What's up: November 3- November 8

I hope you all remembered to set your clocks back one hour on Sunday! Setting the clocks backward for daylight savings time sets the stage for the early winter nights and cold month stargazing. The sunset has now jumped (because of the time change) from around 6:20 PM to 5:20 PM! This rapid change in the sunset can be somewhat depressing, but it presents the most convenient time for amateur astronomers and casual stargazers alike. Since sunset falls right after dinner hours, the night sky is more accessible than ever, especially for those who have to wake up early for work.

In addition to an earlier night sky, the weather this week looks extremely promising with night-time temperatures in the mid-40s and, perhaps, several clear nights. This week the night sky gifts us with a Messier-moon close pass, the Taurid meteor shower, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

Wednesday the moon will be 82% illuminated meaning it still nearly full, and much of the sky will be washed out. No more than 2° ahead of the moon on this night, resides Messier object 35 (M35), also known as the Shoe-Buckle Cluster for its location in at the “left foot” of the Gemini twins. This open cluster shines at magnitude 5.1. Binoculars should be fine for both viewing the moon and this cluster, but realize that the moon is extremely bright and may wash out the much fainter M35. If you decide to look at the moon through binoculars or a telescope yours eyes will need several minutes afterwards to fully readjust to the dark.

It will be a challenge to see the “Shoe Buckle” next to the moon on Wednesday evening when it rises, but with binoculars you might just barely be able to make it out against the glare.

This week brings an interesting overlap between two meteor showers: The Northern and the Southern Tauridsmeteor showers. The meteors for both of these showers appear to originate from either side of the Pleiades cluster. The Southern Taurids occur between September 10th and November 20th and the Northern Taurids occur between October 20th and December 10th. These showers only produce between five and ten meteors per hour but tend to produce very intense and colorful fireballs.

The radiant of the Northern and Southern Taurid meteor showers. The radiant is the point in the sky that the meteors seem to emanate from.

This week and the over hthe next several months are ideal times to observe and/or image one of the more famous and very bright deep-sky objects – The Andromeda Galaxy. This nearby galactic neighbor sits about 2.5 million light-years away from our own galaxy, yet shines at an astounding magnitude 3.5. This galaxy can be found by locating the constellation of Cassiopeia (big “W” in the norther skies) and drawing a line from the sharper point of the “W” for about 15°. The Andromeda Galaxy also crosses the zenith around 11:10 PM. This diffuse object is best seen in dark sky locations and will appear as a fuzzy patch in the sky through telescopes and binoculars. This fuzzy patch is actually a collection of roughly one trillion stars that will one day collide with our own home galaxy. There are lots of tutorials online for imaging this great deep-sky object regardless of your camera/astrophotography skill level.

An ultraviolet mage of the Andromeda galaxy brings out the bright, blue, young(ish) stars in its spiral arms.

The weather and night skies this week could not be better (with the exception of the nearly full moon) with an early sunset, warm temperatures, and potentially many clear nights. Take advantage of this rare opportunity and explore the vastness of the night sky from the comfort of your backyard or from a dark-sky park. Be on the lookout this week for that close encounter between the moon and M35, some bright fireballs, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

Clear Skies!