Weekly Stargazing Tips

Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).

November 20: Moon and Mars

Mars perches close to the upper right of the Moon as they climb into good view in late evening. The planet looks like a bright orange star. Only a handful of stars and planets outshine it.

 

November 21: Moon and Regulus

The Moon tonight takes aim at Regulus, the heart of the lion. The star climbs into good view directly below the Moon after midnight. The Moon will move toward the star during the night, so they will stand much closer together at dawn.

 

November 22: Whirling Dipper

The stars of the Big Dipper dip quite low at nightfall at this time of year. In fact, from south of about Kansas City, one or more of its stars dip below the horizon and out of view. And from south of about Dallas, the entire dipper vanishes.

 

November 23: Expanding the Universe

The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is in the east-northeast at nightfall. Under dark skies, it's visible to the eye alone from 2.5 million light-years away. A century ago, Edwin Hubble confirmed its nature as a galaxy far outside the Milky Way.

 

November 24: Cosmic Ladder

Polaris, the North Star, consists of at least three stars. Only one is bright enough to see with our eyes alone. It has a close but faint companion. The third member of the system is far from the other two. The system appears to be about 450 light-years away.

 

November 25: Big Families

The Alpha Persei cluster is a family of more than 500 stars, spanning almost 150 light-years. All of its stars were born from the same giant cloud of gas and dust. The cluster is near the brightest star of Perseus, in the northeast at nightfall.

 

November 26: Moon and Spica

Early tomorrow the Moon will block out Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. They climb into good view just a couple of hours before dawn. The vanishing act will be visible across most of the country, with the exact timing depending on your location.