Oct 29

Sky Report: October 31 – November 6


Jupiter and it’s four large moons at 8:00 p.m. MDT on November 4. We see the moon’s orbits nearly edge-on, so the moons appear to move back and forth almost along a line. Graphic created with SkySafariAstronomy.com.

There are three bright planets in the evening sky, and this week and next the moon passes each one in turn.

The first planet the moon visits is Saturn, on November 1, when the distant planet sits 5° straight above the moon. You’ll see both together in most binoculars. Binoculars will show a surprising amount of detail on the moon – its seas and major craters – but not Saturn’s rings; for those you need at least 30 power and a tripod. Saturn and the moon are a third of the way up the southern sky at around 8 p.m.

40° to the left (east) of Saturn is the brilliant planet Jupiter, and the moon’s movement around the earth carries it to Jupiter three days later, on the 4th. Then Jupiter is less than 4° above the moon and they form a pretty pair in the southeast. Any binoculars will show Jupiter’s four large moons, and on this night, from east to west (L to R) they are Callisto, Io and Europa, and Ganymede. I lump Io and Europa together because at 8 p.m. MST they are extremely close together – only 8 arcseconds separates them – so they look like a double moon. Their motion relative to each other will be noticeable almost minute-by-minute. Io is south of Europa and it’s moving toward Jupiter. The rapidly-orbiting moons provide endless entertainment, and on the 4th our moon joins them.

Our moon continues on eastward an average about 13° per day, and after 6 more days, on the 10th, it is 5° from Mars — but that’s for the next Sky Report. This week Mars rises in the northeast 2 hours after the sun sets, and it’s second only to Jupiter in brightness in the evening sky.

Stargazers will notice the nearly complete lack of bright stars in the south in the early evening. That’s when we’re looking below the Milky Way, which arches straight overhead, and the Milky Way contains the most stars, including the bright ones. The one medium-bright star sitting by its lonesome low in the south is Fomalhaut in the obscure constellation Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, making a roughly equilateral triangle with Jupiter and Saturn. Fomalhaut actually isn’t intrinsically all that bright – it happens to be a rather close 25 light years from Earth. Fomalhaut (foam-all-oh) means “mouth of the fish”.

Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday morning, November 6. Turn your clocks back an hour, for example from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m., and notice how much earlier it gets dark that Sunday evening – and will until March 12. Sunrise comes an hour earlier too. This is inconvenient for people who like to play outside after work but stargazers can begin gazing shortly after an early dinner.

Heads up: there’s a total eclipse of the moon early on the morning of Tuesday, November 8. There’ll be more on that in the next Sky Report, but Google “eclipse November 2022” to get started. Totality lasts from 3:16 to 4:42 a.m. MST.


Stellar Vista Observatory provides portable telescopes and tripod mounted binocular kits on loan for free to residents and visitors in Kane County. Enhance your enjoyment of the night sky! For details or to request a loan, visit https://stellarvistaobservatory.org/discover-the-night-sky/ or drop in to the Kane County Office of Tourism.

The Sky Report is presented as a public service by the Stellar Vista Observatory, a nonprofit organization based in Kanab, Utah, which provides opportunities for people to observe, appreciate, and comprehend our starry night sky. Additional information is at www.stellarvistaobservatory.org. Send questions and comments to John@StargazingAdventures.org.

John Mosley was Program Supervisor of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles for 27 years and is the author of “Stargazing for Beginners” and “Stargazing with Binoculars and Telescopes”. He and his wife live in St. George where he continues to stargaze from his retirement home while serving on the advisory committee for Stellar Vista Observatory.

About the Author:

John Mosley was Program Supervisor of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles for 27 years and is the author of “Stargazing for Beginners” and “Stargazing with Binoculars and Telescopes”. He and his wife live in St. George where he continues to stargaze from his retirement home while serving on the advisory committee for Stellar Vista Observatory.

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