Namibia's night sky in November: Leonid meteor shower

Europeans living in the city are blown away by Namibia's starry sky when they see it for the first time. In November, in addition to the Milky Way, which is always clearly visible, five planets reward the effort to look upwards.

After the sundowner, three of them are already visible. Saturn reaches its highest point at around 8.10 pm and sinks behind the horizon at 2.25 am. Its rings can also be seen with binoculars.

Mercury is back: for weeks it has been orbiting behind the sun as seen from us. It is now visible low in the west in the evening and sets at around 20:50.

The star of the evening sky is the brightly shining Venus in its parade role as the 'evening star' - until her exit from the stage at around 10.15 pm.

Jupiter is visible both in the evening and in the morning. But you can enjoy your dinner in peace and don't even have to gulp down your dessert to watch it rise. Jupiter appears in the east at around 9.00 pm and is still clearly visible in the west in the morning before sunrise.

Mars only appears shortly after midnight. The red planet reaches its highest point at 5.35 a.m., shortly before it fades during dawn.

Highlight in November: the Leonid meteor shower

Early risers are rewarded also with shooting stars in Namibia's starry sky in November. The Leonid meteor shower can be seen from 6 November. Its center rises in the north-east at around 1.50 am. It is situated in the constellation Leo, to which it owes its name.

In November, the Earth passes through an area on its orbit around the sun in which small fragments of an earlier comet are swirling around. These fragments, called meteors, burn out as they enter the Earth's atmosphere.

We perceive the burning out of a meteor as a shooting star. The Leonid meteor shower reaches the peak of its activity on 17 November. Unfortunately, the still rather bright moonlight on this night dampens the effect.

The moon phases in November (times for Windhoek): New moon 1 Nov, first quarter 9 Nov, full moon 15 Nov, last quarter 23 Nov.

The fourth and last supermoon of this year can be observed on 15 November. However, the moon will be further away from the Earth than it was during the last supermoon in October.

You can find out more about the starry sky in November in the Astro-News by Lutz von Dewitz in the news section on the website of the Namibia Scientific Society.

Sven-Eric Stender