THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN NOVEMBER 2019
Dates and times shown are NZDT (UT + 13 hours). Rise and Set times are for Wellington. They will vary by a few minutes elsewhere in NZ. Data is adapted from that shown by GUIDE 9.
THE SUN and PLANETS in November 2019, Rise & Set, Mag. & Cons.
November 1 NZDT November 30 NZDT
Mag Cons Rise Set Mag Cons Rise Set
SUN -26.7 Lib 6.06am 8.03pm -26.7 Oph 5.40am 8.38pm
Merc 0.6 Lib 6.50am 9.48pm -0.6 Lib 4.49am 6.52pm
Venus -3.8 Lib 7.06am 9.49pm -3.9 Sgr 7.25am 10.50pm
Mars 1.8 Vir 5.19am 6.15pm 1.7 Vir 4.11am 5.58pm
Jup -1.9 Oph 8.38am 11.44pm -1.8 Sgr 7.09am 10.17pm
Sat 0.6 Sgr 10.17am 1.16am 0.6 Sgr 8.34am 11.32pm
Uran 5.7 Ari 7.28pm 6.08am 5.7 Ari 5.29pm 4.11am
Nep 7.8 Aqr 3.22pm 4.17am 7.9 Aqr 1.27pm 2.22am
Pluto 14.5 Sgr 10.40am 1.40am 14.5 Sgr 8.49am 11.48pm
November 1 NZDT November 30 NZDT
Twilights morning evening morning evening
Civil: start 5.39am, end 8.31pm start 5.10am, end 9.09pm
Nautical: start 5.03am, end 9.07pm start 4.29am, end 9.50pm
Astro: start 4.24am, end 9.46pm start 3.41am, end10.38pm
November PHASES OF THE MOON, times NZDT & UT
First quarter: Nov 4 at 11.23pm (10:23 UT).
Full Moon: Nov 13 at 2.34am (Nov 12, 13:34 UT)
Last quarter Nov 20 at 10.11am (Nov 19, 21:11 UT)
New Moon: Nov 27 at 4.06am (Nov 26, 15:06 UT)
PLANETS in NOVEMBER
MERCURY is too close to the Sun to observe for much of November. On the evening of the 1st at about 9pm, it will 7° above the horizon and 3° to the left of Venus, so giving a guide to Mercury. Earlier on the 1st, Mercury is stationary. It is stationary again on the 21st. Between the two dates the planet moves to the west and is at inferior conjunction on the 12th. A solar transit at this conjunction is unobservable from NZ and Australia.
VENUS starts November level with Mercury, but Venus will be moving to the east so the two separate in a few days. It remains an evening object and sets well over 2 hours after the Sun at the end of November. On the evening of the 24th, Venus will be 1.5° from Jupiter. An hour after sunset they will be some 10° above the horizon. Four evenings later, with Venus 4° above Jupiter, the two will be joined by the crescent moon, a couple of degrees below Jupiter.
MARS moves a little further up into the morning sky, rising 90 minutes before the Sun by the 30th. Early in the month Mars moves past Spica, with the two less than 3° apart on the morning of the 11th. Mars then rises only an hour before the Sun, so will be very low
JUPITER is an early evening object so will be low as the sky darkens. After the 24th when Jupiter and Venus are close, Jupiter will become the lower of the two.
SATURN is an evening object setting just before midnight by the end of November. This month's lunar occultation on the 2nd is visible from New Zealand. The disappearance behind the moon Earth-lit limb is observable but occurs during evening twilight for the South Island. The reappearance is about hour later but takes place at the sunlit limb..
PLUTO, like Saturn, is in Sagittarius, the two planets are less than 4° apart at the end of the month.
URANUS is an evening object. The almost full moon is 4° from the planet on the 11th.
NEPTUNE, is in Aquarius setting well after midnight. Its apparent motion is to the west until it is stationary on the 28th. Its motion then reverses to the normal east.
POSSIBLE BINOCULAR ASTEROIDS in NOVEMBER
November 1 NZDT November 30 NZDT
Mag Cons transit Mag Cons transit
(1) Ceres 9.2 Oph 4.16pm 9.2 Sgr 3.11pm
(4) Vesta 6.7 Tau 2.09am 6.8 Cet 11.46pm
(9) Metis 8.7 Psc 12.41am 9.4 Psc 10.26pm
(29) Amphitrite 9.2 Psc 11.29pm 9.8 Psc 9.26pm
CERES gets low in the evening sky. Venus passes the asteroid on the 30th, with Ceres 2° to the upper left of Venus at 10 pm.
VESTA is at its brightest being at opposition on November 12. It moves from Taurus to Cetus on the 12th.
METIS and AMPHITRITE are evening objects moving to the west through Pisces. Amphitrite is stationary on the 27th.
Brian Loader