Also after sunset, one can see that summer is gone by the constellations that are seen rising in the east. No longer are the summer constellations Cygnus, the Swan, and Lyra, the Lyre, the first ones to appear. By sunset now, they are directly overhead, or even past zenith on their way down. The fall beauties such as Andromeda and Persius are the first to rise in the east, soon followed by Pleiades, Taurus, the Bull, and Auriga. If you stay out past midnight, you will also see Orion, the Hunter, and even Gemini, the Twins, some of winter's best.

Since the fall and winter constellations and sky objects of interest will be just the same as last year, instead of describing them all again, I refer you to the 2007 Autumn Equinox Comet Hunter. The only exceptions are the planets, which do change their positions. See the Sky Highlights section below to find out which planets are visible this fall and where to look for them. Instead, I would like to share with you a silly, but [99%] true, little story about an amazingly lovely phenomena that occurs in the night sky more often during this time of year: The Aurora Borealis.

Being a chemically injured female involved in a predominately male hobby poses a few challenges for an amateur astronomer. But on one cold October night some of those challenges actually became a blessing.

Despite the cold weather, several of us had gathered at our usual observing place in a state park, hoping to see a predicted aurora borealis, often called the "Northern Light." Since I do not reside in Alaska or Canada, an aurora is a very rare treat.
 

While waiting (and hoping for!) the aurora to begin, I set up a telescope to have a look at Saturn. It was very beautiful, the rings and several cloud bands in full view. After checking out a few other favorite objects in the sky and walking around to take a peek at what others were looking at through their 'scopes, I was freezing, an of course, needed to use the bathroom badly. It seems being out in the cold has that effect on gals, but not so much on the guys! Having multiple layers and socks on, plus coat and boots, I decided to do what I usually do, to wait as long as possible. Soon we started to see some auroral activity in the north sky. Our site was surrounded by trees, so we couldn't see the sky down near the horizon, but there were some definite shades of green and pink and purple visible in the sky between and above the trees.

By this time I REALLY had to go! But being a female with all those layers of clothing on it wasn't practical to just take a walk in the woods like the guys do. It's very dark in those woods and one little "mistake" could send me home - it was much too cold be be . . . shall we say, "damp" and remain outdoors. Being chemically injured, the Port-A-Potty was not usable either; it always reeked of cherry air freshener, the kind that would stick to the hair and clothing. Therefore, I have my own little private spot - a picnic table right behind a huge tree with a trunk much wider than me, to hide behind. The perfect place to perch and carefully do what one must, well hidden from the group. It is fairly far from our observing site though, which is why I usually put off going there for so long.

So I began the trek up a hill and around a bend to my little spot at the top of the hill. Near the hilltop there is a large open clearing. Once there, I looked up and was greeted with the most spectacular aurora I had ever seen! The sky was so beautiful it took my breath away. The whole northern sky had become a glowing curtain of reds, purples, pinks, blues, and greens. The colors were so bright, and constantly changing, moving and there were numerous long vertical pillars of shimmering ghostly white light dancing up and down between the curtains of color. The sky seemed alive with majestic beauty. The moment I caught my breath I started yelling, "Hey guys, you gotta come up here now! You have to see this!

Luckily they didn't hear me because just then my Guardian Angel tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Ahem! Don't you think you should do what you came up here to do before calling the men?" Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten, and there sat my picnic table and tree in plain view under that brightly glowing sky.

Well, I got that problem taken care of as quickly as possible, although it seemed to take forever, and hurried back down the hill to get the group, since they were not able to hear me calling to them.

Thankfully the aurora was still going in all it's glory when we all got back up the hill. Watching their faces the guys looked up in amazement was almost as delightful as looking at the sky. Some had stopped dead in their tracks the moment they saw the sky, mouths open in awe. Once every one got their chins off their chests, we all began talking in hushed, awed tones about the different colors we were seeing, and about how some of the brighter stars could be seen shining through the shimmering curtains of color and light.

Finally, the aurora faded away. On the way back down the hill, one fellow turned to me with a puzzled looked and asked, "Deb, how did you know to come up here? We weren't seeing anything like that down at the site!" I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

Another guy in our group had brought his digital camera, and his photos of that aurora were published in a national magazine.

