Monday night, November 17, brings the peak of the Leonid’s Meteor Shower.
Tips for viewing are: Find a dark location, allow 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust, dress warmly and look up. This particular Meteor Shower is known for producing fireballs. A fireball is an exceptionally bright meteor lasting four to five seconds.
The November full moon will occur on the 5th and 6th. It will be a “Supermoon,” which makes it appear larger and brighter than a typical full moon, and it is also the closest Supermoon of the year. The November full moon is called the Beaver Moon because it coincides with the time of year when beavers are busy building their winter dams and when trappers set their traps to get their thick winter pelts. The name comes from a combination of Native American and early colonial traditions.
One of the greatest sights in the November sky is the Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades, also known as “The Seven Sisters,” is an asterism, or pattern of stars, as well as an open star cluster, made up of more than 1,000 stars. It is located in the constellation of Taurus and is about 410 light-years from Earth. As a reminder, a light-year is not a unit of time, but a unit of distance that is equal to the distance light travels in one Earth year. Therefore, a light year is almost six trillion miles! Interesting fact: Subaru, the Japaneses auto company, uses the Pleiades in its logo highlights the six most visible stars. Next time you see one on the road, look for the stars in its logo. The word “Subaru” in Japanese means Pleiades.
The best night to see the planet Mercury is on the 12th of November. Mercury is visible for a short time after sunset, appearing low in the west-southwest but you will need a clear view of the western horizon. Binoculars will help to spot not only Mercury but also a faint nearby Mars.
Every night in November, the ringed planet Saturn will be visible in the southeast. Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant made of about 96% hydrogen and 3% helium, with trace amounts of other gases like methane and ammonia. Extremely high winds, reaching up to 500 meters per second, cause the visible yellow and gold bands in its atmosphere. Saturn takes about 29 Earth years to orbit the Sun.
NASA reported that after six months in the ISS, International Space Stations, many physical changes occurred. Astronauts experienced muscle and bone loss. Astronauts exercise for about 2.5 hours daily to combat these effects, but it may not completely prevent all muscle and bone loss. Without gravity, bodily fluids shift upward, causing a puffy face, congestion, and potentially affecting vision. Fluid shifts cause a puffy face and sinus congestion, and arteries can thicken, similar to aging. Astronauts cannot burp in space in the same way they do on Earth because the lack of gravity prevents the gas from separating from liquids and solids in their stomachs. Instead, attempting to burp in space results in a “wet burp,” where the gas, along with a mixture of liquids and solids, comes up, leading to a vomiting-like experience.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 22. Griffith Park Observatory will hold a ]free public star party from 2 to 9:45 pm. There will be lots of telescopes for viewing the sky and astronomers to answer questions.
When not stargazing, Neill Simmons, is an Investment Executive with LPL Financial in Woodland Hills. If you have any astronomy or financial questions, he may be reached at (818) 936-2626 or emailed at neill.simmons@lpl.com.
