TRAC Action Plan: November 2024
- Category: Action Plans
- Author: JM
- Published: 03 Nov 2024
- Last updated: 12 Nov 2024
Autumn Constellations
We didn't get a chance to do any constellation spotting in October, so we'll look out for these autumn constellations in November:
- Pegasus – an enormous winged horse from Greek mythology.
- Aquarius – the water carrier. Found in a patch of sky called the Sea.
- Delphinus – a cute little celestial baby dolphin.
- Cetus – a large sea monster slayed by Perseus and Heracles.
- Pisces – a pair of fish connected by a long fishing line.
- Capricornus – a mythical sea goat that's half goat and half fish.
- Aries – Latin for ram. Contains the bright star Hamal.
- Auriga – Latin for charioteer. Contains the bright star Capella.
- Perseus – named after the Greek mythological hero.
- Taurus – the Bull. Home of the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters.
The Double Cluster
Autumn is also a good time to see the Double Cluster, NGC 869 and NGC 884, two open clusters next to each other in the constellation Perseus.
There are more than 300 blue-white supergiant stars in each of the clusters, which lie at a distance of around 7,500 light years from Earth.
NGC stands for "New General Catalogue", a list of 7,840 deep-sky objects (i.e. galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters) compiled in 1888.
Planets
Venus
Venus (mag -4.0) will be visible an hour or so after sunset towards the end of the month. Venus has phases, just like the Moon. On Nov 29, it will be 68% illuminated. We'll see if we can detect this with the telescope.
Mars
Mars (mag -0.5) will gradually brighten from mag 0.0 to mag -0.5 and drift from the constellation of Gemini (the Twins) to Cancer (the Crab).
By the end of November, Mars will be high enough by 22:00 for us to make our first observations of the red planet! Mars will be in conjunction with the Moon on Nov 20 from 21:00 onwards.
Jupiter
Jupiter (mag -2.6) is shining even brighter now. We've seen Jupiter's two reddish bands, so next we'll look out for the enormous storm known as the "Great Red Spot" and the transit of Io and its shadow (see below).
Saturn
Saturn (mag 0.8) will still be shining brightly in the south. We've seen its moons, Titan and Rhea, so this month we'll try to observe some shadow transits (see below).
Saturn will lie close to the Moon on Nov 10 at 22:30.
Uranus
Uranus (mag 5.6) is visible all night at an altitude of over 50° in the constellation Taurus.
Uranus reaches opposition on Nov 17, but this event won't affect its visibility in any meaningful way.
We struggled to find Uranus last month. We'll look online for some tips on locating it and form a strategy before we set out next time.
Neptune
Neptune (mag 7.8) will once again be visible in the southern sky all month.
It'll be placed a few arcminutes from the star HIP117614, which has a similar magnitude to the planet. This will appear as a double in binoculars and could be used as a way to locate Neptune, which will be a difficult task!
Moon Shadow Transits
A moon transit is when a moon passes directly in front of a planet from our perspective on Earth. A shadow transit is when the shadow of a moon is cast onto the planet. Both of these events can occur at the same time.
We'll try to see at least one such event this month. We'll focus on Io, which travels at around 17 km/s, taking only about 42.5 hours to orbit Jupiter.
A far more difficult target will be Saturn's largest moon, Titan. We'll need an exceptional clear night to witness a Titan shadow transit.
The shadow cast by each of these moons will transit the respective planet at the following times:
| Date | Time | Planet | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, 03 Nov | 18:26 – 20:38 | Jupiter | Io |
| Mon, 04 Nov | 21:08 – 22:51 | Saturn | Titan |
| Sun, 10 Nov | 20:20 – 22:32 | Jupiter | Io |
| Wed, 20 Nov | 19:44 – 22:54 | Saturn | Titan |
| Tue, 26 Nov | 18:38 – 20:50 | Jupiter | Io |
Timings are in UT and may vary by a few minutes.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Comet A3 has been heading away from us over the last few weeks. It's higher in the west in the early evening but now much fainter. Over the course of the month, the comet will fade from magnitude 6.3 to 9.3 as it travels away from the Sun. It's unlikely we'll be able to see it again.
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) (2nd attempt!)
We saw the Andromeda Galaxy on Oct 05 and Oct 11, but it wasn't entirely clear. I'm certain we can get a better view on a very clear night.
The Ring Nebula (M57) (2nd attempt!)
Please refer back to the October Action Plan. We tried to find The Ring Nebula (mag 8.8) on Oct 05, but the weather was so poor that we had no choice but to admit defeat.
We'll have another go at locating it, and we'll see if we're able to discern the ring structure at a high magnification.
Telescope GoTo Feature
The GoTo could be helpful when we're looking for Uranus and Neptune. I'll do some research online to find out if anyone else has encountered the same issues we faced in October and if they managed to find a solution.
Lunar Observations
November 2024 Lunar Calendar
- New Moon Fri 01
- First Quarter Sat 09
- Full Moon Fri 15
- Last Quarter Sat 23
Another "Supermoon"
This month's Full Moon (mag -12.8) will be another so-called supermoon, a full Moon occurring when the Moon is at perigee (closest to Earth).
Moonrise will be at 15:30, around 40 minutes before sunset. We'll try to observe the Moon from the park while it's low in the east and compare it to the view we had in October.
The full moon will be close to the Pleiades and Uranus in Taurus, making these targets unviable around the middle of the month.
BBC Series: Solar System
This new TV series is recommended viewing for all TRAC members who are interested in the planets and moons in our Solar System.
All episodes are now available to watch on BBC iPlayer, and short clips can be found on the BBC Earth Science YouTube channel.
Admin Tasks
Park Access
Sadly, there has been no response from Medway Council. If I haven't heard back by Nov 13, I will send the letter by post and email directly to Medway Norse, the organisation that's contracted to manage the park.
Website: Links & Photos
The website needs new links and more photos. It would also be useful to have a password-protected "members area" where we can display information for TRAC members' eyes only!
Summary
As you know, our main aim for 2024 is to see all the planets in the Solar System. Our number one priority this month is observing the ice giants, Uranus and Neptune. Anything we do beyond that will be a bonus.
This astronomy club is engaging in a high-risk strategy by leaving so many planets until the last eight weeks of the year! Taking this approach makes our endeavour more exhilarating but also more nerve-wracking!
While we look for planets, we might also see some meteors because we have the annual Taurids and Leonids this month. Some of these could be fireballs – meteors reaching a magnitude of -3 or even brighter.
Let's hope and pray for many November nights with clear skies. (You always know the situation is serious when we have to resort to praying!)
James M
TRAC Team Leader
03 Nov 2024 – Rainham, Kent
TRAC is an amateur astronomy group based in Rainham (Kent) in the United Kingdom.
On clear nights, you'll find us outside, observing stars, planets, moons, galaxies, satellites, meteors, and comets.
This action plan is specifically tailored for our location, schedules, optical equipment, level of experience, personal interests, and local sky conditions.
Unless stated otherwise, all magnitude values refer to apparent magnitude and have usually been rounded to one decimal place.
We welcome any questions, feedback, or suggestions you may have. Please let us know if anything is unclear or if you notice an error, inaccuracy, or typo. Contact us via email.
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