Saturn, Jupiter and Mars shine in the November night sky, as if threaded on an invisible cord. Where they got their names from.
Highlights: The sky this month features a trio of bright planets easily visible to the naked eye. You should start the observation excursion in the early evening. Saturn shines in the southwest in a calm yellow light. The name comes from Roman mythology and refers to the god of sowing. Even a small amateur telescope makes a ring visible in which the planetary sphere appears to be floating. The sight is similar to that of a record, but the system does not have a fixed structure, but consists of countless chunks of ice and rock. Some of this cosmic debris is as small as a speck of dust, others as big as apartment buildings. Exactly in the south and thus in the limelight of the heavenly stage stands the father of the gods Jupiter. It is currently not only the brightest and therefore the most conspicuous star in the firmament, but also the largest of all planets in our solar system with a diameter of around 140,000 kilometers. Like Saturn, Jupiter has a thick atmosphere that is three-fourths hydrogen and one-fourth helium. This distinguishes the two gas planets from Earth – and also from Mars. The red planet is now shimmering in the southeast. Ancient cultures saw it as a drop of blood and named it after their god of war. Among the Nordic peoples he was called Tyr. The Roman name has prevailed. The red color comes from oxidized ferrous material on its solid surface: Mars is like a rusted planet.
Stars and constellations: Andromeda and Pegasus twinkle high in the south, the stars of the summer triangle Atair, Deneb and Vega in the west. The bull has risen in the east. Star Fomalhaut twinkles lonely just above the southern horizon. The Big Dipper is now bottoming out, while far to the north is M-shaped Cassiopeia. In the north-west we find Hercules, in the north-east the wagoner with the light-colored capella.
Planets, Moon, Meteors: Mercury and Venus cannot be seen. Saturn in Capricorn, Jupiter in Pisces and Mars in Taurus form a parade of planets. On the map they appear as if threaded on a string. This is the ecliptic, the earth’s orbit around the sun as projected in the sky. All the planets and the moon move near this plane. It is on November 1st in the first quarter, full moon is on the 8th, last quarter on the 16th, new moon on the 23rd and again first quarter on November 30th. The maximum of the Leonids can be expected in the night of November 17th. But more than 15 shooting stars per hour will probably not dart across the sky.