November will be a special month in the sky because very bright Jupiter will be joining Saturn during the evening. Jupiter will rise at about 11:00 daylight time on November 1 and at about 8:00 standard time at the end of the month. It will be to the lower right of Pollux and Castor, above Pollux, the bright twin stars of Gemini (the Twins). Bright Saturn will be unmistakable, shining in a dim part of the southern sky. The dim circlet of stars that represent the western fish in Piscis (the Fish) will be to Saturn’s upper right and the Great Square of Pegasus (the Winged Horse) will be farther above.

Also unmistakable in the evening sky will be the Summer Triangle of three bright stars in three constellations. The Summer Triangle was in the east all summer, but now that it is autumn, it has shifted to high in the western early evening sky. However, if you have any trouble identifying it, the stars of the Great Square will help. A line from the southeastern star of the square through the northwestern star will point to Deneb in Cygnus (the Swan), and a line from the southeastern star through the southwestern star will point toward Altair in Aquila (the Eagle). The third and brightest star of the triangle, Vega in Lyra (the Harp), will be about 2 fist-widths to the northwest of Deneb and about 3 fist-widths northward of Altair.

Deneb represents the swan’s tail. The neck of the swan extends almost through the Summer Triangle as a line of dimmer stars that ends with the moderately bright star Albireo that represents the head of the swan. It is just inside the line from Vega to Altair. The wings of the swan are formed by stars that extend up and down from the first star of the line from Cygnus. Since the inner, brighter stars of the wings are almost perpendicular to the swan’s body, the swan is also called the Northern Cross.

Classical mythology provides several explanations for Cygnus. In one common story, Cygnus was Zeus (Roman, Jupiter) in the form of a beautiful swan that he used to seduce Leda, the queen of Sparta. The offspring from this liaison were the twins Castor and Pollux, and Hellen of Troy. Another interesting legend states that Cygnus was a youth and close friend (or brother) of Phaethon, a son of Apollo. Phaethon asked Apollo to drive the chariot of the Sun, but he lost control and went careening through the sky. Zeus saw that the world was in danger, and he killed Phaethon with one of his thunderbolts. Phaethon’s body fell into the river Eridanus (also a constellation). The grieving Cygnus dived repeatedly into the river searching for his body to give it a proper burial. Zeus took pity on him and turned him into a swan.

Altair is the brightest star in Aquila. Except for a moderately bright star on either side of Altair, the constellation is dim and very difficult to trace out. In mythology, Aquila was the eagle that held the thunderbolts of Zeus until they were needed.

Brilliant Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky, is in the small constellation Lyra. Look for a lopsided parallelogram of four dimmer stars just below Vega that form the body of the harp. The harp was played so beautifully by Orpheus that when his wife Eurydice died, he used it to persuade the powers of Hades to release her. He was told not to look at her until she reached the upper world, but he was so filled with joy that he looked at her just before she reached him. She was returned to Hades, and Orpheus never recovered from his grief. After he died, he was reunited with his wife, and Zeus placed his harp in the sky.

Observing Highlights

-Nov. 1: The Moon will be to the upper right of Saturn. It will be farther to the upper left of Saturn on the 2nd.

-Nov. 9: After they rise in the late evening, the Moon will be between very bright Jupiter to its lower right and Pollux and Castor, above Pollux, the bright twin stars of Gemini (the Twins), to its upper left.

-Nov. 12: Shortly after midnight, the Moon will rise just before Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo (the Lion). The Moon will move eastward in its orbit and will follow Regulus into the sky on the 13th.

-Nov. 16: The Leonid meteor shower will peak late tonight and until dawn on the 17th. You may see up to 10-15 meteors per hour that will seem to have come from the eastern sky near Leo (the Lion).

-Nov. 18: The crescent Moon will be to the upper right of brilliant Venus, quite low in the sky during morning twilight.

-Nov. 28: The Moon again will be to the right of Saturn and to the upper left of Saturn on the 29th.