46 NOVEMBER 2019 • SKY & TELESCOPE
NOVEMBER 2019 OBSERVING
Sun, Moon & Planets by Fred Schaaf
I
t’s an unusually exciting month for
observing the planets. All of Africa
and the Americas (apart from Alaska
and northernmost Canada) and most of
Europe get a chance — weather permit-
ting — to see Mercury cross the face
of the Sun. The two brightest planets,
Venus and Jupiter, have a close con-
junction in evening twilight late in the
month — and then Venus races onward
toward Saturn. Meanwhile, November
dawns see Mars climbing into plain
visibility (as it passes brighter Spica) and
later in the month offer Mercury, shoot-
ing fresh from its transit of the Sun into
its best morning apparition of the year.DAYTIME
Mercury transits the Sun on Novem-
ber 11th. The East Coast of the U.S.A Transit and a Close Conjunction
The big event this month is the passage of Mercury across the face of the Sun,
but the other planets put on a pretty fi ne show, too.and Canada get to see this event in its
entirety — but then will have to wait
until 2049 for the next one. For full
information on the transit, see page 48.DUSK AND EVENING
Venus and Jupiter shine in mid-twi-
light in the southwest on the fi rst day
of November. Their separation then is
23½°. The gap shrinks to almost 14° by
November 10th, 9° by November 15th,
and 4° by November 20th.
On November 10th, Venus passes
about 4° above low-in-twilight Antares
(easier for viewers in more southerly
locations). On November 22nd the bril-
liant planet, blazing at magnitude –3.9,
is about 2° below Jupiter, at magnitude- 1.9; for viewers around latitude 40°
north, the gas giant stands about 10°
high around 30 minutes after sunset.
Then the two planets are 2° or less
apart for the next three days, with the
closest pairing at about 1½° on Novem-
ber 23rd and 24th.
Can you fi t both planets in the same
fi eld of view of your telescope those
nights, with enough magnifi cation to
perceive and compare their disks? Jupi-
ter’s disk at just a little more than 32′′
in diameter is a bit less than three times
as wide as Venus’s now, but Venus has
a very much greater surface brightness.
Can you get a sharp enough image of
Venus in the unsteady atmosphere low
in the sky to see it as slightly gibbous?
Venus will be about 90% lit at the time
of its conjunction with 100%-lit Jupiter.
Venus is racing to attain its south-
ernmost declination this year on46 NOVEMBER 2019 • SKY & TELESCOPE
To fi nd out what’s
visible in the sky
from your location,
go to skypub.com/
almanac.Dusk, Nov 1–2
1 hour after sunsetSAGITTARIUSSaturn
Moon
Nov 1Moon
Nov 2Looking South-Southwest10 °Dawn, Nov 9
45 minutes before sunriseSpicaCORVUSMarsLooking Southeastγ VirNov 15–17
CastorProcyonPolluxCANIS
MINORGEMINIMoon
Nov 15Moon
Nov 16Moon
Nov 17Looking East-NortheastAround 10 pm