THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN NOVEMBER 2021
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 9.1.
A partial eclipse of the moon occurs in the evening of November 19. At maximum eclipse just after 10pm, 97.6% of the moon is immersed in the Earth’s shadow. The moon begins to enter the Earth full shadow at 9.19pm, close to the time of moon rise in NZ. It finally leaves the shadow at 12:48 am.
THE SUN and PLANETS in NOVEMBER 2021, Rise & Set Mag. & Cons.
NOV 1 NZDT NOV 30 NZDT
Mag Cons Rise Set Mag Cons Rise Set
SUN -26.7 Lib 6.05am 8.04pm -26.7 Oph 5.40am 8.38pm
Merc -0.8 Vir 5.35am 6.38pm -1.3 Oph 5.38am 8.43pm
Venus -4.6 Oph 8.26am 12.13am -4.9 Sgr 8.29am 11.54pm
Mars 1.7 Vir 5.46am 7.20pm 1.6 Lib 4.45am 7.08pm
Jup -2.5 Cap 1.20pm 3.18am -2.3 Cap 11.39am 1.30am
Sat 0.6 Cap 12.01pm 2.33am 0.7 Cap 10.15am 12.44am
Uran 5.6 Ari 8.10pm 6.28am 5.7 Ari 6.10pm 4.31am
Nep 7.8 Aqr 3.43pm 4.25am 7.9 Aqr 1.48pm 2.31am
Pluto 14.6 Sgr 10.52am 1.56am 14.6 Sgr 9.01am 12.04am
NOV 1 NZDT NOV 30 NZDT
TWILIGHTS morning evening morning evening
Civil: start 5.38am, end 8.32pm start 5.10am, end 9.09pm
Nautical: start 5.02am, end 9.08pm start 4.29am, end 9.51pm
Astro: start 4.23am, end 9.47pm start 3.41am, end 10.39pm
NOVEMBER PHASES OF THE MOON, times NZDT & UT
New Moon: Nov 5 at 10.15am (Nov 4, 21:15 UT)
First quarter: Nov 12 at 1.46am (Nov 11, 12:46 UT)
Full Moon: Nov 19 at 9.57pm (08:57 UT)
Last quarter Nov 28 at 1.28am (Nov 27, 12:28 UT)
THE PLANETS in NOVEMBER 2021
VENUS is a brilliant object in the evening sky, on the 1st setting just after 12 midnight, NZDT. During November the fraction of the planet illuminated by the Sun, as seen from Earth decreases, from 48% to 29%, but even so it becomes if anything more brilliant.
MERCURY, in the morning sky, rises only half an hour before the Sun on the 1st. It reaches superior conjunction at the far side of the Sun on the 29th, so is unobservable all month.
MARS is even closer to the Sun than Mercury at first. The two planets are only 1° apart on the 10th, a conjunction which will be extremely difficult to see. By the end of the month Mars will be a little further from the Sun, but still a difficult morning object.
JUPITER and SATURN are both easily visible in the evening sky, setting after midnight.
The moon passes Saturn on the 10th, when they will be 5° apart before midnight. The following evening the moon at first quarter, will be rather further from Jupiter.
URANUS, NEPTUNE and PLUTO continue to move into the evening sky with first Neptune and then, later in the month, Uranus rising well before sunset.
POSSIBLE BINOCULAR ASTEROIDS in NOVEMBER
NOV 1 NZDT NOV 30 NZDT
Mag Cons transit Mag Cons transit
(1) Ceres 7.7 Tau 3.15am 7.1 Tau 12.55am
(2) Pallas 9.5 Aqr 9.24pm 9.8 Aqr 7.39pm
(4) Vesta 7.8 Lib 1.09pm 7.6 Sco 2.02pm
(7) Iris 9.1 Gem 6.30am 8.6 Cnc 4.52am
CERES starts November close to Aldebaran. The asteroid is closest to the star on the 3rd when the two are only 7 arc-minutes apart with Ceres to the south of the star. They will then rise about 10pm NZDT. Over the rest of the month Ceres will move through the Hyades cluster and beyond. It rises just before 7pm by the 30th
PALLAS is an evening object in Aquarius. It is stationary at the start of the month. The asteroid subsequently moves to the east rising just before 1pm on the 30th.
VESTA is close to the Sun all month with a conjunction on the 29th when they are less than a degree apart.
IRIS is a morning object starting November in Gemini but moving on into Cancer on the 4th. Iris is stationary on the 30th, at the start of its retrograde movement. It will then rise at 11.50 pm.
Brian Loader