Sunrise Sunset

Fri., Nov. 7 6:20 4:29

Sat., Nov. 8 6:21 4:28

Sun., Nov. 9 6:23 4:27

Mon., Nov. 10 6:24 4:26

Tues., Nov. 11 6:25 4:25

Wed., Nov. 12 6:26 4:24

Thurs., Nov. 13 6:27 4:23

Fri., Nov. 14 6:29 4:22

The next full moon is Thursday, it is called the Beaver Moon. In the week ahead, the gibbous moon dominates the night sky, moving through the zodiacal constellation Pisces, one of the largest, and ending up full in Aries, one of the smallest.

Pisces depicts two fish. Aries is a small group of stars that depict a ram. Neither constellation have any bright stars, so it is difficult to imagine how ancient astronomers could think of these collections of stars as having either fins or legs.

The constellations are more significant for astrologers than astronomers. There are few deep space objects in either constellation. Rather, they are visited by the planets, the moon and the sun from time to time.

The distant planet Uranus resides in Pisces. The planet is barely visible with a pair of binoculars; the moon appears near it tomorrow night.

Jupiter and Venus

The best astronomical show takes place in the western sky this month. The brilliant planet Venus appears in the western sky just after sunset in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. Look to the south and the second brightest planet in the sky, Jupiter, appears in the constellation Sagittarius. In the weeks ahead, these two planets will appear to move closer. But in truth they are not close at all. Venus is 111 million miles away, while Jupiter is 502 million miles away. ­— M.A.L.