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The Sky This Week

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The Sky This Week is simply a stargazing highlight for every week of the year written for beginner astronomers. The ever changing sky provides stargazers with endless celestial events including planet gatherings, lunar occultations, and even the rare eclipse. The Sky This Week is meant to be your stargazing guide for what's happening right now and what to look forward to this month and next. Enjoy!

Want More Info?

For a daily printable calendar, check out Abram's Planetarium Sky Calendar.
For more in-depth descriptions & illustrations, visit Sky & Telescope's This Week At A Glance.

November

Week of Nov. 1 -

On the morning of Nov. 1 (evening of Oct. 31) watch Mars move into the Beehive Cluster (M44) located in the constellation Cancer. Due to light pollution, binoculars or a telescope is recommended for viewing this event. By Nov. 2nd the red planet will appear to the east of the the cluster.

Week of Nov. 8 -

This week watch the moon appear to pass 3 planets in the sky. Mars rises in the evening around 10:30pm, Saturn rises around 2:30am, and Venus, the brightest planet, rises just before sunrise. By the time Venus rises, Saturn is halfway up in the southeastern sky and Mars is high in the southwest.

At the beginning of the week the moon will rise before all three planets, but by the end of the week the moon can be seen rising with Venus just before sunrise. The moon appears to travel against the background of stars - in this case the planets - due to the moon's orbit around earth. Every day the moon rises about 50 minutes later than the day before.

Nov. 8 - Moonrise at 9:30 pm (before Mars - near Mars in sky)

Nov. 10 - Moonrise at Midnight (after Mars - between Mars & Jupiter in sky)

Nov. 13 - Moonrise at 3:30 am (after Jupiter - between Jupiter & Venus in sky)

Week of Nov. 15 -

At nightfall, look for the bright planet Jupiter due south. Jupiter spends all evening in the night sky until it sets in the west at midnight. As Jupiter is setting in the west, Mars is rising in the east around 10:00 pm.

Week of Nov. 22 -

After sunset on Nov. 23rd look for the nearly first quarter moon near Jupiter.

Week of Nov. 29 -

Mars continues is journey through the zodiac constellations. Due to the orbital motion of the planets, planets appear to travel eastward against the background of stars which belong to the zodiac. At the beginning of the month Mars passed the Beehive Cluster in the constellation Cancer, the crab. On Nov. 30th, Mars passes into the region of sky belonging to Leo, the lion.

Leo will only have the red planet as a visitor for a short period. On Dec. 22nd, Mars appears to move backwards (retrograde) and returns to Cancer.

December

Week of Dec. 6 -

This week look for 4 out of the 5 visible planets.

Jupiter - Don't wait to view Jupiter! At dusk, Jupiter is in the south but sets around 10:00 pm.

Mars - The red planet is rising around 9:00 pm this week. Watch Mars all month as it gets brighter.

Saturn - The ringed world rises around midnight and can be seen high in the south at dawn.

Mercury - Look along the horizon in the southwest for Mercury after sunset. Next week will provide a better opportunity to see this elusive planet.

Week of Dec. 13 -

Mercury is at greatest elongation on Dec. 18th. This means that Mercury appears the furthest from the sun in the sky as viewed from earth. This also means that this week will be our best opportunity to view the planet this month. About 45 minutes after sunset, look to the southwest for Mercury. The thin waxing crescent moon will help as it appears just above the planet. Binoculars are recommended for viewing Mercury as it is hard to see in the twilight.

Week of Dec. 20 -

Winter Solstice (first day of winter) on Dec. 21st. This day is truely the darkest...meaning we see the shortest length of daylight (the sun spends the least amount of time in the sky over a 24 hour period). In the Chicago area we will see the Sun rise at 7:15 am and sets at 4:23 pm (we will see the Sun for only 9 hours 7 minutes and 54 seconds).

Week of Dec. 27 -

On New Year's Eve (Dec. 31st) we will observe a Blue Moon. No we won't see the moon change color. By definition, a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. This month we will see a full moon on the 1st and 31st of December. It is possible because there are roughly 29.5 days between full moons and 30 to 31 days in a month (February with 28 days in a month can never have a Blue Moon). The saying "Once in a Blue Moon" means a rare occurrence. However, Blue Moons are not all that rare, on average there will be one Blue Moon every 2.5 years.

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