I’ll be editing and adding to this post over the next few days so stay tuned!
Observations are for roughly Nova Scotia, Canada (Time in AST and roughly 45 deg N Latitude)
Sun
On November 1 the sun is just inside the western border of Libra and will move through Libra, through Scorpius and come to rest, on November 30, on the boundary between Scorpius and Ophiuchus (o-phee-ooo-kus). Yes, all you astrologers, the sun actually passes through 13 constellations not 12; deal with it!
Mercury
Mercury orbits very close to the sun and at the best of times is a difficult planet to observe. However, early in November Mercury will reach its greatest western elongation (the angle between the sun and the planet as viewed from earth) of 19 degrees. The planet will be visible just above the east-southeast horizon just before sunrise. I would caution inexperienced observers from searching for this planet with binoculars or a small telescope; you don’t want old Sol to pop up over the horizon and appear in your field of view!
Venus
At mid-month Venus will rise at about 3:00 AM, will transit (be in the south and reach its highest point in the sky) at about 9:00 AM (at which time it will be about 44 degrees above the due south horizon) and will set at roughly 3:00 PM. For those who rise before sunrise (roughly 7:15 AM), Venus should be easily visible in the south eastern sky. You can’t miss it; save for the moon, it will be the brightest object in the sky at that time of day. The planet will reach perihelion (closest approach to the sun) on November 30 at which time it will be about 66.8 million miles (107.5 million kms) from from old Sol.
Mars
Something very special is happening with Mars this month but you’ll have to be vigilant to see it. Planets normally move from West to East across the starry background but at about mid month Mars will appear to stop its West to East motion and begin to move East to West! The planet will continue to move East to West until the end of January 2008 at which time it will stop briefly and then resume its normal West to East movement. The phenomena is easily observed but will require that you observe Mars and note its position against the stars over a period of time. So, at the beginning of the month, Mars will be in the Western side of Gemini heading for the center of the constellation. Then, at about the 15th of the month, Mars will appear to stop briefly then start off in the other direction – towards Taurus. When it reaches about the middle of the horns of Taurus (January 31, 2008), Mars will pause again then reverse its direction and head, once again, towards the East. The following video illustrates the movement of Mars against the stars from about September 1, 2007 until about mid May 2008. (The white object you see flashing through the field is the Moon; just ignore it.)
So, what’s happening here? The phenomena is called Mars Retrograde Motion and the explanation is fairly simple. Mars is a superior planet (further away from the sun than earth) and therefore orbits the sun a bit more slowly than the Earth. It takes Mars approximately 686 Earth days to get around the sun as compared to Earth’s 365 days. So, about every 26 months or so we catch up to and pass Mars in its orbit and thats what we’re seeing here. Think of the Earth and Mars as two race cars going around a circular track with the faster car (Earth) on the inside lane overtaking the slower car (Mars) on the outside lane.
Where do we find this beautiful planet, you ask? At my location in Eastern Canada, Mars will rise in the North East at about 8:30 PM ADST and will not set until after sunrise the next morning. Look for the constellation Orion (he’ll be lying on his side at that time of the evening) and just follow a straight line from his upraised right arm to Gemini and Mars! (Of course, if you look for Orion later in the evening he’ll be standing up!). Click the image to see it full size.
Filed under: WhatsUp
