We will have the biggest, brightest full moon in decades in November. We also lose Saturn and regain Mercury in November as Venus and Mars, opposites in myth, behave in a similar, steady manner.
On the night of Nov. 13-14, we have the second of three full-moon “supermoons” in a row. The moon will be a little closer to Earth than average for a full moon, and thus will be a little bigger and brighter than a normal full moon. In fact, this is the “super-est” full moon in an 86-year period.
A moon is officially “full” when the sun, Earth and moon are in a straight line, with Earth between the two other celestial bodies. In Hawaii the moon is full at 3:52 a.m. Nov. 14.
The term “supermoon” refers to a full moon that occurs when the moon is within one day of perigee, the moon’s closest approach to earth in its monthly orbit.
What makes this November full moon the biggest and brightest of 2016 is that the moment of the full moon occurs soon after the moment it is nearest to Earth in its monthly orbit, which happens at 1:23 a.m. Nov. 14.
At that moment of perigee at 1:23 a.m., the moon will be a mere 221,524 miles away, if you measure from the center of the earth to the center of the moon — 30,000 miles closer than it is during its most distant point in the moon’s orbit around Earth. This makes for the brightest “supermoon” until Nov. 25, 2034. We haven’t had a full moon this close since Jan. 26, 1948.
Bishop Museum will offer special programming related to the supermoon on Nov. 13. (See www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium.)
November planets
As in October, so in November: Venus is that blazing light you see in the western sky at dusk all month. At minus-4 magnitude Venus far outshines all other points of light in the sky. The planet’s appearance remains fairly consistent all month. In early November Venus emerges about a quarter of the way up in the western sky as it gets dark, and sets at 8 p.m. By month’s end Venus is a third of the way up in the west at dark, and sets at 8:40 p.m.
In early November you can still catch the planet Saturn just to the right of Venus. Yellow-white Saturn shines at 0.5 magnitude, quite respectable but nowhere near as bright as Venus. On Nov. 2 at dusk, look for the slender crescent moon just above Saturn and Venus as it gets dark.
Saturn will appear a little lower in the west at dusk throughout early November. By the middle of November, Saturn will be only about 6 degrees (the width of three fingers) above the western horizon as it gets dark around 6:40 p.m., and will set less than 30 minutes later. After midmonth we will lose Saturn in the sun’s light; the ringed planet will emerge as a pre-dawn object in the late-December sky.
Like Venus, Mars holds steady in November, emerging halfway up in the southwest at dusk and setting around 10:30 p.m. Over the month, Mars continues its fade from its blazing glory of this past spring, dropping from 0.3 magnitude in early November to 0.6 at the end of the month. Look for the waxing crescent moon next to Mars on Nov. 5.
In early November Jupiter rises in the east at 4:45 a.m. and is well up in the eastern sky at daybreak. By the end of the month, it rises at 3 a.m. and is halfway up the eastern sky at daybreak. Jupiter shines around minus 1.7 in November, dimmer than normal for the king of the planets but still brighter than any star. Look for the waning crescent moon next to Jupiter before dawn Nov. 24 and 25.
You will have a narrow window to see Mercury at the end of November. By the 30th, Mercury emerges at dusk, a mere 6 degrees above the western horizon; the elusive planet emerges around 6:15 p.m. and sets by 6:50 p.m. To catch it, look over a flat horizon such as the sea; Mercury shines at minus 0.5 and sets in the west-southwest.
