The new moon in November will approach Venus

The new moon will occur on November 1st at 8:47 a.m. Eastern Time (12:47 GMT). In three days, the Moon will approach Mercury in the evening sky.

A new moon occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and Earth; technically it is at the same celestial longitude as the Sun. Celestial longitude is the projection of the Earth’s lines of longitude onto the sky; When two bodies have the same longitude, it is called a conjunction. The hour of lunar phases varies by time zone because the phase changes depending on the position of the Moon in its orbit rather than the location of the observer on Earth.

New moons are so called because many lunar calendar systems, such as the Islamic or Jewish calendars, counted the months with the new moon at the beginning. In Islamic calendars, the month begins with the appearance of the first thin crescent of the Moon, called Hillalcan be seen in the evening. The Jewish calendar used a similar system until, sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries AD, Jewish scholars adopted a mathematically based method for determining the beginning of months.

New moons are invisible unless they pass directly in front of the Sun, causing a partial or total solar eclipse. New moons don’t cause eclipses every month because the Moon’s orbit is slightly tilted compared to Earth’s, so the three bodies aren’t always perfectly aligned.

The last perfect alignment to create an eclipse occurred on October 2 during an annular solar eclipse, and the eclipse was visible from the South Pacific and South America. The next partial solar eclipse will be on March 29, 2026.

Visible planets

The sun sets on the night of November 1st in New York City. at 17:51 local timeThis was reported by the US Naval Observatory. The sky darkens noticeably around 6:20 p.m., when the sun drops six degrees below the horizon; this is the start of nautical twilight, and this is often when the street lights come on (this may vary depending on your local city’s policies).

At this point, Venus can be seen in the southwest, about 12 degrees above the horizon. One way to find out the altitude of the planet is to use your hand: hold a clenched fist at arm’s length, the width of the fist is about 10 degrees. If you do this with Venus, you can see her about two fingers above her fist. Venus is the third brightest object in the sky and will likely be the first “star” visible to the eye in the evening. Venus sets in New York 19:47

On November 4, the moon, which is now three days old, will pass close to Venus; sunset on this day is 4:48 pm EST (daylight saving time ends November 3). At approximately 5:15 p.m., a thin crescent Moon will be visible almost directly below Venus in the sky; couple sits on 18:49 According to In-the-Sky.org.

a pink, hazy sky hangs over a low, grassy horizon, thin blue lines outlining faint points to reveal constellations. A small crescent moon hangs near the center, surrounded by Venus within a thin orange circle.

Illustration of the sky November 4, 2024: three-day moon near Venus. (Image credit: Chris Vaughn/Starry Night)

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On the night of the new moon, Saturn becomes the second visible planet; it will be in the southeast; by 18:30 on November 1 at the latitude of New York it will be about 28 degrees. (The planet will appear at approximately the same altitude after sunset in Boulder, Colorado, Chicago, Madrid, Spain or Beijing). Saturn enters 2:40 am, November 2.; The planet reaches its highest point, called a transit, at 9:09 pm on November 1 and reaches an altitude of 41 degrees, high enough to be easily detected. Saturn’s rings can be seen even with a modest telescope or more powerful binoculars, although at lower magnifications they will appear more like ovals than actual rings.

Jupiter will rise next at approximately 20:01 in New York. The planet will be in the constellation Taurus, the Bull, and when it rises, Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus, will be visible to the right and a little higher. Aldebaran will be a distinct orange color, contrasting with the white-yellow color of Jupiter, and by about 10 pm both will be high enough to easily see about 20 degrees above the eastern horizon. Jupiter will transit at 3:26 a.m. ET and will be quite high in the sky, as much as 72 degrees above the southern horizon.

Large Jupiter hangs tilted to the left in black space, its giant red eye near the center, and on its lid is a small moon shadow labeled Io.

Jupiter as it will appear in the night sky in November 2024. (Image credit: Chris Vaughn/Starry Night)

Mars will be next 22:52 Mars is in the constellation Cancer, which is made up of dimmer stars, so the planet stands out for its relative brightness and reddish color. By 1 a.m. on November 2, it can be seen forming a rough vertical line with Mars below and the two bright stars of Gemini, the Twins, above it; The closest one is Pollux, above him is Castor. Mars will transit at 6:14 a.m. on November 2 and reach an altitude of 70 degrees just before the sky begins to get light.

Skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere will see the sunset later as November moves into the summer months. In Cape Town, for example, sunset will occur on November 1 at 19:14 local time. Venus will be much higher in the western sky than in mid-northern latitudes; half an hour after sunset the planet is still 29 degrees above the horizon; Venus will set at 10:23 p.m. local time.

One planet that will be easier for southern hemisphere observers to see is Mercury; in New York, the innermost planet will be so close to the horizon at sunset that it will be lost in the sunlight. But in mid-southern latitudes at sunset it is about 17 degrees above the western horizon. From Cape Town it can still be caught half an hour after sunset, at an altitude of about 11 degrees above the western horizon. Mercury will be difficult to make out against the sky, which will still be somewhat light, but with a clear horizon and clear weather it will be possible to deal with it before it sets at 20:49 local time. Mercury will be below and to the left of Venus.

Saturn will be high in the northeast; a full 61 degrees above the horizon at 8 p.m. in mid-southern latitudes. In Cape Town, Saturn will transit at 21:01 and will be 64 degrees above the northern horizon. Saturn will set at 3:26 am on November 2nd.

Jupiter rises above the horizon at 10:19 p.m., and as it rises higher, it can be seen forming a triangle with Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, the shoulder of inverted Orion. Aldebaran will be above and to the left of Jupiter, and Betelgeuse will be above and to the right (and slightly below Aldebaran). Both stars will be different colors from Jupiter; like Aldebaran, Betelgeuse is distinctly reddish in color. Jupiter will transit at 3:18 am and reach an altitude of 33 degrees above the northern horizon.

Mars rises at 1:05 am in Cape Town (and at the same time in cities such as Melbourne, Santiago, Chile or Sydney). The planet still forms a line with Castor and Pollux, but this time Mars is the topmost star and the line runs from Mars to the left, with Pollux in the middle and Castor at the bottom. The line of stars is also more horizontal and appears to point north.

Stars and constellations

In November, the winter constellations of the Northern Hemisphere become more visible in the late evening hours. Orion, Taurus and Gemini, to name three, are visible most of the night. By 21:00, in the mid-northern latitudes, Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga Charioteer, can be seen in the northeast, growing higher every day. South of Auriga (to his right earlier in the night) is Taurus the bull, and from a dark sky location the Pleiades or Seven Sisters can be seen above Aldebaran.

stars in the night sky

Stars of the constellations Gemini, Orion and Taurus. (Image credit: Getty Images/Wenbin)

Perseus, the legendary hero, is looking directly from Auriga. By about 11:00 pm, Orion is above the horizon and the three stars of Orion’s Belt can be seen. From east to west they are called Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka (as they approach the horizon, the line of stars appears almost vertical, with Alnilam below). On either side of Orion’s Belt is Betelgeuse, which is his right shoulder, and Rigel, which is his left foot (when Orion is closer to the horizon and “lying”, this means that Betelgeuse will be to the left of the Belt and Rigel stars). right).

At midnight, Gemini rose fully above the eastern horizon, and at about 1:30 a.m., Canis Major, Canis Major, rose fully. Canis Major is home to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. To the left of Sirius and Orion is another bright star, Procyon, which is the alpha star of Canis Minor, the Little Dog.

In the southern hemisphere, skies will darken completely by 8:30 pm on November 1st. Antares, the heart of Scorpio, can be seen in the west-southwest below and to the left of Venus. Turning further south (to the left), Rigil Centauri, also known as Alpha Centauri, can be seen about 17 degrees above the horizon.

In the southeast, close to the horizon, at an altitude of only about 12 degrees, is Canopus in the constellation Carina, the Carina. If you go from there almost straight to the zenith, then at about the middle of the sky (about 51 degrees) you can see Achernar, the bright star at the end of Eridanus, the River. Rising even higher, to an altitude of 83 degrees, you can meet Fomalhaut, the alpha star of Southern Pisces, which will be to the right of Saturn.

By about 23:00, as Canopus rises higher and Jupiter rises, Canis Major can be seen low in the east, and Orion can be found to the left (to the north), but in the southern hemisphere Rigel rises first, with Netelgeuse closer. horizon, since the constellation is “upside down”.

Near Rigel one can begin to trace the river Eridanus, which flows across the southern sky towards the zenith and ends at Achernar.

The new moon in November will approach Venus

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