Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday, November 17 and 18, 2025, written by Alan French

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday, November 17 and 18, 2025, written by Alan French.

The Sun rises at 6:50 A.M. on Monday and sets at 4:30 P.M. On Tuesday it rises at 6:51 A.M. and sets at 4:29 P.M.

The Moon was at third quarter early last Wednesday and is now moving toward new. On Monday morning a crescent Moon rises at 4:19 A.M. in the  east-southeast. At 5:30 A.M. look for a slim, 7% sunlit crescent Moon 11 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. Spica, the brightest star in Virgo will be less than two degrees away, above and a bit left of the crescent. Moonrise on Thursday will be at 5:22 A.M. and the Moon will be only 5 degrees high and 3% in sunlight at 6 A.M. The Moon reaches new
early Thursday morning.

Saturn is now south and highest around 7:50 P.M, when it will be 43 degrees above the horizon. Jupiter rises just before 8:30 P.M. and shines brightly 26 degrees above the eastern horizon at 11 P.M.

At 8 P.M. the familiar W of Cassiopeia is high in the northern sky, essentially upside down and looking more like a jagged M. Cassiopeia, the Queen, is one of 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek
astronomer Ptolemy. The constellation was named after the Queen of Ethiopia and wife of King Cepheus. They are the only husband and wife appearing among the constellations.

The stars of the constellation Cepheus are not far from Cassiopeia, but are neither as bright nor as distinctive. Look for a pattern of stars to the northwest (lower left) of Cassiopeia that seems to outline the end of a house, with the peak of the roof pointing downward toward the northeast. At 8 P.M. this time of year Cepheus lies above the Little Dipper.

The region around Cassiopeia is rich in stars and contains many star clusters, compact groups of stars. It is a good area to explore with binoculars and telescopes on dark, moonless nights such as these.