Phoenix
Deepens Trenches on Mars- The Surface Stereo
Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander took this false colour
image on Oct. 21, 2008, during the 145th Martian day since
landing. The white areas seen in these trenches are part
of an ice layer beneath the soil
Chandrayaan-1 lifts off for
the Moon - India's first unmanned flight to
the moon blasted off from Sriharikota, off the Andhra
Pradesh coast, early morning on Weds. 22nd October 2008
Cassini
Huygens - Enceladus peeks over the limb of Dione
during a partial occultation
The landmark 10th anniversary of
the Hubble Space Telescope's Hubble Heritage Project
is being celebrated with a 'landscape' image from the
cosmos. Cutting across a nearby star-forming region,
called NGC 3324, are the "hills and valleys"
of gas and dust displayed in intricate detail
Bigger
Crater Farther South of 'Victoria' on Mars
-The team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
has chosen southeast as the direction for the rover's
next extended journey, toward a crater more than 20
times wider than "Victoria Crater." Opportunity
exited Victoria Crater on Aug. 28, 2008, after nearly
a year investigating the interior
The Sun
- is in the constellation of Libra for most of
November. On November 23rd it moves into the northern
part of Scorpius, where it spends the final week
of the month, before moving on into Ophiuchus
on November 29th. At the start of November, the
Sun rises around 7:20 am, and sets around 4:30
pm; the sky is reasonably dark between about 6
pm and 6 am. Sunrise gets about 2 minutes later
each day, and sunset about 1½ minutes earlier.
By the end of the month, the Sun rises around
8:20 am, and sets around 3:40 pm; the sky is reasonably
dark between about 5:15 pm and 6:45 am. Sunspots
are beginning to re-appear more and more frequently,
a sign that solar minimum has passed
Venus
- is in Libra with a magnitude of -4.0, a phase
of 83%, and a diameter of 13". It rises at
10:03, transits at 14:08, and sets at 18:11. It
is visible in the evening sky
Mars
- is in Libra with a magnitude of +1.4, a phase
of 100%, and a diameter of 4". It rises at
08:14, transits at 12:18, and sets at 16:21. It
is almost directly behind the Sun (conjunction
is on December 5th), so we won’t be able
to see the “Red Planet” at all this
month
Uranus
- is in Aquarius with a magnitude of +5.8 and
a diameter of 4". It sets at 01:24, rises
again at 14:10, and transits at 19:45 in the
middle of the month. It is visible in the evening
sky
Mercury
- is at “superior conjunction” (behind
the Sun) on November 25th. We’re unlikely
to see this elusive little planet at all this
month
Jupiter
- is in Sagittarius with a magnitude of -2.0 and
a diameter of 35". It rises at 12:01, transits
at 15:50, and sets at 19:39 in the middle of the
month. It is visible in the evening skyand is
low in the south-west at dusk. It sets about three
hours after sunset
Saturn -
is rising in the early hours of the morning, and
is well up in the south-eastern sky by dawn. It’s
moving very slowly south-eastwards in Leo. Saturn
is to well to the right of Arcturus, the brightest
star in Boötes; it appears a little dimmer
than Arcturus, but it shines with a steadier light.
Before dawn on Friday November 21st, the waning
Moon will be to the right of Saturn, about 7 degrees
away; the following morning, the Moon will be
directly below Saturn, about 11 degrees away
Neptune
- is in Capricornus with a magnitude of +7.9 and
a diameter of 2". It rises at 13:21, transits
at 18:01, and sets at 22:42 in the middle of the
month. It is visible in the evening sky
Meteors
- On any clear night, we may see the occasional meteor
or “shooting-star”, as tiny specks of
inter-planetary débris burn up in the Earth’s
atmosphere. Sometimes the Earth travels through a
cloud of this dust, and we get a meteor-shower.
The Leonid meteor shower is generally active between
November 15th and 20th; this year it will probably
peak around midday on Monday November 17th, so the
best time to look would be shortly before dawn that
day. Shower meteors all seem to spread out from a
single radiant point; for the Leonids, this point
is within the “Sickle” of Leo, about midway
between the planet Saturn and the waning gibbous Moon
on the 17th. Unfortunately, the light from the Moon
will drown out all but the brightest meteors
Meanwhile, sporadic (non-shower) meteors can be seen
on any night, in any direction
Lunar occultations
As the Moon moves around the Earth each month, it
occasionally passes directly in front of one of the
stars, and occults it. This happens much less often
than one might imagine. But on the evening of Thursday
November 13th, the Moon occults several of the stars
in the Pleiades or “Seven Sisters” star-cluster.
When the Sun sets, just after 4 pm, the Moon will
be just above the north-eastern horizon. As the sky
darkens, it should be possible to see the star-cluster
immediately to the left of the Moon, though it won’t
be easy, as the Moon is Full; binoculars will help.
Gradually, the Moon will draw nearer to the stars.
From about 7 pm (the exact time depends on your location),
the stars in the cluster will be disappearing behind
the Moon’s left-hand edge, and re-appearing
at the right-hand edge. Surprisingly, the Moon can
only cover a few of the stars at any one time. The
last one will re-appear just after 9 pm
First Quarter
Full Moon 
Last Quarter
New Moon 
The Sun
- is in the constellation of Libra for most of
November. On November 23rd it moves into the northern
part of Scorpius, where it spends the final week
of the month, before moving on into Ophiuchus
on November 29th. At the start of November, the
Sun rises around 7:20 am, and sets around 4:30
pm; the sky is reasonably dark between about 6
pm and 6 am. Sunrise gets about 2 minutes later
each day, and sunset about 1½ minutes earlier.
By the end of the month, the Sun rises around
8:20 am, and sets around 3:40 pm; the sky is reasonably
dark between about 5:15 pm and 6:45 am. Sunspots
are beginning to re-appear more and more frequently,
a sign that solar minimum has passed
Venus
- is in Libra with a magnitude of -4.0, a phase
of 83%, and a diameter of 13". It rises at
10:03, transits at 14:08, and sets at 18:11. It
is visible in the evening sky
Mars
- is in Libra with a magnitude of +1.4, a phase
of 100%, and a diameter of 4". It rises at
08:14, transits at 12:18, and sets at 16:21. It
is almost directly behind the Sun (conjunction
is on December 5th), so we won’t be able
to see the “Red Planet” at all this
month
Uranus
- is in Aquarius with a magnitude of +5.8 and
a diameter of 4". It sets at 01:24, rises
again at 14:10, and transits at 19:45 in the
middle of the month. It is visible in the evening
sky
Mercury
- is at “superior conjunction” (behind
the Sun) on November 25th. We’re unlikely
to see this elusive little planet at all this
month
Jupiter
- is in Sagittarius with a magnitude of -2.0 and
a diameter of 35". It rises at 12:01, transits
at 15:50, and sets at 19:39 in the middle of the
month. It is visible in the evening skyand is
low in the south-west at dusk. It sets about three
hours after sunset
Saturn -
is rising in the early hours of the morning, and
is well up in the south-eastern sky by dawn. It’s
moving very slowly south-eastwards in Leo. Saturn
is to well to the right of Arcturus, the brightest
star in Boötes; it appears a little dimmer
than Arcturus, but it shines with a steadier light.
Neptune
- is in Capricornus with a magnitude of +7.9 and
a diameter of 2". It rises at 13:21, transits
at 18:01, and sets at 22:42 in the middle of the
month. It is visible in the evening sky