The aurora borealis, or "Northern Light" as it is often called, naturally are visible most often in northern latitudes, nearer to the North Pole where they originate. In places like Alaska and Canada, the are more common sights that in the lower U.S. But that does not mean that you won't be able to see one if you live in a more southerly latitude. The aurora in my story was seen as far South as Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

Auroras are caused by the increased sunspot activity and solar winds. Where the sunspots are large or numerous, auroras are also larger and cover more area of the sky. They are often predicted about a day of so in advance by people who watch and record the sun 's activity. Here is a great site that you can check to see if an aurora is expected on any given night and how far south it is likely to be visible. Space weather  and another website that contains many gorgeous photos of auroras as well as links to the best information about them is Michigan Tech Aurora Page.

I can't promise that we will see an aurora south of Canada this year, but we can keep our fingers crossed and hope that the sun is busy making one for us. The aurora in my story occurred in October of 2004 and was followed by an even more spectacular one in November. I haven't seen one like those since so I think we are due one. :-)
 

Sky Highlights:

Meteor Showers

Orionids - October 2 through November 7 peak -peak October 21, around 4am.
radiant - near left shoulder of Orion caused by Halley's comet rate - 10-15 per hour

Leonids - November 14-21  peak- November 17, near dawn radiant - constellation Leo caused by- comet Temple - Tuttle rate - variable, much lower in recent years then previously

Geminids - December 7- December 17 peak - December 14, around 2 am radiant - constellation

(Gemini caused by - an object named 3200 Phaethon, believed to be an extinct comet rate - 120 to 160 per hour)

note: if you will only watch one meteor shower this year, the Geminids is the one to pick. They are usually bright yellow in color and have long trails. They are also a little slower morning than many meteors, making them easier to catch sight of. The show starts early in the evening, as soon as Gemini is up. This will likely be best meteor shower of the year.

Ursides-December 17 through December 26 peak - December 22 radiant - Ursa Minor - the Little Dipper rate - 1- per hour

Explanation of Terms:

peak - the night/morning and approximate time when the highest number of meteors can be seen. Dates given begin at midnight

radiant - the area of the sky from which the meteors appear to come.

caused by - the object, usually a comet, whose debris that earth passes through during the shower. The pieces of debris burn up once they enter the earth's atmosphere. This burning debris is what we see as "shooting stars."

rate - the maximum number of meteors that it is possible to see during the peak night/morning. Keep in mind that the rates given are for perfect conditions - no clouds, no moon, and very dark skies.
 

Moon Phases

New Moon - November 27, December 27, January 4, January 26 February 25
First quarter - November 6, December 5, January 11, February 2, March 4
Full Moon - November 13, December 19, January 18, February 9, March 11
Last (3rd quarter) - November 19, December 19, February 16, March 18

Mercury- look to the east near the horizon around 5 am in October and November. Mercury will look like a tiny red star, but doesn't twinkle and has a distinct rusty red color, similar to Mars.

Venus - Very bright yellow, the brightest "star" in the sky. Look for it low in the western sky at dusk. It will be in the constellation Capricornus during November. Venus will visible in the early evening throughout fall and early winter, it will be higher in the sky and stay up longer and longer as fall progresses.

Mars - Look for this bright rusty red planet in the constellation Ophiuchus during November. You can see it setting low in the western sky, below Venus until the end of November around dusk.

Jupiter - Look for this bright yellow or white planet in the constellation Sagittarius, low in the southwestern sky. It is almost as bright as Venus. Jupiter will be visible from dusk till it sets in the west around 6pm in December.

Saturn - Look for Saturn in the constellation Leo as it rises in the east. It will rise a tiny bit earlier each night through fall and winter, and so by the end of November it will rise by around 1 am and closer to 10 pm by the end of December.

Conjunctions
November 30 - Jupiter will be just 2' [degrees] to the upper right of Venus tonight, that is the width of 2 full moons. Look for the pair of planets low in the western sky around 7 or 8 pm.

 

Comet Hunter is an avid astronomer who has courageously coped with chemical injury for many years. Email Comet Hunter your star gazing questions.