon. He has also presented on commercial radio at Sunshine FM in Worcester, Brunel FM in Swindon, and Bath FM, and has also presented on an astronomy and space dedicated radio station, Astro Radio UK. He is currently at 107.9 GTFM in South Wales. He has also written a book on castles, ‘Fortress Wales’, and was part of the writing team for the BBC Television show, ‘The Fast Show’, which won a BAFTA.