A 7.4% crescent (earth glow) appears next to Rocca Calascio Castle in Calascio, Italy, … [+]
Every Monday, I pick the North American sky points for the coming week (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere). Check out my main stream for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.
The Night Sky This Week: Oct. 28-Nov. 3, 2024
Later this week is a new moon, which makes the evening night skies completely moonless and dark – perfect for searching for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS with a pair of binoculars and for showing off the aurora. With solar activity increasing this week, strong geomagnetic storms are possible for the next week or so.
Meanwhile, the week ends with an opportunity to observe an extremely thin crescent moon, re-emerging from the sun’s glare, next to the red supergiant star Antares after sunset.
Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing and astronomy this week:
Monday, Oct. 28: Sunspots
If you still have your eclipse glasses from the April 8th total solar eclipse across North America, use them today (and any day this week) to look at the sun — there are sunspots everywhere! Sunspots are at a 23-year high, with active areas this week including AR3873, AR3872 and AR3869 to the sun’s southeast. They produce multiple solar flares over the past few days and rotate to face Earth.
NASA’s SOHO views of the sun on October 26, 2024, showing multiple active sunspot regions in … [+]
Thursday, October 31: Halloween — As Astronomy Day!
Why Halloween in an article about stargazing? October 31st is a cross day – halfway between the September equinox and the December solstice. The other three cross days of the year include Geranus Day on February 2nd, May Day on May 1st and Lammas on August 1st. They are not events in themselves, celestially speaking, but they are important markers in our planet’s annual journey around the sun.
Friday November 1: New Moon
Today is every astrologer’s favorite time of the month—the new moon. This lunar phase sees the moon roughly between Earth and the sun, making the moon invisible but the night sky free of moonlight. That makes tonight the best of the month for stargazing, although in practice, the entire week is almost perfect beforehand (and a few days after) is perfect. The following evenings a crescent moon will appear after sunset.
Sunday, November 3: Crescent, Antares and Daylight Savings Time ends
Sunday, November 3: Crescent and Antares (and DST ends)
At 1:00 am local time across North America, daylight saving time ends, with clocks going back one hour (“spring forward, fall back” will help you remember).
Look west after sunset to see an extremely thin crescent moon 5% illuminated, with the red supergiant star Antares very close, directly overhead. A red supergiant star 12 times the mass of the Sun, Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius and one of the largest known stars.
Venus will be higher up, easily visible to the naked eye. If you have binoculars, find faint Mercury in the lower right, very close to the horizon.
Panorama of the week: Jupiter and the winter night sky
Panorama of the week: Jupiter and the winter night sky
Look east at about 10:00 PM, wherever you are in the Northern Hemisphere, and you’ll see Jupiter rising among stars associated with winter. Capella, the “goat star,” will shine to its upper left while Aldebaron, the “bull’s eye” in the constellation Taurus, will be closer to its upper right. Above will be the bright open cluster of stars, the Pleiades. Wait another hour and the stars of Orion will rise below, including Betelgeuse and the three stars of Orion’s Belt.
Panorama of the week: Orion rises below Jupiter as midnight approaches.
The times and dates given are for mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location information, consult online planetariums such as Stellarium.
I wish you clear skies and open eyes.
