KIZER WHITT COLUMN: November's night sky
By Kelly Kizer Whitt, Sauk Prairie Eagle columnist
Much excitement surrounds the release of the movie "New Moon" on Nov. 20. The premiere of the film is Nov. 16 in Los Angeles, which coincides with the date of the new moon for November.
November's new moon
What is a new moon, exactly? New moon is when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun in the daytime sky, meaning that it is not visible in the evening, providing extra-dark skies all night long.
The full moon for November occurs on Nov. 2 and is called the hunter's moon. On the next night, Nov. 3, the moon passes close by the star cluster known as the Pleiades, and repeats this performance again at the end of the month, on Nov. 30. On Nov. 23, the moon will lie close to Jupiter in the sky.
Fall back on Nov. 1
Daylight saving time ends on Nov. 1, so remember to set your clocks back before you go to bed on Halloween evening. Because of the time change, sunset arrives extra early on the first day of the month, at 4:50 p.m., and it only gets darker as the month progresses. By the end of the month the sun will set by 4:25 p.m.
Shooting stars
Shooting stars or falling stars are more properly referred to as meteors. These bits of dust and pebbles become superheated as they plunge into our atmosphere, emitting a bright light before disintegrating into nothingness.
A quiet meteor shower occurs on Nov. 11 when the Northern Taurid meteors peak. Look toward the V-shaped constellation Taurus rising in the east by 7 p.m. to see the burning debris left behind by Comet Encke.
A slightly stronger meteor shower this month is the Leonids, which peek before dawn on Nov. 17. The Leonid meteor shower was created by Comet Temple-Tuttle. Look east around 5 a.m. for the backward question-mark shape of Leo, which is where the Leonids appear to shoot from. You may also notice reddish Mars on one side of Leo and yellowish Saturn on the other side.
Jupiter still dominates
The evening sky is still ruled by the king of the planets, Jupiter. Most of the other bright planets have been in the morning sky for the past few months.
But mars is slowly making its way into the sky in the east as Jupiter sets in the west. Next month, Jupiter will once again lie alongside Neptune, providing another rare opportunity for observers to spot the farthest planet from the sun.