What's up: November 15 - November 21

Sunset this week is just after 5 PM and it will continue to get earlier and earlier as we approach early December.

The weather for this week is looking particularly cold with perhaps some clear-ish nights around Wednesday and Thursday. The moon this week is in its waxing crescent phase so the night skies will be even darker. If you go stargazing be sure to bring some layers to stay warm as nighttime temperatures will feel below freezing. This week brings us the peak of the Leonids meteor shower, meteor collecting at home, a close pass between the moon and some outer planets, and some rising winter constellations.

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning are the best times to watch for some Leonid meteors shooting across the sky. This annual meteor shower is active between November 6th and 30th and originates from the constellation of Leo. This constellation does not rise until the early morning hours, but it can be found by first locating the Big Dipper and then traveling down past the bottom of the bowl of the dipper by about 40° (about four fist lengths). Roughly 10-20 meteors per hour are expected but seeing this many requires a trip to a dark sky location. The meteors from this shower come from the debris of Comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle and streak through the atmosphere at 44 miles per second!

The Leonids are not a particularly strong shower, but it produces occasionally bright meteors. A much better shower coming up is the Geminid shower, which produces as many as 100 per hour on the night of December 13. Every 33 years, however, when comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle dives into the inner solar system, the Earth passes through a particularly dense patch of dust from the meteors, and the show is much, much stronger. In 1999 and 2000, hundreds of meteors per hour were seen. The next time this will happen will be in 2033.

The “radiant” of the the Leonid shower. This is the point that the meteors of this shower seem to come from.

Did you know it’s actually possible to collect meteors from your backyard? Well, micrometeorites- the tiny particles that meteors leave behind- at least. All you need is a magnet, some Ziploc bags, a binder clip, and a microscope or magnifying glass. Roughly 3,000 tons of micrometeorites fall to Earth’s surface every year and plenty of that lands on your yard, rooftop, and elsewhere. To collect these micro-space rocks, start by wrapping the magnet in 2 layers of Ziploc bags (just in case one tears) and fasten the magnet in the bags to a gutter spout using the binder clip so that when it rains the water pours over the magnet. The rainwater will wash down many micrometeorites that have fallen onto your roof. The magnet will help separate out the iron based micrometeorites. After several days, take the bags off and sort through what the magnet has picked up with a microscope or magnifying glass. Any small and very spherical objects are your micrometeorites.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the moon will be neighbors to the outer planets of Jupiter and Saturn. A pair of binoculars or a telescope will be able to reveal great detail in the lunar surface. You may also get to see the famous rings that circle Saturn and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter.

The moon joins Jupiter and Saturn in the southwest this week.

Some winter constellations to be on the lookout for include Pisces the fish, Taurus the Bull, and Perseus. All of these can be seen shortly after sunset in the eastern skies. There are many different legends and myths associated with the different constellations across different cultures. In addition to simply enjoying the beauty of the stars and planets, perhaps added context and legends may enhance the experience.

The constellations that rise in on November evenings.

This week may only yield one or two clear nights, but those few nights will be very exciting with meteors and a moon not bright enough to wash everything out. The nights ahead will be uncomfortably cold, but will give crisp and clear night skies as the cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air nor is the cool air as turbulent. Be on the lookout this week for meteors, the moon and some outer planets, and some winter constellations.

Clear Skies!