Skywatching

Best Night Sky Events of November 2020

Sky will be glittering this month due to stargazing events and the Moon’s phases. NASA prepared a list of the best night sky events of November 2020.

Published

6 years ago

November 6, 2020

Cahid Atik

If you temporarily want to get away from what is happening in the world right now, then turn your eyes into the best night sky events during November 2020.

NASA’s highlights on the skywatching of this month include the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters or M45, Jupiter and Saturn as well as Eartshine.

You can watch the visual feast with the unaided eye. Know that, however, you will get a better view by using binoculars or telescopes.

The Pleiades

Containing hundreds of stars, the Pleiades is a bright cluster in the night sky located about 400 light-years from Earth. The stars in the cluster are estimated to have formed 100 million years ago.

They appear in the constellation of Taurus from our perspective.

To view the Pleiades properly in the Northern Hemisphere, cooler fall and winter months are ideal, including evenings in November. Seek the Pleiades in the east a few hours after dark. The cluster reaches its highest point around midnight.

The Best Night Sky Events of November 2020 from NASA:

Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon: Triangle in the Sky

On November 18th and 19th, you can enjoy a gorgeous crescent moon closing to Jupiter and Saturn. During the most of the year 2020, the two planets have been the dazzling events of the night sky.

Saturn and Jupiter will make their closest approach, or great conjunction as astronomers use to describe the meeting, on Dec. 21, 2020. In the course of the event, the planets will be roughly one-tenth of a degree apart.

Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech

Earthshine

NASA asks: “Have you noticed how Earth can illuminate the night side of the Moon?”

Earthshine happens when sunlight reflects off the Earth’s surface and brighten the unlit portion of the Moon’s surface. This phenomenon can be easily seen a few days before and after a New Moon, which occurs when the Sun and Moon are aligned.

In November, Earthshine will be visible from the 17th through the 20th, in addition to before dawn from the 9th through the 12th.

“And for an added treat, on the 12th, the Moon, illuminated by both sunshine and Earthshine, will appear just above the ‘Morning Star,’ Venus,” NASA adds to the list of the best night sky events for this month.