This week's upcoming sky events + forecast

Things to look for this week:

November 29: More Moon and Gemini

The constellation Gemini, the twins, climbs into good view in the east by about 9 o'clock. The gibbous Moon rises directly below the twins late this evening, and follows them across the sky for the rest of the night.

November 30: Orion Rising

One of the icons of winter nights is climbing higher into the evening sky. Orion the hunter is in good view in the east by about 9 p.m. Look for his "belt" of three moderately bright stars pointing straight up from the horizon.

December 1: Venus and Spica

Spica, the brightest star of the constellation Virgo, is in the southeast at dawn tomorrow. It stands close to the right of Venus, the brilliant "morning star."

December 2: Orion Nebula

Orion climbs into view in the east by 9 p.m. To the right of its three-star belt, look for a row of three objects that make up Orion's Sword. One of those objects looks fuzzy because it's a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust that's giving birth to new stars.

December 3: Moon and Jupiter

Jupiter keeps company with the crescent Moon early tomorrow. The planet looks like a brilliant star. It rises just above the Moon in the wee hours of the morning, and they remain close together at dawn.

December 4: Moon and Mars

Mars is in the morning sky, shining like a moderately bright orange star. The planet will stand close to the lower left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow, and to the upper right of the Moon on Sunday.

December 5: Moon and Companions

The Moon is surrounded by bright companions early tomorrow. Venus, the "morning star," stands to the lower left of the Moon. Two fainter companions are closer to the Moon — Spica below it and Mars above.

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This week wx forecast:

Today A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of flurries this afternoon. Wind northwest 20 km/h. High plus 2.

Tonight Partly cloudy. 30 percent chance of flurries this evening. Clearing before morning. Wind north 20 km/h. Low minus 6.

Mon, 30 Nov Sunny. High minus 2.

Night  Clear. Low minus 4.

Tue, 1 Dec Sunny. High plus 3.

Night  Cloudy periods with 60 percent chance of showers. Low plus 3.

Wed, 2 Dec Periods of rain. High 9.

Night  Periods of rain. Low 6.

Thu, 3 Dec Periods of rain. Windy. High 8.

Night  Cloudy periods. Low minus 3.

Fri, 4 Dec Sunny. High plus 2.

Night  Clear. Low minus 2.

Sat, 5 Dec Sunny. High plus 2.

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Been experimenting with CHDK on my Canon A-610.Really need some clear moonless nights to really give it a workout but so far I am impressed with the enhancements via the software.Anyone not familiar with it can read more here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Check out a couple of videos I made showing some of the features:

1  Camera showing factory settings

2.Running CHDK

Test photo:

​

---- Al C

@al_in_ns

Last week's pics and upcoming sky events for this week

It's a typical Nov 1 day here in NS....cloudy,light rain and temp at +8.5C on  my thermometer.At least it's calm.

Monday to Friday are expected to be decently clear so will have to try to get out with the camera and shoot some pics.Also working on a camera/telescope setup....preliminary tests were OK and will do some test streams on Ustream this week.Follow my Twitter feed to be notified when it's online.

My pics from last week of the planetary alignment and the full 'Hunter's' moon.Awesome that Venus was bright enough to see well after sunrise.

In the sky this week:

November 2: More Mars and Venus

The orange planet Mars stands close to the upper left of Venus, the “morning star,” at first light tomorrow. Jupiter, which is second only to Venus in brightness, is well above them.

November 3: Planetary Nebulae

A doppelganger of the planet Saturn floats down the southwestern sky on November evenings. Through a telescope, it looks like Saturn seen with its rings nearly edge-on. Yet the Saturn Nebula is really the brilliant final gasp of a dying star.

November 4: California Nebula

The constellation Perseus is in the northeast in mid evening. A cloud of gas known as the California Nebula stands near its southern tip. The nebula, which is just visible through small telescopes, resembles the outline of California.

November 5: Moon and Jupiter

The solar system puts on a show the next few mornings as the Moon slides past the planets Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. First up is Jupiter, the largest planet. It’s close to the left or upper left of the Moon tomorrow, and looks like a brilliant star.

November 6: Moon and Companions

There’s a beautiful conjunction in tomorrow’s early morning sky. The crescent Moon huddles close to the planets Venus and Mars, with Jupiter standing above them. Venus is the “morning star,” with Mars a little above it.

November 7: Busy Galaxy

The Milky Way arches high across the sky this evening. As night falls, its hazy band stretches from the teapot of Sagittarius in the southwest, through the swan overhead, to W-shaped Cassiopeia in the northeast. You need dark skies to see it.

