Celebration of Space - November 15, 2024
The Full Beaver Moon of November occurs today!
This afternoon, Friday, November 15, 2024 at 4:30 pm ET, the Moon will arrive in alignment with the Earth and the Sun. This alignment is known as opposition, and places the Moon on the opposite side of Earth than the Sun, keeping the side of the Moon that we see in direct sunlight. Though you may not have heard of a lunar opposition before, you just know it by a different name, the full Moon. On the night of the full Moon, the Moon rises with the setting Sun and will set with the rising Sun, keeping the Moon above the horizon for the entire nighttime period.
Like all full lunar phases, the November Moon has a common name that relates to natural events that have historically occurred during the month. In November the full Moon is named, The Full Beaver Moon. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, November is when beavers start to take shelter in their log cabins, as the coming winter is upon us. Other names the full November Moon goes by are the Digging Moon, the Deer Rutting Moon, the Frosty Moon (our personal favorite), and the Freezing Moon. Regardless of what you call the November full Moon, be sure to step outside tonight to catch a view.
Starting overnight Saturday – Sunday, November 16 – 17, 2024, the annual Leonid Meteor Shower peak will occur. Bringing with it an increase in regular meteor activity by about 15 meteors per hour, the Leonid Meteor Shower peak is somewhat of a dud. In 2024, it will be even worse due to the occurrence being only one day after the full Moon. The Leonid shower is very well known, and it may sound strange to some reading that the shower is a dud. This is because the Leonids produce a rather amazing outburst of meteors every 30 so years. The last time this happened was in 2001, and the display was nothing short of amazing, sporting thousands of meteors per hour. Outside of that cycle, the shower is really a slow mover and the vast majority of meteors you will see are actually from the Taurid meteor showers.
The reason for the 30 year outburst comes down to Comet 55P / Tempel-Tuttle, the parent object of the Leonid Meteor Shower. Comet Tempel-Tuttle is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 33 years. When the comet makes its close approach to the Sun, called perihelion, outgassing activity becomes very significant, which leaves a much higher density of debris along the comet’s orbit. Over time this debris field will scatter. Coincidentally, during the perihelion years, Earth will pass through one of these dense debris fields from not too long ago, which will increase the rate of meteors that enter Earth’s atmosphere. The next such occurrence may happen in the early 2030’s, though there is skepticism that Earth may not encounter another dense debris field until the end of the century. Regardless, the Leonid Meteor Shower is certainly one to skip, that is unless it’s a perihelion year.
Save the Date:
Friday, December 13, 2024, from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
The Frosty Drew Holiday Stargazing Spectacular
Stop in at Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center for a night of holiday frivolities as we ring in the holiday season. This is a night to get out under the stars and celebrate the winter holiday. At Frosty Drew, the Winter Solstice brings in so much joy. It is the longest night of the year, which is a playground for astronomers. On the 13th, the Frosty Drew campus will be buzzing with holiday revelries. We’ll have a special airing in the Sky Theatre, décor, and tasty treats. Of course the cosmos are on the list for the night, and our telescopes will be pointed to the December sky. Put the night on your calendar and make plans to join us for a special night out under the stars. Tickets for the event will become available in the coming days and can be acquired on the event page.
This coming Saturday, November 16, 2024, Earth will arrive at the point in our orbit where we are directly between the Sun and Uranus. This is called the opposition of Uranus, and places Uranus into best viewing. Opposition is generally when a planet is at its closest point to Earth. On November 16th, Uranus will be 1,726,377,000 miles distant from Earth, which takes light 154 minutes to reach us. If seeing conditions at Frosty Drew are acceptable, we will direct the large 24 inch telescope towards Uranus on Friday, November 15th. Over the next couple of weeks, the views of Uranus will be at their best, so make plans to visit Frosty Drew for a view. Note that Uranus is not visible to the unaided eye, and a telescope will be necessary to catch a view of the distant planet.
This past week, the International Space Station (ISS) has joined China’s space station (Tiangong) in returning to the evening sky over our region. Since we are fast approaching the Winter Solstice, evening passes of the stations are happening quite early, making it easy to get outside to catch a view. Here are several notable passes for this weekend and coming week for both stations:
ISS:
Fri, Nov 15 at 5:08 pm, starting in the SSW, rising to 34º, heading towards the ENE, and into orbital sunset
Sat, Nov 16 at 5:56 pm, starting in the WSW, rising to 50º, heading towards the NNE, and into orbital sunset
Sun, Nov 17 at 5:08 pm, starting in the SW, rising to 83º, heading towards the NE, and into orbital sunset ← Awesome pass!
Mon, Nov 18 at 5:57 pm, starting in the W, rising to 25º, and into orbital sunset
Tue, Nov 19 at 5:08 pm, starting in the W, rising to 35º, heading towards the NE
Thu, Nov 21 at 5:09 pm, starting in the WNW, rising to 21º, heading towards the NNE
Tiangong:
Fri, Nov 15 at 5:38 pm, starting in the W, rising to 86º, heading towards the E, and into orbital sunset ← Awesome pass!
Sat, Nov 16 at 6:18 pm, starting in the W, rising to 59º, and into orbital sunset
Sun, Nov 17 at 5:20 pm, starting in the W, rising to 88º, heading towards the E, and into orbital sunset ← Awesome pass!
Mon, Nov 18 at 6:00 pm, starting in the W, rising to 58º, heading towards the SSE, and into orbital sunset
Tue, Nov 19 at 5:06 pm, starting in the W, rising to 77º, heading towards the ESE ← Awesome pass!
Wed, Nov 20 at 5:41 pm, starting in the W, rising to 37º, heading towards the SE, and into orbital sunset.
Orbital sunset occurs when the stations orbit into Earth’s shadow, which occurs once every 90 minutes. When observing the stations pass over, the only light we see is sunlight reflected off of the panels and labs attached to the stations. Once the stations orbit out of direct sunlight, they will quickly fade from our view until they are no longer visible. For residents of the stations this is experienced as sunset. Now, put these pass times on your calendar and set your alarms. Seeing humanity’s space based residences passing overhead is quite a remarkable experience!
