November: Orion makes its return to our summer night sky

Located 13,050 light-years from Earth, 47 Tucanae is the second-brightest globular cluster in the night sky and is host to tens of thousands of stars. Photo: MPAS member Steven Mohr
Saturn is the second-largest planet in our solar system and lies about 1.3 million kilometres from Earth. Photo: MPAS member Domenic Lucarelli.

In November, the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius are slowly leaving our night skies to be replaced by Orion and its nebulae, and the bright star Sirius. Looking towards the direction of the celestial pole you can find the constellations Reticulum, the Net; Hydrus, the Little Water Snake; Tucana, the Toucan; and Octans, the Octant.

The constellations Eridanus and Cetus sit right above you. Eridanus, the River, is naturally long and winding and its end is marked by the bright star Achernar, which can be seen high in the sky almost due south. Canis Major can be located in the east with the blazing star Sirius making it easy to find. Orion and Taurus are also coming into view in the east. It is easy to identify Orion, as its brightest stars are blue-white Rigel (Beta Orionis) and red Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis).

As Cetus is high in the sky, a large telescope will show you the interesting spiral galaxy M77, sitting very close to the star Delta Ceti. The beautiful Magellanic Clouds should be your next target. The Large Magellanic Cloud, or LMC, sits across the border between the constellations Dorado, the Goldfish/Swordfish; and Mensa, the Table Mountain. A small telescope is all you need to explore the sparkling star clusters as well as the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070), nestled within the LMC.

Meanwhile, a short distance away in the constellation Tucana, you can see the Small Magellanic Cloud, or SMC, and the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). These are wonderful binocular or small-telescope targets. Looking towards the northeast, the Hyades and Pleiades open star clusters make excellent binocular targets.

The Leonid meteor shower is active each November, and this year the Leonids will peak overnight on November 18-19. The shower is called Leonids because its radiant, or the point in the sky from which the meteors seem to emerge, lies in the constellation Leo. The Leonids occur when the Earth passes through the debris left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The comet takes about 33 years to make one orbit of the sun.

By Nerida Langcake
This article appeared in the November 2023 issue of the Mornington Peninsula Magazine.