Stop and Smell the Mums, and Don't Forget to Look up at the Night Sky this Month

November has been an extraordinarily beautiful month so far, and the air has been warmer than usual these past few days. Autumn scents fill the air, and there are Mums everywhere. Brilliant colors of yellow, orange, and purple line the walkways and surround the trees around Bay Shore, and beyond. Daylight Savings time is behind us, and the sunsets are earlier, but brilliantly colorful. How stunningly November leads us into the holiday season.

The sky has given us the majesty of the Crescent Moon, and four planetary conjunctions will occur this month. In astronomy, a conjunction is an apparent event that occurs when two or more space objects are visible very close to each other. In general, conjunctions take place between the Moon and planets Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The next conjunction is on Wednesday, November 10 as the Moon and Saturn come close together. You can see them in the night sky as the pitch-black heavens create a tapestry of these glowing objects. Saturn is now the faintest among the naked-eye visible planets in the sky but is observable with the condition of clear skies. There will be another conjunction on Veteran's Day, Thursday, November 11 with the Moon and Jupiter taking front seat. To spot them, look southward, or you can simply find the constellation Capricornus if you're savvy enough. 

Stop and smell the Mums, and don't forget to look up at the night sky this month. Grab a pair of binoculars or just observe with your naked eye. Both will reveal the glory of the heavens and the conjunctions that tantalize us and capture our imagination.