Leonid meteor shower, Blood Moon, Uranus and more: November will be a veritable feast in the sky

In the nights of November, the sky will be the scene of many feasts for those who watch the stars. A total lunar eclipse, several meteor showers and the best Uranus view of the year await us in November. You can find dates for planning your sky watching program in the rest of this post.

November 4: Rain of Taurids

The Taurid shower is an annual light show in which shooting stars are produced by dust from two other sources, Asteroid 2004 TG10 and Comet 2P Encke. This event is a minor storm at its peak on November 4, where we can expect to see five to 10 meteors per hour, but the moon will be nearly full so only the brightest meteors will be visible. For the best asteroid sightings, it’s recommended to look for real in the constellation Taurus (Taurus), which will appear quickly after midnight to be the source of many of the meteors.

November 8: Blood Moon

On November 8, the Moon will be at full moon. Known as the “Beaver Moon” in the US, November’s full moon will be more than just a full moon. This will be a “blood moon”, that is, a total lunar eclipse, in which the shadow of the Earth paints the Moon a rusty red color.

November 9: Uranus will come into closest position

On November 9, the planet Uranus will reach its closest position to Earth all year, with its face fully illuminated by the sun. Uranus will be so large and bright at this time of year that people with good vision will be able to see it without binoculars or telescopes, even when the moon is nearly full. For the best view, it is recommended to look to the east on the ninth of the month. The blue-green dot of Uranus will quickly appear next to the Pleiades star in the constellation Taurus.

November 6 – 30: Leonid meteor shower

The Leonid meteor shower will occur mid-November 6 through 30, with up to 15 meteors per hour at its top. This year, the peak will occur on November 17 and 18, when Earth passes through the middle of the dust trail left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Leonid meteors are so bright that light from the Moon doesn’t suffocate many. They are often colorful and can sometimes put on an incredible show. For the best view it is recommended to look east to the constellation Leo, but meteors can also be seen in other parts of the sky.

Approximately every 33 years, the Leonid meteor shower becomes enormous and turns into a meteor storm with hundreds or even thousands of shooting stars per hour. The last Leonid “cycle peak” was in 2001, so the next meteor storm is expected in 2034.

November 23: New Moon

After all the excitement of meteor showers and lunar eclipses, the calmness of the dark night sky with no moon will give us all a chance to rest. This month, the new moon occurs on November 23. The dark skies make the 23rd of the month a perfect night to view more distant celestial objects such as galaxies and star clusters…