Cosmic Prediction For November Includes 3 Meteor Showers, Planetary Gatherings

With the start of the month of November, planets Venus and Jupiter have started to drift apart from each other after forming a spectacular cosmic triangle with Mars in the last week of October. However, two of the brightest planets in the solar system still continue to dominate the predawn sky.

In November, planets Mercury and Saturn will remain out of sight for skygazers as their normal revolution place them to the Sun's far side. On the other hand, the big planet Jupiter, can be seen bright at -1.8 magnitude. The planet is expected to appear even brighter in mid November.

As Venus starts to drift away from Jupiter, its proximity to Mars will start to reduce. The red planet will rise in the predawn sky and appears with Venus in the eastern sky on Nov. 2. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the two planets will conjunct on Nov. 3.

According to the International Meteor Organization, the Leonid meteor shower will peak on Nov. 17-18 wherein 20 shooting stars per hour can be observed. Astronomy enthusiasts and sky gazers might be able to spot a handful of shooting stars if they end up spending an hour watching the clear sky after midnight on Nov. 18.

Mars, Venus and the moon will form a neat triangle on Nov. 7. In addition, Saturn will come in conjunction with Sun on Nov. 30.