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Sky Events Calendar

By: Lafayette Science Museum

October 27, 2016
October 25 – November 2: The bright starlike object beside brilliant Venus in the west after sunset will
be Saturn. Throughout this period they can be seen in the same binocular view. The thin crescent
moon will be beside them on the 2 nd , but not close enough to catch all three in the same view.

October 28: Look for the moon and very bright Jupiter together in the east-southeast just before
morning twilight. They’ll make a striking view in binoculars. Can you see any of Jupiter’s moons?

November 5/6: The moon will appear near Mars on both these nights.

November 6: Daylight Saving Time, also known to astronomers as Darkness Wasting Time, ends.
“Spring forward, Fall back.” Set your clocks back an hour if you did not remember to do it before
going to bed last night. Stars can now be seen an hour earlier—hurrah!

November 17: Best viewing for the Leonid Meteor Shower will be between midnight and dawn, but the
nearly full moon means that very few meteors will be seen. It’s not a good year for the Leonids!

November 21: The bright star near the moon from midnight until dawn will be Regulus.

November 24/25: The very bright object near the moon in the predawn hours of both these dates will
be Jupiter.

November 30: Can you find the very thin crescent moon in the southwest during twilight tonight?
Binoculars may help. The starlike object to the left of the moon will be Mercury.

December 1 – 21: Look for Mercury low in the southwestern sky as the first stars come out. Only
moderately bright, it will still be the brightest thing in that part of the sky.

December 2/3: Brilliant Venus near the crescent moon will be a pretty sight tonight as the sky darkens.

December 4/5: The crescent moon will appear near Mars on the 4 th . Look at it again on the 5 th to see
how far the moon moves in its orbit in 24 hours!


December 12: Early in the evening as the moon rises, binocular and telescope observers will see it
apparently among the stars of the Hyades star cluster. The nearly full moon’s brightness may make
the stars hard to see, but over a period of hours observers may see several occultations, when the
moon temporarily blocks individual stars from view. The highlight will be shortly after 9:30 p.m.
when Acadiana observers will see the moon occult the bright star Aldebaran. The star will
reappear shortly after 10:30.

December 14: Best viewing for the Geminid Meteor Shower will be between mid-evening and dawn,
but the nearly full moon means that very few meteors will be seen. Although the Geminids are a
rich meteor shower and one of the few that can be seen before midnight, this is a poor year for them.

December 18: The very bright object near the moon from midnight until dawn will be Regulus.

December 21: The December solstice occurs today at 4:44 a.m., officially beginning Winter in the
Northern Hemisphere.

December 22: The very bright object near the moon in the predawn hours will be Jupiter.

December 27: The bright starlike object near the moon in the east just before sunrise will be Saturn.

December 31: The year ends with Venus prominent in the west after sunset with the moon below it.
They will appear closer together over the next two nights.

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