Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, November 29 and 30, 2023

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, November 29 and 30, written by Alan French.

The Sun rises at 7:04 A.M. on Wednesday and sets at 4:23 P.M. On Thursday it rises at 7:05 and sets at 4:23. This Thursday has 11 ½ minutes less daylight than last Thursday.

The Moon was full early Monday and is now headed toward last quarter. On Wednesday the Moon will rise at 6:03 P.M. in the northeast and will appear 92% sunlit. By Thursday it will rise at 7:04 P.M. and its visible face will be only 86% in sunlight. On Thursday the Moon will be near Pollux, one of the two bright stars in Gemini, the Twins. At 10 P.M. the Moon will be 27 degrees above the eastern horizon and Pollux will be less than two degrees to its upper left. The Moon will reach last quarter on Tuesday, December 5.

Early Wednesday night we can see the Chinese space station, Tiangong, glide across the southern sky. It will first appear a little south of due west at 5:10 P.M. By 5:12 the space station will be moving above
Aquila, the Eagle, in the southwest, and soon after will pass just above its brightest star, Altair.

Soon after 5:13 it will be passing across the southeast sky and then pass south of Jupiter as it heads into the Earth’s shadow just above the horizon. Reaching magnitude -1.8 at its brightest, Tiangong should be
easy to spot.

Thursday night the ISS will pass low across the northern horizon, ending its appearance by moving into the Earth’s shadow and fading from view. At its highest the ISS will reach magnitude -2.7.

Look for the ISS at 5:42 P.M. low in the northwest. At 5:43:30 (HH:MM:SS) the space station will be passing just above the end of the Big Dipper’s handle. Its path will take it above the Big Dipper and it will pass below the North Star, marking the end of the Little Dipper’s handle, just after 5:45. Its path is headed almost directly toward Capella, the bright star low in the northeast. Soon after 5:46, as it is moving toward Capella, the ISS will move into the Earth’s shadow and fade from view.

The Sun unleashed Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that are headed Earth’s way. These may trigger aurora during the latter part of the week. The best way to catch northern lights is to keep an eye on the north to
northwestern sky any clear night.