North American Skies

Sky Events

(PLEASE NOTE: All times are given for the EASTERN TIME ZONE (Standard or Daylight as applicable).  Subtract 1 hour for Central Time, 2 hours for Mountain Time, and 3 hours for Pacific Time. For example, a listed time of 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time, is 11 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Mountain, and 9 a.m. Pacific. Please adjust accordingly, or for your time in other time zones.

November-December 2009

Date EST Description (please see note at bottom of table)
Sun, Nov. 011:00 a.m.Mars passes through the Beehive cluster (M44) in Cancer. Best viewed after midnight to the East . Mars will be near the cluster for several mornings.
Mon, Nov 02 2:14 p.m. Full Moon (11th Full Moon of the year was the "Moon of the Falling Leaves" to the Lakota.)
Mon, Nov 02 9:50 p.m. Venus passes 3.5° N of Spica. Best low to the East-southeast before dawn on the 2nd & 3rd.
Wed, Nov 04 12:07 a.m. Moon passes thru Pleiades. Look East on the evening of the 3rd, or to the West before dawn on the 4th.
Thu, Nov. 055:00 a.m.South Taurid Meteors peak. Minor shower but soemtimes brilliant meteors. High overhead sevearl hours before dawn.
Fri, Nov 066:00 a.m.Moon passes near M35 in Gemini. High to the West.
Sun, Nov 08 6:52 p.m. Moon passes Beehive cluster: 3° N
Sun, Nov 08 11:46 p.m. Mars 3.1° North of Moon. Look to East-southeastern sky in p-redawn hours on the 8th and 9th.
Mon, Nov 09 10:56 a.m. Last Quarter Moon, rises late night, still up in morning sky.
Thu, Nov 125:00 a.m.North Taurid Meteors peak. See Nov. 5.
Thu, Nov 12 8:49 p.m. Saturn 7.6° North of Moon. Look Southeast before dawn
Fri, Nov. 13pre-dawnLook for Crescent Moon between Venus (lower) and Saturn (higher, fainter) in eastern pre-dawn sky
Mon, Nov 16 2:14 p.m. New Moon ("No Moon" -- look for a thin crescent in the West after sunset for the next few days.)
Tue, Nov 17 10:42 a.m. Leonid Meteor Shower peak. May be good this year (maybe not). Look high overhead before dawn. No Moon.
Mon, Nov 23 5:10 p.m. Jupiter: 4° South of Moon, high to the South at nightfall
Tue, Nov 24 4:39 p.m. First Quarter Moon, high to South at sunset.
Tue, Dec 01 9:38 a.m. Moon passes thru Pleiades. Look to western sky before dawn.
Wed, Dec 02 2:31 a.m. Full Moon (the 12th Full Moon of the year was the "Moon of the Popping Trees" to the Lakota)
Sun, Dec 06 1:19 a.m. Moon passes Beehive cluster: 3.1° N. Look to eastern sky.
Sun, Dec 06 8:55 p.m. Mars 5.3° North of Moon. Look in sotuhwestern sky before dawn.
Tue, Dec 08 7:13 p.m. Last Quarter Moon, rises late night, still up in morning sky.
Thu, Dec 10 4:18 a.m. Saturn 7.5° North of Moon, high to Southeast at dawn
Sun, Dec 13 11:52 p.m. Geminid Meteor Shower. May be best shower of the year, look high to the East. No Moon
Wed, Dec 16 7:02 a.m. New Moon ("No Moon" -- look for a thin crescent in the West after sunset for the next few days.)
Fri, Dec 18 3:18 a.m. Mercury 1.4° South of Moon. Look low to southwest after sunset.
Fri, Dec 18 12:39 p.m. Mercury, Greatest elongation 20.3° East. Low to Southwest shortly after sunset.
Mon, Dec 21 8:54 a.m. Moon 3.9° South of Jupiter. Look South-southwest at nightfall on the 20th & 21st.
Mon, Dec 21 10:38 a.m. Mars, Stationary, retrograde begins. Mars is between Cancer and Leo, best in the southern sky before dawn.
Mon, Dec 21 12:47 p.m. December Solstice, Winter begins in the North
Tue, Dec 22 8:00 a.m. Ursid Meteor Shower peak. Minor shower. Look high to the North before dawn. No Moon
Thu, Dec 24 12:36 p.m. First Quarter Moon, high to South at Sunset
Mon, Dec 28 8:03 p.m. Moon passes thru Pleiades, high to the Southeast and South.
Thu, Dec 31 2:13 p.m. Full Moon (This is the 13th Full Moon of 2009. As the second Full Moon in a single month, it may be referred to as a "Blue Moon".)
Thu, Dec 31 2:23 p.m. Partial Lunar Eclipse, not visible in North America. See NASA Eclipse page
Note: Some events occur during daylight hours and/or when the objects are not currently in the sky. In those cases, you may be able to observe before dawn or after dark. Some events with little chance of observing have been removed. Information derived from a variety of sources.
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[Data for this calendar has been derived from a number of sources including the Observer's Handbook 2009 of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Starry Night software, and others. Only events with a reasonable possibility for Northern Hemisphere observers, or those events with some other significance, are given.]
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Copyright 2009 Final Copy, Inc. 

Information in this calendar has been calculated and/or derived from a variety of sources. Among them are the yearly Observer's Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada; Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets by Jean Meeus; and Starry Night software by Space.com. Only events with a reasonable possibility for Northern Hemisphere observers, or those events with some other significance, are given.