--- title: 'November-December Sky' url: 'https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/blog/november-december-sky' markdown: 'https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/blog/november-december-sky.md' date: '2008-11-03' description: 'A guide for what’s coming up this month. I tried to include a fact and a lesser-known story for each object. I didn’t completely succeed. This guide is written to give hints to people who already know approximately what they’re looking at. For a good beginner’s guide to the sky, try StarDate, Sky a…' taxonomy: category: - 'AstroInfo Article' tag: - 'Pacific Science Center' - "Tonight's Sky" --- # [November-December Sky](https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/blog/november-december-sky) 3rd Nov 2008 [Pacific Science Center](https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/tag:Pacific%20Science%20Center#body-wrapper) [Tonight's Sky](https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/tag:Tonight's%20Sky#body-wrapper) A guide for what’s coming up this month. I tried to include a fact and a lesser-known story for each object. I didn’t completely succeed. This guide is written to give hints to people who already know approximately what they’re looking at. For a good beginner’s guide to the sky, try [StarDate](http://stardate.org/nightsky/constellations/bootes.html), [Sky and Telescope’s Stargazing Basics](http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics/How_to_Start_Right_in_Astronomy.html), or [Sky and Telescope’s links to lots of beginning topics](http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics). (Or, if you know a better beginning stargazing site, put a link to it in a comment below! [This Month’s Starmap](http://alicesastroinfo.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/2008-nov-dec-starmap-full-small.pdf) ## **New Constellations** ### ORION – The Hunter SCIENCE: Don’t miss M42 – The Orion Nebula. When looking at the constellation, it’s where Orion’s sword is hanging from his belt. It’s a [star-forming nebula](http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/01/image/a) made of gas and dust. [![Hubble - The Orion Nebula](http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/01/images/a/formats/small_web.jpg)](http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/01/images/a/formats/small_web.jpg)Hubble - The Orion Nebula MYTH:The Bororo Indians of Brazil see a fearsome caiman in the stars of Orion. The Black Caiman of the Amazon is one of the largest types of alligators, and one of the few that poses a danger to humans. Sadly for the Black Caiman, we pose more of a danger to it: it has become an endangered species due to human hunting of its skin. [![Orion as the Caiman](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2999780079_812ccb5579_o.jpg)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2999780079_812ccb5579_o.jpg)Orion as the Caiman ### TAURUS – The Bull SCIENCE: We’ve got two open clusters in Taurus – The Pleiades (in his shoulder) and the Hyades (the “V” shaped head of the bull. Open clusters are a small collection of stars that are actually gravitationally bound to each other. They tend to be young, newly-formed stars that are slowly moving apart from each other. I love to mention that the Pleiades are my favorite deep sky object in the night sky – because they look different every night. Depending on the weather and your eyes, you might see a smudge, 4 stars, 6 stars, or even 10. With binoculars you’ll see dozens of stars. With a telescope you’ll see hundreds. It’s a great gateway into astronomy. MYTH: Taurus is Zeus – in the bull form he used to conquer Europa. A slightly more family-friendly version of the story has Orion fighting Taurus the bull – and the Pleiades are a wound where Orion has stabbed him. ### GEMINI – The Twins SCIENCE: Castor and Pollux are the “head” stars of the twins. Castor is a septuplet star – three pairs of stars orbiting a common center of gravity. Yii! Six! MYTH: India also considers these stars twins, they are called *Aswins*, the twin horseman associated with the dawn. ### PISCES – The Fish SCIENCE: I find Pisces by starting with the circle at the top. It doubles as Pegasus’s wings, although it is officially part of Pisces. MYTH: The only way I can make heads or tails of this constellation is to see it as two fish on an upside-down fishing line. ### CETUS – The Sea Monster SCIENCE: As it is far out of the plane of the Milky Way, it is easier to see other galaxies in this area of the sky with a good telescope, though none of them are naked-eye visible. MYTH: Cetus is part of the giant Andromeda/Cassie/Perseus/Cepheus/Pegasus mythology. ### AQUARIUS – The Water Bearer SCIENCE: There are a few clusters and nebulae in Aquarius, but the one that I find most beautiful is the Helix nebula. It’s a planetary nebula – [an exploded envelope of gas around a star that went supernova](http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2004/32/image/d) many, many years ago. Do not confuse it with the Ring Nebula – it looks similar, and is the same type of nebula. [![Hubble - Helix Nebula](http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2004/32/images/d/formats/small_web.jpg "Helix Nebula")](http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2004/32/images/d/formats/small_web.jpg)Hubble - Helix Nebula MYTH: Aquarius is the Water-bearer. This is also the constellation referred to in the phrase “Age of Aquarius” – but that’s of astrological significance, which I can’t speak to. ## **“Tiny” Guys** Going for the Gold? Here’s this month’s itty-bittys. ### SCUTUM – The Shield ### CAMELOPARDALIS– The Giraffe ### SCULPTOR – A Sculptor’s Studio ### ERIDANUS – The River RECENT SCIENCE: Epsilon Eridani (ε Eri, a star in Eridanus) is a Sun-like star, AND [we’ve detected two debris belts](http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2008-19/release.shtml) (like our Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt) around it. Beyond that there are at least two planets there. [![Artists Conception (Caltech) Epsilon Eridani System](http://ipac.jpl.nasa.gov/media_images/ssc2008-19a_Sm.jpg)](http://ipac.jpl.nasa.gov/media_images/ssc2008-19a_Sm.jpg)Artist's Conception (Caltech) Epsilon Eridani System TRIVIA: ε Eri is a very popular location in science fiction. In this case, I [recommend the Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_Eridani_in_fiction). Notably – Babylon 5 is located at ε Eri. [I thought I had been told that Vulcan orbited](http://www.universetoday.com/2008/10/27/spocks-solar-system-looks-like-ours/) [ε Eri](http://www.universetoday.com/2008/10/27/spocks-solar-system-looks-like-ours/), but I can’t find [official](http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/places/article/69906.html) [confirmation of that](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Vulcan_(planet)). Vulcan is supposedly 16 lightyears away – ε Eri is 10 lightyears away. [![ε Eridanus](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/3000275779_9b91af09db_o.jpg)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/3000275779_9b91af09db_o.jpg)ε Eridanus ### TRIANGULUM – The Triangle ### ARIES – The Ram ### LYNX – The Lynx ### LACERTA – The Lizard ### EQUULEUS – The Little Horse ### SAGITTA – The Arrow ### VULPECULA – The Fox ## Returning Constellations ### ANDROMEDA – Princess Andromeda ### PEGASUS – The Winged Horse ### CEPHEUS – King Cepheus ### PERSEUS – Perseus ### DELPHINUS – The Dolphin ### AQUILA – The Eagle ### CYGNUS – The Swan or the Northern Cross ### LYRA – The Harp ### URSA MAJOR – The Great Bear ### URSA MINOR – The Little Bear ### CASSIOPEIA – The Queen Happy Sky Viewing! ## Where’d I get my Info? My memory, and Zeta Strickland --- ## Navigation - Previous: [November-December 2009](https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/blog/november-december-2009.md) - Next: [Ada Lovelace Day Featuring: Pamela Gay](https://grav.alicesastroinfo.com/blog/pamelagay.md)