Familiar star patterns like the Winter Circle make it easy to identify the stars and to find any deep objects that lie in the vicinity. Looking east an hour before sunrise. Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major, shines at magnitude -1.46, so has long been a well-known star to many ancient cultures. November Evening Star Map November 15 EVENING – The bright star to the lower right of the Moon tonight is Aldebaran. Here the maximum visible magnitudes above the second brightest star, Sirius (−1.46), are as follows. We hope you’ll find our night sky information fun and easy to use. November 9 Six of them – Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran and Rigel – form a prominent northern winter asterism known as the Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle. You need to be patient and watch for at least an hour or more. November 25 November is sometimes called “The Month of the Pleiades,” since that famous cluster of stars is visible all night long for those of us in the Northern hemisphere. Check out our November Morning Star Map to help you find Leo in the morning sky this month. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Virgo and Hydra have one such star yet more than 3% each of the night sky associated with them by professional astronomers, as these constellation's limits have been drawn by the IAU. 0.0 to 1.6), Deneb (mag. There are billions of stars in that fuzzy spot! The Moon is between the Earth and Sun and not visible. As you look high in the south before dawn, see if you can make out the constellation pattern of Leo with its bright star Regulus. Looking south-southwest 45 minutes after sunset. Remember it is FALL, so we FALL back one hour. November 19 – EVENING – A pretty crescent Moon is to the left of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn after sunset tonight. Be sure to click on the scene for a full image. If you look from a fairly dark area the Pleiades cluster is easy to see with the unaided eye and resembles a small “dipper” pattern in the sky. November 22 – MORNING – Mercury, Venus and the bright star Spica are lined up in the southeast before sunrise this morning. Delta Scuti will be succeeded by Eltanin (Gamma Draconis) in about 1,330,000 years, and Eltanin will reach its peak magnitude of -1.39 in 1,550,000 years, when it comes within 27.7 light years of the Sun. Also provided are the stars’ Bayer or catalogue designations, distances, spectral classes and proper names. Plus, on the mornings of November 12 and 13 a pretty crescent Moon will join the planets. The bright giant has since moved to a distance of 310 light years and is still the second brightest star in the sky. Sirius became the brightest star about 90,000 years ago, taking over from Canopus, and will keep the title for another 210,000 years, when Vega takes over. Then you’ll notice the crescent or lit side of the Moon will be facing the Sun. 1.21 to 1.29), and Mimosa (Becrux, mag. [1] Popular star names here that have not been approved by the IAU appear with a short note. The apparent magnitude data is taken from the Hipparcos catalogue, even if more recent sources give slightly different values. Normally you may see up to about 10 meteors per hour if you are out under a dark sky with this shower. In the southwestern sky, the Great Square of Pegasus stands high, with the constellation of Andromeda running from the Square’s top left corner star, which is actually part of Andromeda. November Morning Star Map November 18 – EVENING – Watch the crescent Moon pass the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn after sunset between tonight and tomorrow night. They’re all lined up and will help you to pick out Mercury if you haven’t seen it yet this month. Different sources may give slightly different values for stars’ apparent magnitudes, and the stars themselves can vary in brightness, sometimes outshining other stars that are normally brighter and at other times dimming below their usual brightness. Watch the video below as the Sun and the shadows it creates changes how the Moon appears. Most of the proper names in this list are those approved by the Working Group on Star Names. Our basic star maps show the planets and major star patterns or constellations visible in the evening and morning skies this month, without faint background stars. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. The brightest of the historical brightest stars in the last five million years were Adhara (Epsilon Canis Majoris), which peaked at magnitude -3.99 about 4,700,000 years ago, Mirzam (Beta Canis Majoris) which shone at magnitude -3.65 about 4,420,000 million years ago, Ascella (Zeta Sagittarii), which reached magnitude -2.74 about 1,200,000 years ago, Zeta Leporis, which peaked at magnitude -2.05 about 1,050,000 years ago, and Canopus (Alpha Carinae), which reached a visual magnitude of -1.86 about 3,110,000 years ago, when it came within 177 light years of the solar system. The list below combines/adds the magnitudes of bright individual components. Acamar Achernar Acrux Adhara Albireo Alchiba Alcor Alcyone Aldebaran Alderamin Algenib Algol Algorab Alhena Alioth Alkaid Alkes Almach Alnair Alnilam Alnitak Alpha Centauri Alphard Alphecca Alpheratz Altair Aludra Ankaa Anser Antares Arcturus Ascella Asterope Atlas Atria Avior Baten Kaitos Bellatrix Betelgeuse Bharani Canopus Capella Caph Castor Celaeno Deneb Denebola Diphda Dubhe Electra Elnath Eltanin Enif Fomalhaut Gacrux Gamma Cassiopeiae Gienah Ginan Hadar Hamal Imai Izar Kaus Australis Kaus Borealis Kaus Media Kepler-22 Kraz Maia Marfik Markab Megrez Meissa Menkalinan Menkar Menkent Merak Merope Mesarthim Methuselah Star Miaplacidus Mimosa Minkar Mintaka Mira Mirach Mirfak Mirzam Mizar Mu Cephei Naos Nunki Peacock Phecda Pleione Polaris Pollux Procyon Proxima Centauri Rasalhague Regulus Rho Ophiuchi Rigel Rigil Kentaurus Ruchbah Sabik Sadr Saiph Sargas Scheat Schedar Segin Seginus Shaula Sheratan Sirius Spica Stephenson 2-18 Suhail Taygeta Thuban Toliman Unukalhai UY Scuti Vega VV Cephei VX Sagittarii Wasat Wezen WOH G64 Zeta Reticuli Zubenelgenubi Zubeneschamali. EST is Eastern Standard Time in North America. November 18 The Evening Sky in November November 8 Be sure to click on the scene for a full image. The Northern Cross, formed by the brightest stars of Cygnus – Deneb, Sadr, Albireo, Aljanah and Fawaris – lies within the larger triangle asterism. It’s usually not the best meteor shower of the year but the Leonids are known to produce bright fireballs on occasion, so it will be worth watching to catch the brighter meteors. While Sirius is visible from all but the northernmost locations (the Arctic Circle), Canopus never rises for observers living north of the latitude 37° 18’ N and Alpha Centauri is invisible to those north of the latitude 29° N. Other than Sirius, the brightest visible stars from locations in mid-northern latitudes are Arcturus, Vega and Capella, the three brightest stars of the northern sky. There are many more constellation star patterns you can pick out using our easy, Basic Morning Star Map. Be sure to click on the scene for a full image. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Be sure to click on the scene for a full image. The Brightest Star in the Sky Episode 42. Be sure to click on the scene for a full image. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus. Download it below, and have some fun! The Sun is the brightest star as viewed from Earth. You are here: Home / What’s up in Tonight’s Sky, All descriptions below are for mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Looking high in the south an hour before sunrise. November 30. Mars is stunning in the evening sky. To see the Andromeda Galaxy you need to get far from city lights where the sky is very dark. Be sure to click on the scene for a full image. Back to top of page. Historical brightest stars, image: Wikimedia Commons/Tom Ruen, The only star that will shine brighter than Sirius in the next 5 million years is Delta Scuti, which will peak at magnitude -1.84.