Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - November 2020

The Sky from
Mid-November to
Mid-December
by Jim Ulik
THE CARIBBEAN SKY: FREE SHOW NIGHTLY!
KARL JAUSLIN AND ADOLF VOLLMY
NOVEMBER 2020 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 18
It was known to ancient Greeks that the Earth was a sphere. Technically, the Earth
is a spheroid because it is not a perfect sphere. After thousands of years of
calculations confirming this fact, 18 to 25 percent of the people surveyed in our
modern world still believe Earth is flat. One third of millennials (anyone born
between 1981 and 1996) maintain that belief. Geez! Some also do not believe in
gravity. A spinning flat Earth gives the illusion of gravity. Does that mean falling
stars are literally stars dropping out of the sky?
As it turns out the Earth both rotates east and orbits in an easterly direction. That
is, of course, based upon the observations from any given location on Earth. This
rotational and orbital momentum plays a part in the speed of meteors reaching
Earth. Earth’s orbit takes our planet into a few streams of high concentrations of
debris left behind from comets and asteroids this period.
Tuesday, November 17th
First observed in 1366 and later “discovered” in 1865, comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
was found to have an orbital period of 33 years. The last time the comet made a close
pass to Earth was in 1998. Earth began its current pass through this comet’s debris
field on November 6th. The peak stream of debris will be reached overnight. Shooting
stars will become observable radiating out of the east after midnight. The Leonids
meteor shower may produce up to 20 meteors per hour. The shower will be active
through November 30th. The speed of Earth through space plus its rotational speed
makes these meteors collide with our atmosphere at a very fast rate of speed.
Wednesday, November 18th – Thursday, November 19th
The Moon is now a waxing crescent or halfway between its new and first quarter
phase. Low in the southwestern sky over the next two days the Moon will appear to
take up residence near Saturn and Jupiter. On the 18th it will be positioned below
Jupiter in Sagittarius. By the 19th the Moon will have exited the half-man, halfhorse
constellation and be positioned above Saturn.
Saturday, November 21st
Earth has intercepted another debris field, generating another meteor shower. The
radiant of the Monocerotids originates from an area in the constellation of Monoceros
the unicorn. Petrus Plancius created this constellation around 1612 to fill the gap
between Orion and Hydra. Because this constellation is relatively dim, the radiant is
easier to locate near Canis Minor. To spot any shooting stars look out just before
midnight at least 45 degrees away from the radiant of the shower. This variable
shower peaks tonight producing from five to 400 meteors per hour.
The Alpha Monocerotids celebrates some anniversaries today. In 1925 (95th
anniversary) and 1935 (85th anniversary) the Alpha Monocerotids produced about 1,000
meteors per hour. In 1985, 700 shooting stars per hour burned up in the atmosphere.
During the 1995 shower about 400 meteors per hour radiated through the sky.
Wednesday, November 25th
There are two twosomes overhead in the night sky. The waxing gibbous Moon will
rendezvous with Mars throughout the night. Look for the pair to reach their highest
point in the sky around 2045 hours. Another pair in apparent close proximity is Jupiter
and Saturn. They can be found sinking in the western sky finally setting around 2100.
Saturday, November 28th
As noted in last month’s article, it was the beginning of another solar cycle that
signifies increased sunspot activity. Sunspots affect many aspects of life on Earth.
What would life be like without GPS? Maybe a welcome break in social networking
A 19th century woodcut with an impression of the spectacular November 13th,
1833 Leonid storm.
wouldn’t be so bad. In the 1850s amateur astronomer Lord Richard Carrington
determined the solar rotation rate by watching sunspots. The significance of the
sunspot activity became apparent when Lord Carrington witnessed a massive solar
flare in 1859. The Carrington Event of 1859 sparked major aurora displays visible
as far south as the Caribbean. It also caused severe interruptions in global telegraph
communications, even shocking some telegraph operators and sparking fires when
discharges from the lines ignited telegraph paper. From being concerned principally
with charting the stars to aid navigation, astronomers became increasingly
concerned with what the celestial objects were, how they behaved and how they
might affect life on Earth. The Sun’s rotation has been recorded since 1853.
Observing the Sun’s surface and rotation can assist in the prediction of severe space
weather that can affect Earth. Today marks the beginning of the Carrington Solar
Rotation number 2238.
There might be a few sparks flying out of the bronze club of Orion tonight as the
November Orionids meteor shower reaches its peak. This minor shower is active
November 14th to December 6th. These are slow-traveling meteors so the light trail
may be short yet bright.
—Continued on next page
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