Jupiter is very large at the moment and worthy of regular scrutiny with observers able to see the three cloud bands and the four Galilean Moons like a beautiful string of pearls. With some steady seeing you may be able to split the ? Centauri double even though it was low to the horizon.

This month’s report will carry over into December as the Full Moon is arriving on the 11^th (along with a few weeks of unsettled weather) and nothing much will change during November. Jupiter is available for observing from sunset and is still our primary target. Venus dominates the western evening sky, looking for the entire world like an aircraft coming in to land.

November usually brings great excitement for meteor shower aficionados with the Leonids peaking on the 18^th. This year however, is far from the best in the 33 year cycle which coincides with the recurring comet Temple-Tuttle. Hourly rates in 2009 were expected to be around 500 per hour but in 2011? Eight per hour. One thing that makes the Leonids spectacular is their average speed of 71 km per second, the highest of any of the known meteor showers. This year the Geminids on December 14^th are predicted to have a ZHR of 120!

While Gemini will be due north around 2AM the waning gibbous Moon will be only four days past Full Moon and will put this shower at a decided disadvantage. Nevertheless the sheer numbers should make it worth watching out for. Look for the meteors to come out of the northeast before midnight and the northwest if checking near dawn. Sunrise on the 14^th is around 430 AM so you’ll need to be up around 2 AM.

My recommendation this month is that rather than curse the funny weather we take advantage of it and learn a bit more about the Moon. This year’s almanac has a great two page spread on page 102-3 on observing the Moon. There is a list of suggested viewing targets given for each day from day 3 to day 17 in the monthly cycle. These targets contain a brief description and the Moon map below. Don’t worry about using a torch as the Moon will be bright enough to reduce your night vision anyway.

Shown below is one of the beautiful hand drawn Maps of the Moon by Antonin Rukl. Antonin Rukl was a professional astronomer, geologist and cartographer. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1932 and finally retiring in 1999, I think he is still alive. His passion and talent helped him produce the most exquisite and useful maps of the Moon which are in use everywhere. I find them more useful than photographic atlases because the clear ink lines give good detail where photographic hues can sometimes be blurred because of the accuracy in grey scale. Just look at the beautiful craters Cassini, Aristullus, and Archimedes!

Remember, there’s always something to do so broaden your observing platform as much as you can. Clear Skies