Look up! Jupiter at perigee and opposition

 

Tonight, Jupiter will be at perigee, or its closest location to Earth, making the planet and its moons easy to spot. Look for a bright object in the sky ascending in the east on November 1-2. At this time, Jupiter will be 370 million miles away from Earth and 462 million miles away from the sun, according to EarthSky.

On the night of November 2-3, less than 24 hours later, Jupiter will reach opposition. This is when Earth goes between the sun and Jupiter, placing Jupiter opposite the sun in our sky. At this point, Jupiter will be visible all night long and will be at its brightest compared to any other time of the year.

If looking through a telescope, Jupiter's four largest moons, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io, will also be visible. These are the largest of over 80 moons. The moons will look like small specks close to the planet and can even be seen with a modest pair of binoculars, according to Astronomy.com.

By Mindy Cohn at https://www.boropark24.com/news/don-t-miss-jupiter-tonight-and-tomorrow

November 2, 3 and 4 mornings: Moon near Castor, Pollux and Procyon

On the mornings of November 2, 3 and 4, 2023, the waning gibbous moon will be in the vicinity of the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor the Lesser Dog. On the 3rd and 4th, it will pass near Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini. They’ll rise before midnight the night before and be high in the morning sky. 

November 1-3: Jupiter at perigee and opposition

Maybe you’ve noticed Jupiter. It’s been a very bright object ascending in the east earlier each evening. Brighter than all the stars! It’ll reach perigee – its closest point to Earth – overnight on November 1-2, 2023. And then, Earth will fly between the sun and Jupiter – bringing Jupiter to its yearly opposition – overnight on November 2-3, 2023. 

November 5: Last quarter moon

The instant of last quarter moon will fall at 8:37 UTC (2:37 a.m. CST) on November 5, 2023. It’ll rise around midnight that night and set a few hours after 12 noon on November 6.

November 5: Daylight saving time ends

Don’t forget to “fall back” and turn your clocks back an hour for those who have been on daylight saving time.

Second week of November: Taurid meteor showers

The South and North Taurid meteor showers ramble along from late October through early November, but they will both peak around the second week of November. Their meteors tend to be slow, and some of them are fireballs. 

November 5 morning: Moon near the Beehive

The last quarter moon will glow next to the famous Beehive star cluster on the morning of November 5, 2023. You will need binoculars to spot the dozens of stars in the busy Beehive star cluster. The moon will also be in the same part of the sky as Regulus, the brightest star in Leothe Lion. Regulus marks the bottom of the backward question mark asterism called the Sickle.

See all at https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/