When the November clouds clear, there’s much to look at

Mercury will be very low in the SW in the evening twilight near the end of November. Venus can be seen in the SW in the evening twilight. Mars will be in the SSW after dark and sets in the SSW near 10pm. Jupiter rises in the ESE near 4am. Saturn will be very low in the SW after sunset and lost in the twilight later in the month.

There are two meteor showers in November starting with the Taurids on Nov. 12. This is a modest shower but is unusual because of the fireballs that it generates. When viewed it appears to come from the Taurus The Bull Constellation.

On Nov. 16 & 17 the Leonid meteor shower will dominate the night sky. The shower is called the Leonids for the point in the Constellation Leo where the meteors seem to appear from. The Leonids occur when the Earth passes through the debris left by the comet Temple – Tuttle. The comet takes 33 years to make one orbit of the sun.

At the Sechelt Art Center on Oct. 21, Charles Ennis, president of the SC Astronomy Club will speak on how to use the Observers Hand Book. All new members to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada are given an Observers Hand Book and it is packed with useful information about finding your way around the night sky.

The full moon on November 16 is known as the Beaver Moon because of the beaver activity at this time of year. It has also been called the Frosty moon.

Those pesky terms again? A Light Year is an astronomical measure equal to the distance light travels in a year, approximately 5.8 trillion miles.

A Lunar Month is the average time between successive new or full moons. A Lunar month is equal to 29 days, 12 hours and 49 minutes. It is also called a Synodic Month.

With Christmas coming on it is that time of year when Mums and Dads look to buy a beginner telescope for a young family member. For good advice on buying a beginner telescope go to coastastronomy.ca