Andrew Fazekas — aka the Night Sky Guy — is gaga over what’s ahead for Super Moon-watching. You might even see some of it tonight. Don’t forget to look up.
The moon, he reports in National Geographic and on his website and Facebook page, will be the most impressive supermoon in nearly seven decades.
So dust off those binoculars and get ready to moon-gaze.
Fazekas calls it a “Super-Duper Moon” on November 14, the second in a triad of supermoons, when the full moon makes a close approach to Earth, will rise in the east after sunset. It will appear larger and brighter — and should be quite visible.
Then late night on November 15 and 16, look for the moon to be stationed near the eye of the constellation Taurus, the bull, says Fazekas. That eye is really the red giant star Aldebaran, which sits 67 light-years from Earth. Meanwhile, lucky sky-watchers in the Middle East and across central Asia to Japan will be in the best positions to see the moon occult, or eclipse, Aldebaran during the night of the 15th.
This will be followed, he reports, with the Leonid Meteor Shower on November 16: “Look up late at night and into the early morning hours of the 17th for a flurry of shooting stars during the peak of the annual Leonid meteor shower. With the waning gibbous moon ducking under the local horizon after local midnight, the best views will be in the early morning hours of the 16th, with as many as 10 to 20 shooting stars an hour visible from the dark countryside. Individual meteors will appear to originate from the shower’s namesake constellation, Leo, which rises in the east in the predawn hours this time of the year.”
Other highlights for the rest of the month, he reports in National Geographic:
Buzzing the Beehive—November 18
Look east late at night for the waning gibbous moon to make a close pass of the famous Beehive open star cluster, also known as Messier 44. Using binoculars, you can scan the sky to the upper right of the moon for the thousand-star strong cluster, located 610 light-years from Earth. The next night, the moon will slip underneath the Beehive.
Lion’s Heart—November 21
Look toward the southeastern sky in the early morning hours for the crescent moon snuggling up next to the constellation Leo’s heart: the bright star Regulus. The cosmic pair will be quite stunning to the unaided eyes, with the two objects separated by just over a degree, equal to the width of your thumb held at arm’s length.
Mercury Meets Saturn—November 23
As a great observing challenge, use binoculars to try and spot faint, star-like Saturn next to Mercury. Both planets will be tricky to find in the glare of the sunset and will need a viewing location that has an absolutely clear line of sight to the southwest horizon.
Moon and Jupiter—November 25
About an hour before local sunrise, look southeast for the thin crescent moon hanging below the king of all planets, Jupiter. The pair will be particularly striking, since they will appear less than two degrees apart, equal to the span of just four lunar disks in the sky.
Andrew Fazekas, the Night Sky Guy, is the author of Star Trek: The Official Guide to Our Universe and host of NG Live! Mankind to Mars presentations. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and his website.