JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Stars and Galaxies .

What's Up - November 2022

Nov. 2, 2022

What are some skywatching highlights in November 2022? A total lunar eclipse brings some magic to the morning sky on November 8th, and the Leonid meteors peak after midnight on November 18th, with some glare from a 35% full moon. In addition, enjoy pretty views on other days in November when the Moon visits planets Mars and Saturn, and bright star Spica.


Transcript

What's Up for November? A lunar eclipse, the moon and planets, and the Leonid meteors.

A total lunar eclipse is on the way, to provide a little celestial magic, early on the morning of November 8th. The eclipse will be visible to viewers in North America, the Pacific region, Australia, and Eastern Asia – anywhere the Moon is above the horizon while the eclipse is happening.

For observers in the Eastern time zone of the U.S. and Canada, the partial eclipse begins a little after 4 a.m. It reaches full eclipse about 5:15 local time, and the Moon then sets while still in eclipse for you. For observers on the West Coast of North America, that translates to the partial eclipse beginning just after 1 a.m., and reaching full eclipse by about 2:15 a.m. You'll be able to see the entire eclipse unfold before sunrise, weather permitting, as the Moon exits the dark part of Earth's shadow (called the umbra) a few minutes before 5 a.m.

During a lunar eclipse, you'll likely notice that you can see a lot more faint stars, as the usually brilliant full moon dims to a dull red. And during this eclipse, viewers with binoculars can spy an extra treat – the ice giant planet Uranus will be visible just a finger's width away from the eclipsed Moon.

Check your local details to find out if the eclipse is visible from your area, and find lots more eclipse info from NASA at the address on your screen.

In the pre-dawn hours of November 11th, you’ll find the Moon directly between Mars and bright bluish-white star Elnath. Elnath is the second brightest star in the constellation Taurus, after reddish Aldebaran, and it forms the northern horn of the bull. You'll find that Elnath is about the same brightness as the star Bellatrix in nearby Orion, where it forms one of the hunter's shoulders.

On November 20th, in the hour before sunrise, look toward the southeast to find a slim, crescent Moon hanging right above bright bluish star Spica. It's a giant star, 10 times the mass of our Sun, and 12,000 times more luminous. Fortunately for us, it's located 260 light years away.

And in the evening sky, on November 28th, a beautiful crescent Moon hangs beneath Saturn in the south after sunset.

The Leonid meteor shower is active throughout November. It peaks after midnight on the 18th, with something like 15 to 20 meteors per hour under clear, dark skies.

The shower's name comes from the constellation Leo, the lion, from which its meteors appear to radiate. The meteors are dusty bits of debris left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle as it orbits the Sun. This comet was actually discovered twice, independently.

On the peak night for the Leonids this year, the Moon will be about 35% full, meaning it will interfere with your ability to see the fainter meteors. However, Leonid meteors are often bright, with trails (also called trains) that persist for a couple of seconds after they streak across the sky.

And while the Moon will be rising in the east with Leo around midnight local time, it's actually better to view the sky away from the meteors' apparent point of origin,

by lying back and looking straight upward, as any meteor trails you see will appear longer and more spectacular.

Here are the phases of the Moon for November. Stay up to date with all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at nasa.gov. I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this month.

Related Pages

Mission .

ASTHROS

News .

NASA’s Webb Telescope Captures Rarely Seen Prelude to Supernova

News .

NASA’s Webb Reveals Intricate Networks of Gas, Dust in Nearby Galaxies

Mission .

Euclid

Mission .

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

News .

NASA Gets Unusually Close Glimpse of Black Hole Snacking on Star

News .

VP Harris, French President Get First Look at Galactic Get-Together

News .

Baby Star ‘Burps’ Tell Tales of Frantic Feeding, NASA Data Shows

News .

NASA, ESA Reveal Tale of Death, Dust in Orion Constellation

News .

Haunting Portrait: NASA’s Webb Reveals Dust, Structure in Pillars of Creation

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018