November 8: Moon and Spica

Spica, the leading light of Virgo, stands close to the lower right of the Moon at first light tomorrow. Spica consists of two stars that are locked in a tight orbit around each other. Each is a good bit hotter, brighter, and more massive than the Sun.

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3 morning planets and this weeks's astronmy hi-lites

Nice view of 3 planets (taken Oct 19th) .They will continue to dominate the
eastern pre-dawn sky for the next week or so .


Other upcoming sky events this week:
A newly found asteroid of notable size - known as asteroid 2015 TB145 - will
safely pass Earth on October 31, 2015. It should be visible moving in front
of the stars, with the help of a telescope, the night before. It is the
biggest known asteroid that will come near Earth until 2027. The asteroid -
found as recently as October 10 - will fly past Earth at a safe distance, or
about 1.3 times the moon's distance. Closest approach to Earth will be
October 31 at 2 p.m. ADT
More info here:
http://earthsky.org/space/big-asteroid-will-safely-pass-earth-on-halloween-o
ctober-31-2015


October 25: Sheratan
Sheratan, the second-brightest star of Aries, the ram, is low in the east as
night falls this evening, far to the left of the Moon. To the eye alone, the
star looks like a single pinpoint of light, yet Sheratan actually is a
system of two stars.

October 26: Hunter's Moon
The Hunter's Moon strides boldly across the sky tonight. It is the first
full Moon after the Harvest Moon - a bit of skylore inherited from some
older cultures of Europe and the Americas.

October 27: Clusters
The two most prominent star clusters in the night sky are in good view on
autumn evenings. The V-shaped Hyades cluster outlines the face of Taurus,
the bull, while the smaller, dipper-shaped Pleiades cluster represents his
shoulder.

October 28: The Plow
Ursa Major hunkers low in the north on autumn evenings. Americans see its
brightest stars as the Big Dipper. In England, though, these stars are seen
as a plow. October is a good time to visualize a plow because it stands just
above the horizon.

October 29: Moon and Aldebaran
Aldebaran, the bright orange star that represents the eye of Taurus, the
bull, stands close to the upper right of the Moon as they climb into good
view in late evening.

October 30: Halloween Star
Algol, a star whose name means "the demon," creeps up the northeastern sky
this evening. It's actually a close pair of stars in which one is
cannibalizing the other. The system is in Perseus, the hero, which is in the
northeast at nightfall.

October 31: Halloween Dragon
A dragon haunts the night sky: the constellation Draco. Its coils wrap
around Polaris, the North Star. In mythology, it guarded a golden apple tree
for Hera, the queen of the gods. As a reward for its service, Hera placed
the dragon in the stars.

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3 Morning Planets and this week's hi-lites

Mars,Jupiter and Venus in this morning's sky.Mercury is also visible but
below the trees in this graphic.
http://users.eastlink.ca/~jmnorman/gif/planets.gif


This week's astronomy hi-lites from https://stardate.org :

October 19: Orionid Meteors
The Orionid meteor shower is expected to peak before dawn on Thursday, with
up to a dozen meteors per hour. The Orionids tend to spread out a bit, so
you can generally see almost as many meteors for a day or two before and
after the shower's peak.

October 20: Pisces
Pisces, the fishes, which is one of the constellations of the zodiac, is in
the eastern sky after nightfall. It is faint, though, so you need a dark sky
to see it.

October 21: Alderamin
Alderamin, the brightest star of Cepheus, the king, shines high in the
northern sky. It stands directly above Polaris, the North Star, a couple of
hours after sunset. Alderamin is a white star, about 50 light-years from
Earth.

October 22: Morning Trio
A bright trio adorns the morning sky: Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. Venus, the
"morning star," stands at the top of the lineup tomorrow, in the east at
dawn. Jupiter is close to the lower left of Venus, with fainter Mars to the
lower left of Jupiter.

October 23: Venus and Jupiter
The planet Venus, the "morning star," is well up in the eastern sky at first
light. Over the next few days, it will pass quite close to the
next-brightest object in the night sky, the planet Jupiter.

October 24: Hamal
The yellow-orange star Hamal decorates the forehead of Aries, the ram.
Thousands of years ago, it was near the Sun at the spring equinox, making it
an important star in many cultures.

October 25: Sheratan
Sheratan, the second-brightest star of Aries, the ram, is low in the east as
night falls this evening, far to the left of the Moon. To the eye alone, the
star looks like a single pinpoint of light, yet Sheratan actually is a
system of two stars.


