What’s Up in the Night Sky? – November 2023

Fred Barrett | Nov 01, 2023

Who needs a telescope to enjoy the night sky? Sure, a scope is great for looking at distant and tiny things and is an indispensable tool for much enjoyable observing, but you can miss out on the big picture! Can you look at the Milky Way as it arcs over from horizon to horizon, through anything but your eyes? Can you find and see constellations and appreciate a spectacular meteor shower through a tiny peephole? It’s like looking at a leaf without standing back and looking at the whole tree, or forest for that matter. Who hasn’t stood under a dark night sky and revelled at the vast vista above their head? I rest my case.

Speaking of eyeball astronomy, we have a nice meteor shower this month. The Leonids make their annual appearance and are active from November 6 to the 30th, peaking on the night of 17/18. The Moon sets early and will be out of the way. The debris trail that the Earth punches through is cast off by the Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The radiant or point from which the meteors appear to come from is in the asterism named The Sickle. It is on the right upper side of the constellation Leo above the bright star Regulus. It looks like an upside-down hook. I suppose in olden days they were more into sickles, otherwise I guess it would be called The Hook. Leo rises about midnight but remember, meteors can appear all over the sky even though the direction they come from is still below the horizon.

Best viewing time is early morning, as the face of the Earth we are standing on collides head on into the debris field. Of course, meteors will hit at all times of the night. Look off 40 degrees or more to either side of Leo to spot longer, more lasting trails of their bright burning destruction. Don’t forget that good nights of meteor watching can be found a week or so before and after the peak night.

Although this shower is not expected to have exceptional numbers of meteors, it’s a good excuse to get out and point your eyes to the sky. Jupiter is up all night and Venus is a beacon in the early morning. Saturn is easily accessible, too, until about 2am early in the month and 11pm as the month ends.

Uranus is in opposition on the 13th. It is to the right of the Pleiades and below left of Jupiter and about half way between the 2. It is 2.2 degrees south of the star Delta Arietis which is the brightest star near it. It can be found easily in binoculars.

Jupiter is very bright and obvious as it rises in the east in early evening and continues to be very visible all night all month. Jupiter is in opposition on the 3rd as it reaches its closest distance to Earth. Ringed Saturn is already up in the south as dusk hits. It is on the left side of the constellation Aquarius and above the bright star Fomalhaut. You will need a telescope to spy details on the 2 planets and investigate the movements of their moons.

Speaking of moons, our own Moon is always a prime object to view through binoculars and modest telescopes. You can get lost in the countless valleys and mountains and rills and craters. Try picking a small area and examine it closely over succeeding nights to notice the play and shifting of shadows that comes with the changing angle of the sun. Details appear, disappear and shift shape, especially in mountainous areas. You can easily lose your way at times.

Here are the highlights for this month:

November 3: Jupiter is in opposition, its closest distance to Earth at 590 million kilometres. It barely changes size throughout the month. November 5: Daylight Saving Time ends. Last quarter Moon. November 6: The Moon is at apogee (farthest) – 402,220 Km. November 9: The Moon passes 1 degree north of Venus at 4am EST. November 11: Remembrance Day. Lest We Forget. November 13: New Moon. Uranus is in opposition. November 17/18: Leonid meteor shower peaks. November 20: First quarter Moon. November 21: Moon is at perigee (closest) – 367,672 Km. November 22: Moon passes 1.5 degrees south of Neptune at 3 am EST. November 25: Moon passes 3 degrees north of Jupiter at 6 am EST. November 26: Moon passes 3 degrees north of Uranus at 4am. November 27: Full Moon. It is known as the Full Beaver Moon. Beavers have finished their construction jobs, set aside enough grub for a chilly winter and hole up in their lodges for the duration. Sounds like some of my easier going friends. November 28: Venus passes 4 degrees north of Spica at 4 am. November 29: Birthday. November 30: Moon is about 2 degrees from Pollux in Gemini.

Don’t forget to check out events at the North Frontenac Dark Sky site, or as it’s known now, the North Frontenac Astronomy Park.

Also check the Lennox and Addington Dark Sky Viewing Area for observing opportunities this summer.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) website https://rasc.ca has a listing of astronomy events for Ontario.

The website of the Kingston branch of the RASC lists events happening especially in our area.

And that’s a wrap! Keep looking up.

Let me know how your observing has gone this month, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Clear skies! Fred.