November’s longer and cooler nights will make the stargazing experience more favorable for avid sky watchers and astronomy enthusiasts in the UAE, especially with this month’s lineup of some regular Moon-planet pairings, an active meteor shower, and a sighting of a bright comet.
Observations will be more worthwhile with optical instruments like a telescope or binoculars that can help you get a clearer and bigger view of our neighbors in the Solar System. Such pieces of equipment can also help in observations of some stunning deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies that pop out better on moonless nights. The smart telescope Stellina can come in handy with these types of observations. 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 list below for the astronomical events happening this November. All dates and times are in UAE Local Time (UTC+4).
November 5 – Uranus in Opposition
Ready your high-powered telescopes, because on this day, November 5, the ice giant Uranus will be at its opposition—which means, it will be brighter and will be closer to our planet (perigee)
As you may already know, a planetary opposition happens when the planet lies opposite to the Sun in the sky.
Observers in the UAE can spot the blue planet as early as 7:14 P.M. in the constellation Aries. At six minutes past 12 midnight, Uranus will reach its highest point in our sky, at 80° above your southern horizon until it sets at around 04:58.
At the moment of opposition, Uranus will lie at a distance of 18.74 AU, shining at magnitude 5.7.
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November 7 – Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at its brightest
We’ve already caught a glimpse of this Jupiter-family comet last month, but November 7 offers the most promising time to observe it. Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will reach its brightest point at mag +8, based on the magnitude parameters published by the British Astronomical Association (BAA) Comet Section.
You can find Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the constellation Gemini at 26°36’N beginning 11:53 P.M. The comet reaches its highest point in the sky at 4:59 the following morning until it gets drowned by twilight at around 05:35 A.M.
The magnitude will still depend on the comet’s behavior though. Comets are known to be very unpredictable space objects; their brightness is determined by the scattering of sunlight from dust particles in the comet’s coma and tail.
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November 8 – Conjunction of Moon and Venus
On this day, the waxing crescent Moon will pass 4.5° to the northwest of Venus. The pair can be seen at around 5:55 P.M. at 26° above the south-western horizon until it disappears in the horizon at 8:30 P.M.
November 10 – Appulse of Moon and Saturn
An appulse between the Moon and Saturn happens on this day, with the Moon nearing its first quarter phase at 4.8° to the south of Saturn.
The Moon-planet pair will become visible at 46° above the southern horizon beginning 5:56 P.M until the pair sets towards the horizon at 11:11 P.M. That’s a pretty long window of opportunity to check out the Ringed Planet with our lone natural satellite.
November 11 – Appulse of Moon and Jupiter
It’s Jupiter’s turn to dance with the Moon tonight, and the two objects are expected to be seen at 5:52 P.M. The pair’s highest point in the sky is at 6:42 P.M., with its location estimated at 50° above the southern horizon.
November 17 – Leonid Meteor Shower
An active meteor shower will peak on November 17, but because the waxing gibbous Moon will be a very bright presence in the night sky (illumination will be more than 90%), this meteor shower may not be able to meet every sky watcher’s expectation.
Under completely dark, moonless, and cloudless skies, the Leonid meteor shower is estimated to showcase 10 to 15 meteors per hour. These meteors are made of the space debris of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle scratching the Earth’s atmosphere as our home planet plows through the debris’ path.
The Moon’s presence can reduce the actual number of meteors expected to be seen. Still firm about observing the shower? Here’s a tip: look at the direction of the Leo constellation. This is where the meteors will appear to radiate, and hence, the meteor shower’s name.
November 23 – Venus at the highest altitude in the evening sky
Want to have a good look at the third brightest object in our night sky? Look up on November 23, as Venus reaches its highest altitude in the evening sky, shining brightly at magnitude -4.4.
Look at 30° above the horizon at sunset and you’ll find our planet’s twin.
Sunrise and Sunset times
Nov 1 06:29 ↑ 17:42 ↓
Nov 30 06:48 ↑ 17:33 ↓
The Moon’s Phases
November 5 – New Moon
November 11 – First Quarter
November 19 – Full Moon
November 27 – Last Quarter
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REFERENCES
Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2021. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sea and Sky: www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2021.html
Calendar of Astronomical Events. (n.d.). Retrieved from In-The-Sky.org: http://in-the- sky.org/newscal.php?year=2021&month=11&maxdiff=4 #datesel
Sunrise and sunset times in Abu Dhabi, November 2021. (n.d.). Retrieved from timeanddate.com: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi?month=11&year=2021