The total lunar eclipse on November 8 may not be visible here in the UAE, but our night skies will still be filled with noteworthy astronomical events all month long.

A meteor shower peaks in mid-November, and an outer planet will be at opposition early this month. Moon and planet pairings are still something to look forward to in early evenings until late nights.

Maximize your stargazing experience with a sky map and optical instruments like telescopes or binoculars. Easy-to-use observation stations like Stellina and Vespera come in handy–they are easily operated using smartphones and tablets! Al Sadeem Astronomy is the only distributor of this smart telescope here in the Middle East. You can place an order or inquiry here.

Check out the sky events for November 2022 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All dates and times are in UAE Local Time (UTC+4).

November 1 – Conjunction of Moon and Saturn

As early as six in the evening, the Moon and planet Saturn will both grace the night sky on November 1. The Moon will be in its Waxing Crescent phase then and will be south of Saturn at the south-eastern part of the sky.

November 4 – Conjunction of Moon and Jupiter

From its rendezvous with the Ringed Planet, the Moon now pairs up with the gas giant Jupiter on November 4. See the pair at six in the evening until the small hours of the following day. Jupiter will shine brightly in the night sky, just a little above the Moon that gets brighter as it approaches its Full phase.

November 9 – Uranus at Opposition

A brighter and closer Uranus will appear in our night sky on November 9. Since the planet is at opposition, it will be the best time to view the seventh planet from the Sun.

A planetary opposition happens when the planet lies opposite to the Sun in the sky, which makes the object appear slightly larger and brighter than usual.

But because it is too far away, the blue-green planet will appear as a dot through medium and/or high-aperture (at 8’’ and above) telescopes.

If you plan on observing it, Uranus will be up in the night sky by 7:15 in the evening until five in the morning of the following day, with its highest point in the sky estimated around midnight.

November 11 – Appulse of Moon and Mars

There’s a reddish bright dot appearing close to the Moon on November 11. That is planet Mars, which will be at the northeast direction of the Waning Gibbous Moon. Catch the pair late at 8 P.M. until twilight of the following day.

November 18 – Leonid Meteor Shower

You may want to try your luck catching some meteors on November 18, the peak of the Leonid meteor shower.

The Leonids, as it is more fondly known, is bringing 15 meteors per hour under completely dark, moonless, and cloudless skies.

These meteors will seem to radiate from the constellation Leo (the lion) at the sky’s eastern portion but can be observed anywhere in the sky from around midnight all the way through dawn.

The Leonids are associated with the space debris from Comet 55P known as Tempel-Tuttle entering Earth.

The Moon will be bright on this day, but you may catch larger meteors if you’re patient enough.

November 29 – Conjunction of Moon and Saturn

Closing this month’s series of night sky’s spectacles on November 29 is the pair that welcomed us at the beginning of the month–the Moon and Saturn. The bright Moon will be just above the left of the Ringed Planet, and will both appear at 5:45 P.M. until midnight.

Sunrise and Sunset Times

Moon Calendar

REFERENCES

• Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sea and Sky: seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2022.html
• Calendar of Astronomical Events. (n.d.). Retrieved from In-The-Sky.org: https://in-the-sky.org/newscal.php?month=11&year=2022&maxdiff=4#datesel
• Sunrise and sunset times in Abu Dhabi, November 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved from timeanddate.com: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi?month=11&year=2022