Starwatch: The November night sky

One month away from Comet ISON's Sun-grazing perihelion on 28 November, it is still anyone's guess as to whether it will flourish or flop. Meanwhile, Jupiter is now our brightest non-lunar object for much of the night.Venus, brilliant at mag -4.4 to -4.6, stands low in the SSW at sunset, though its altitude improves from about 7° to 11° as it turns northwards again and by the 30th it sets later than 18:30. Look for it 8° below-left of the young Moon on the 6th when it stands further S against the stars than it has been since 1930.Jupiter, mag -2.4 to -2.6, sits below and right of Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Rising just before our map times, it climbs to high into the S before dawn and is above-left of the Moon on the 21st-22nd.Mars rises in the E at 01:20 on the 1st and 20 minutes earlier by the 30th. Speeding eastwards from Leo to Virgo, it improves from mag 1.5 to 1.2 and lies to the left of the Moon on the 27th.Mercury is very well placed before dawn from the 10th onwards as it rises more than 90 minutes before the Sun, brightens from mag 0.6 to -0.7 and stands between 9° and 11° high in the SE thirty minutes before sunrise. It is joined by Saturn, mag 0.5, which passes close to Mercury on the 26th.Comet ISON remains disappointing and too dim to be seen through binoculars. This should change by the 18th when it lies 0.7° left of Spica low in the SE before dawn and it should be brighter still when 5.5° right of Mercury on the 22nd. Expect another update here on the ...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - October 28, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Alan Pickup Tags: The Guardian Astronomy Comets Features Science Space Source Type: news