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A good week

Lots of sky events here over this past week.


A spectacular Northern Lights display:














An iridium flare:















And a nice bright pass of the ISS:















Northern Lights 2 frame animated gif:
CLICK TO VIEW







Things to look for in the sky over the next week:
October 10: Morning Mercury
Venus, the "morning star," is well up in the east at dawn, with slightly
fainter Jupiter to its lower left. The much fainter planet Mercury stands
well below them, just above the crescent Moon. Mercury will climb higher and
shine brighter over the next few mornings.

October 11: Uranus at Opposition
The planet Uranus is putting in its best showing of the year. It rises at
sunset, is in the sky all night, and is brightest for the year. In fact,
under dark skies, those with keen vision might just make out the planet with
the unaided eye.

October 12: 51 Pegasi
Pegasus, the flying horse, soars high across the sky on October evenings. In
1995, astronomers discovered a planet orbiting one of its stars, 51 Pegasi.
It was the first planet discovered in orbit around a "normal" star like the
Sun.

October 13: Hot Planet
Cancer, the crab, is high in the east at first light. One of its stars, 55
Cancri, hosts at least five planets, including one that may be covered by
giant volcanoes that belch enough ash and gas to sometimes almost block its
sun from view.

October 14: Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti, one of the most popular star systems in science-fiction, is in the
constellation Cetus, the sea monster. The star climbs into view in the
east-southeast by about 10 p.m. It is faint, so you need a starchart to help
you pick it out.

October 15: Mars and Jupiter
Mars and Jupiter look like they are going to ram together in the dawn sky
over the next few days. Jupiter is the brighter world, with orange Mars
standing just below it tomorrow. They will move closer together on Saturday
and Sunday.

October 16: Moon, Saturn, Antares
Only one planet is in easy view in the evening sky: golden Saturn. Tonight,
it is close to the lower right of the Moon as night falls. The bright orange
star Antares, the heart of the scorpion, is a bit farther to the lower left
of the Moon.

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This week's astronomy hi-lites

October 4: Last-Quarter Moon
The Moon is at its last-quarter phase at 4:06 p.m. CDT, so sunlight
illuminates half of the lunar hemisphere that faces Earth. The illuminated
portion of that hemisphere will grow smaller each day until the Moon is new
on October 12.

October 5: Double Cluster
Two vigorous young star clusters, known as the Double Cluster, circle high
across the north on autumn evenings. Under dark skies, they are just visible
to the unaided eye as a hazy smudge of light below W-shaped Cassiopeia.
Binoculars reveal many more stars.

October 6: Triangulum Galaxy
The third-largest galaxy in our neighborhood, M33, is in Triangulum, which
is in the east in mid evening. The galaxy is visible through binoculars as a
hazy smudge of light not far from the triangle of stars that gives the
constellation its name.

October 7: Moon and Companions
The crescent Moon drops past two pairs of bright objects in the pre-dawn sky
the next couple of days. The group that is closer to the Moon tomorrow
includes the planet Venus, which shines as the "morning star," and the true
star Regulus, the heart of the lion.

October 8: Moon and More Companions
Mars stands close to the left of the crescent Moon at first light tomorrow.
The planet looks like a modest orange star. The much brighter planet Jupiter
is below Mars and the Moon, with the even brighter planet Venus above them.

October 9: Alpha Persei
Perseus, the hero, is low in the northeast at nightfall. Its brightest star,
Alpha Persei, probably is just one percent of the age of the Sun, yet it
already is nearing the end of its life because it's much more massive than
the Sun.

October 10: Morning Mercury
Venus, the "morning star," is well up in the east at dawn, with slightly
fainter Jupiter to its lower left. The much fainter planet Mercury stands
well below them, just above the crescent Moon. Mercury will climb higher and
shine brighter over the next few mornings.

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Rainfall warning in effect

Queens County
Rain, at times heavy, is expected.

A slow-moving cold front will approach from the northwest today and move
over the region tonight then remain nearly stationary over the province on
Thursday. Rain at times heavy from this system will spread slowly from
northwest to southeast later today and persist on Thursday. General rainfall
amounts of 50 to 90 millimetres can be expected with amounts possibly
exceeding 100 millimetres in parts of northern and western Nova Scotia.

Rainfall warnings will likely be extended eastward to other parts of the
province later today as this system continues to slowly develop.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized
flooding in low-lying areas is possible. Watch for possible washouts near
rivers, creeks and culverts.

Rainfall Warnings are issued when significant rainfall is expected.

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