The Moon is New on November 9^th, after passing Mars on the 2^nd, Jupiter and Regulus in Leo on the 3^rd. going on to pass Saturn on November 20^th.  Full Moon on the 24^th is a Supermoon, at its closest to Earth, and on the 28^th it occults Praesepe, the stellar cluster in Cancer.  Jupiter, Mars and Regulus are all near the waning Moon again on the 29^th and 30^th.  My apologies for being late with this forecast, due to another spell in hospital, but I hope to be back on schedule at the beginning of December.

The planet Mercury is at its best morning appearance for the year in the second half of November, to lower left of Venus and greatest distance from the Sun on November 20^th.

Venus reappears in the morning sky and is furthest from the Sun on the 20^th, after which Spica in Virgo loops around it during late November.

Mars and Jupiter are both in Leo, near Regulus, rising around 11.00 p.m..  Moving downwards, Mars passes Jupiter on the 16^th.  Both planets are again near the Moon on 29^th and 30^th.  As Jupiter nears its equinox in December, its four major moons will take part in an increasingly complex series of eclipses and occultations, detailed in the October issue of Astronomy Now and after.

As November goes on we expect to have our first detailed view of the asteroid Dimorphos and its satellite Didymos  (Fig. 1), since the latter was impacted by NASA’s DART probe on September 26^th, 2022  (Fig. 2). 

Europe’s follow-up probe HERA should be returning close encounter images any time now, after launch on October 27^th 2024  (Fig. 3). 

HERA had its first separate view of the post-collision pair in October 2026  (Fig. 4), and after rendevous the first close-ups should be any time now  (Figs. 5 & 6). 

We literally have no idea what to expect:  a huge plume of debris came off from Didymos in the impact, its orbit was changed dramatically, and the surface could show anything from a sharp new crater to complete resurfacing.  The detailed studies will include landing a small cubesat on Didymos in January  (Fig. 7), as well as whatever effects there have been on Dimorphos.  Whatever we learn will have a major influence on future studies to protect Earth from similar or far worse events.

Saturn in Pisces passed opposition, its nearest to Earth, on October 4^th, when it was visible all night long, and now it sets at 3 a.m., passed by the Moon on November 20^th.

Uranus, in Taurus, is at opposition to the Sun on the 25^th and to the Earth on the 26^th, at its nearest to us in Taurus between Aldebaran and the Pleiades.

Neptune in Pisces sets at 2.20 a.m..

Duncan Lunan’s recent books are available from booksellers;  details are on Duncan’s website, www.duncanlunan.com.

You can download a copy of November Night Sky here.