November 2 – 15, 2015
Mt. Washington — Pumpkin-colored star Arcturus is a singularly charged sight above the west-northwest skyline in evening twilight. These days, this distant sun seems to mimic our sun at summer solstice time: it sets at about the same spot and at roughly the same time as sunset at the height of summer. Gazing at Arcturus we remember the position of the sun on summer days and that sunset was nearly two hours later. Around Halloween it is intriguing to think of Arcturus, the second brightest star visible in the northern hemisphere, as the ghost of our summer sun.
Now that we are back to Eastern Standard Time, sun time — nothing added nothing taken away — evening stargazing begins in late afternoon. Sunset on the 2nd is at 4:47 p.m.; Arcturus sets close to 2 hours later. On the 15th, sunset is at 4:33; Arcturus sets an hour and a quarter later. Twilight begins about half an hour after sunset. As twilight deepens the Big Dipper appears to the right, north, of the bright star. The arc of the handle of the Dipper “arcs to Arcturus.” If you see the Big Dipper in the north and can’t find Arcturus, you’ve arrived too late; the great star, classified as a red giant, has set.
As November mornings dawn, delight in finding Arcturus rising above the east-northeast horizon, where we see summertime sunrises. Turn to the southeast, to the right, for a great view, rather high in the sky, of the ongoing planetary drama. During the first week of November, sunrise is around 6:30 a.m. If you’re outdoors by about 5:30 – 5:45 a.m., you’ll be treated to the sight of Leo the Lion jumping over the moon, and the planets, too! The waning crescent moon is below Regulus, the Lion’s heart star, on the 5th and adds its charm to Jupiter on the morning of Friday the 6th, then to Venus and Mars on Saturday the 7th. The moon and planets will be visible until close to 6 a.m.; Venus and the moon will be visible until close to sunrise.
Meteor showers usually peak for a day or two in the hours after midnight and before dawn. Not so with autumn’s overlapping North and South Taurids, which span from mid-September through early December and are active in the evening as well as during pre-dawn hours. Taurid showers are known for fireballs – large, bright and long lasting shooting stars – making for possible sightings in urban and other light polluted locations. Significantly, through November 12, according to many sources, Earth is moving through a rich area of large particles in the debris stream of comet Encke, the parent comet of the Taurids. The shower is named for the constellation Taurus the Bull, the place in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate. Aldebaran, the red star in the triangular head of Taurus, can be seen rising about two hours after sunset in the east-northeast. Although shooting stars are seen all over the sky, they are most likely when their radiant constellation is high up. A peak is expected around midnight to 1 a.m. on the night of the 11th – 12th, happily coinciding with new moon (when the moon is dark,) which occurs at 12:47 p.m. on the 11th.
Resources:
https://www.thenaturefan.com/star-arcturus-ghost-summer-sun/
