In the Sky this Week- November 28, 2017

Mars is in conjunction with the star Spica for the next couple weeks, and Jupiter rises a bit earlier each morning in the eastern predawn sky. You might catch a short glimpse of Venus as it rises shortly before the Sun.

Eastern predawn sky, Nov. 28 2017. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

For an observing challenge, see if you can spot the zodiacal light in the eastern sky a few hours before dawn; use Mars and Spica as a guide - you'll need to be in a dark sky location.

Zodiacal Light in the eastern sky 4:40 AM Nov. 28, 2017. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The light of the waxing gibbous Moon will make Uranus a poor observing target - the Moon, however, should be a great observing target all week long. The Moon will be full on Dec. 3^rd.

Southeastern sky after sunset Nov. 28, 2017. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

For an observing challenge, see if you can spot Saturn and Mercury in the southwestern sky at 5:30 PM - look quick, you'll only have a few minutes to see them before they set!

Southwestern sky at 5:30 PM Nov. 28, 2017. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Sun

Sunspots come and go - last week one vanished from view, this week sunspot AR2689 appeared slightly north of center on Nov. 24^th, and is rotating away towards the limb of the Sun.

The Sun - Nov. 28, 2017 - Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

The "C" shaped filament I mentioned last week still remains, and has rotated almost to the limb of the Sun - I expect to see some interesting prominences over the next week.

The Sun in 304 angstroms showing several prominences - Nov. 28, 2017. Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

The northern coronal hole has lost it's south-reaching peninsula from last week, and now the southern coronal hole has peninsula reaching northward. The ">>>" pattern caused by the Sun's differential rotation is easily visible in this image:

The Sun in multiple frequencies - Nov. 28, 2017 - Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 211, 193, and 171 angstroms. Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

You can view the Sun in multiple frequencies, in near real-time here: SDO-The Sun Now

The Sky Overhead

The Sky Overhead, 7:00 PM Nov. 28 2017. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Inner Solar System

This is the position of the planets in the inner solar system simulated using NASA Eyes on the Solar System.

The Inner Solar System, Oblique View, Nov. 28 2017. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Apps used for this post:

Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux.
NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission app - free for the PC /MAC.

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