Sky Shorts: Farewell, mini moon, and welcome Taurus as king of night sky

Back on Sept. 29, Earth’s gravity captured a small near-Earth asteroid called 2024 PT5. The asteroid is about 37 feet wide, about the size of a school bus. In relation to our moon, it is 300,000 times smaller.

It was discovered on Aug. 7 during routine monitoring by scientists using the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS.

2024 PT5 belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, which is secondary to the main asteroid belt. These asteroids have a similar orbit around the sun to our planet Earth. As these objects approach Earth, within 2.8 million miles and at low velocities of 2,200 mph, they experience negative geocentric energy. This allows for it to be captured as a temporary moon.

Asteroid 2024 PT5 is considered a temporary captured flyby since it will never complete one full revolution around Earth. These types are relatively frequent, with several happening per decade. This type differs from a temporary captured orbiter, which might revolve around Earth one or more times. These are rare, with Earth hosting one around every 10 or 20 years.

Once asteroid 2024 PT5 progresses to a certain point in its orbit around Earth, the Sun’s gravitational disturbances will bring it back to a heliocentric orbit. This will happen Nov. 25. As we know, the sun has incredible mass, therefore an immense amount of gravitational pull. That invisible force of the sun keeps everything in order in our solar system.

The asteroid will have another close flyby on Jan. 9, 2025. It will then leave Earth behind but return in 2055.

Can we see our mini moon? No, it is too dim to see with backyard telescopes. However, it is in the brightness range for professional astronomers. So, we will have to wait for researchers at a professional observatory to release images of our brief visitor.

Night sky for November

Planets and the Moon:

Daylight Saving Time ends Nov. 3, so the sun sets around 5:30 p.m. Get out and stargaze right after dinner!

The planet Mercury is making a comeback in the evening sky. Mercury lies very low on the southwestern horizon on Nov. 1, at magnitude -0.3. On Nov. 3, 30 minutes after sunset, Mercury will be eight degrees to the right of the very slender crescent Moon. Binoculars are best for viewing. By Nov. 9, it will be four degrees high in the southwest and reaches greatest eastern elongation on Nov. 16. This is the best Mercury will be this month and it sets a little over one hour after sunset. After Nov. 16 it will dim quickly.

There is no doubt you will spot dazzling Venus in the southwest soon after sunset. At the beginning of the month, Venus shines at magnitude -4 and sets two hours after the Sun. On Nov. 4, Venus will be four degrees due north of the slender crescent Moon. By the end of November, Venus will be slightly brighter and set three hours after sunset.

Lovely Saturn lies in the southern sky one hour after sunset at magnitude 0.8. On Nov. 10, the first quarter Moon passes one degree north of Saturn. The rings continue to thin from our viewpoint here on Earth.

Neptune lies in the constellation Pisces, 14 degrees northwest of Saturn, shining at magnitude 7.7. Binoculars or a telescope are needed. The waxing gibbous Moon will pass less than one degree north of Neptune on Nov. 11.

Uranus reaches opposition on Nov. 16 and is located in western Taurus, the Bull, 6.5 degrees southwest of the Pleiades star cluster. Binoculars or a telescope are needed. At the beginning of the month, Uranus rises at 7 p.m. and three hours earlier by the end of the month. The Full Moon passes north of Uranus on Nov. 15.

Brilliant Jupiter rises at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and by twilight on Nov. 30. It can be found in the constellation Taurus at magnitude -2.8 and dominates the night sky. The waning gibbous moon pairs with Jupiter on Nov. 16-17.

Mars continues to brighten and crosses the constellation, Cancer. At the beginning of the month, it is 0.1 magnitude and -0.5 by Nov. 30.  On Nov. 1, Mars rises around 11 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. by Nov. 30. The waning gibbous Moon pairs with Mars on Nov. 20.

The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks on Nov. 17. The Full Moon on Nov. 15 will affect viewing. Since the Leonids are active between Nov. 6 and Nov. 30, try viewing the week before the peak.

Night Sky Spotlight:

This month we will feature the constellation Taurus, the Bull, which is visible from fall through spring and is the 17th largest constellation. Taurus is a zodiac constellation meaning the Sun, Moon and planets travel through it. It is an easy constellation to locate on a clear mid-autumn evening. If you face east look for the small cluster of stars called the Pleiades. Looking just below the lovely star cluster you will see the shape of a sideways V. This is the face of Taurus, the Bull. The face of the Bull is made up of Hyades star cluster. It is one of the closest star clusters, 150 light - years away from Earth. The Hyades star cluster is made up of older red giants and white dwarf stars. The Pleiades, which is another star cluster, rests on the shoulder of Taurus and features young blue stars.

The brightest star in Taurus is a red, orange star called Aldebaran, which is the 14th brightest star. Due to the position of this star, it looks like the eye of Taurus. Another bright star in Taurus is Elnath which marks the end of the horn of Taurus. Elnath is on the opposite side of the face of Taurus from Aldebaran. An interesting and special deep sky object, Messier 1 or the Crab Nebula is a part of Taurus. Binoculars or a telescope can be used to view what is left of a star that exploded in a supernova, in 1054 CE. This supernova lit up the daytime sky for a month! To locate the Crab Nebula, find the star on the opposite horn tip of Elnath. This star is called Zeta Tauri.

For further night sky details, maps and audio, visit my website www.starrytrails.com.

Visit the Hoover Price Planetarium

There will be planetarium shows every Saturday and Sunday and special holiday shows. Visit www.mckinleymuseum.org, for show dates and times! Planetarium shows are free with Museum admission. The Planetarium is located inside the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Drive, N.W., in Canton, Ohio. For more information, please call the Museum at 330-455-7043.