Here's how to see all five naked-eye planets visible in November's night sky.

Venus has appeared in the evening sky since the end of spring, but the planet has been either too near to the sun or very low to the southwest horizon and somewhat difficult to see — until now. Finally, this most brilliant of planets will lift noticeably higher into the evening sky and assert itself as a prominent object.

Those who have yet to see Venus this year because it's been hidden behind nearby obstructions such as trees or buildings may be surprised to finally see it glowing in all its splendor, a sight that will be accessible right into the middle of the upcoming winter. Very early in the month, Venus will point the way to Saturn, but that ringed planet will disappear in the sunset fires by the middle of the month.

Mars will continue to dim as it recedes from Earth, but will still shine at a respectable zero magnitude for most of November, remaining in view through midevening. Mercury will begin to assert itself as an evening object during the final week of November. And finally, there's Jupiter, the only prominent morning planet, visible in the east-southeast at dawn.

Here, we present a schedule with some of the best planet-viewing times and where to look to see these objects. In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees.

Mercury is in the evening sky all month, but it remains in the bright twilight. By the end of November, the planet sets an hour after the sun, and its visibility continues to improve into December as the object heads toward greatest eastern elongation on Dec. 10. During the last week of November, scan for Mercury with binoculars soon after sunset low above the southwest horizon. The planet shines at magnitude -0.5, bright enough to show through the thick air on the horizon. In early December, Mercury will creep up into better visibility.

Venus makes a significant climb for observers at midnorthern latitudes during November. The planet sets less than 2 hours after sundown as November begins and about 3 hours after sundown as the month ends. On the evening of Nov. 2, soon after sunset low in the southwest, Saturn will lie approximately a half dozen degrees to the right of Venus, while a nearly three-day-old crescent moon will form a scalene triangle with both planets.

Venus overwhelms Saturn by shining some 63 times brighter as the two planets head in opposite directions this month. Venus comes into view in the southwest right around sunset. On Nov. 4th, binoculars will show the 3rd-magnitude star Theta (θ) Ophiuchi about 0.3 degrees south of dazzling Venus, and on Nov.17th, a naked-eye view will feature Lambda (λ) Sagittarii (also known as Kaus Borealis, the star at the top of the Teapot of Sagittarius) located about 0.3 degrees from Venus. Telescopes will show the disk of Venus about three-quarters illuminated and still rather small this month.

Mars moves from Sagittarius into Capricornus on Nov. 8, remaining a prominent, yellowish-orange "star" low in the southwest all month. For the last two months of 2016, Mars will set within a couple of minutes of 9:30 p.m. local standard time (from latitude 40 degrees north). Remember how dazzling Mars appeared half a year ago? As the planet continues to pull away from Earth, Mars continues to slowly dim. At the start of the month, Mars is 117 million miles from Earth and glows at magnitude +0.4. But by month's end, it will have receded an additional 17 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth and will have faded to magnitude +0.6, which is 1/11 as bright as the planet appeared on Memorial Day. On Nov. 6, the same day that most of the country reverts back to standard time, a fat crescent moon will sail well to the upper left of Mars.

Jupiter, in central Virgo, rises in the east around 5 a.m. local daylight time on Nov. 1, and will rise at 2:30 a.m. local standard time by month's end. At dawn, Jupiter is well up in the southeast, the brightest star-like object in the sky. How have the planet's dark belts, bright zones and subtler marks changed since it became hard to observe in the sunset last August? Shoppers who are up in the predawn hours on "Black Friday," (Nov. 25) will be able to see a slender crescent moon in the southeast sky, with Jupiter shining to the satellite's upper right and the 1st-magnitude, bluish star Spica well below the moon and a bit to its right.

Saturn has been slowly sinking in the west for months. On Nov. 1, the planet lingers in the southwest after sunset. The sunset glow will finally swallow Saturn in mid-November. The planet is backing into the sun's glare as Earth rushes ahead in its smaller, faster orbit around the sun. The ringed planet will lie 91 light minutes from Earth on Nov. 15. The ruddy star Antares, which was near Saturn all year up to now, deserts the planet this month by plunging into the sunset first. Early next month, Saturn will travel behind the sun as seen from Earth. By year's end, the ringed world will emerge into the pre-dawn sky.

Source:
courtesy of SPACE

by Joe Rao

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