November 6
The Frog of Eridanus
Sun Position
The Sun is in Scorpius at about -17° declination. In the Northern Hemisphere, November evenings come on fast; Southern Hemisphere residents enjoy expanding daylight.
Sky Highlight
The North Taurid branch of the Taurid meteor shower is now building in activity alongside the South Taurids. Together they maintain the shower's character: slow, often bright meteors from a radiant in Taurus, peaking for a week or more. No sharp single-night peak; the whole first half of November is productive.
Deep Sky Object
NGC 1023, lenticular galaxy in Perseus, about 36 million light-years away. A bright, lens-shaped galaxy with no spiral structure and very little ongoing star formation, it makes a good contrast to spiral galaxies when comparing galaxy morphologies through a telescope. Visible from northern latitudes; low from the Southern Hemisphere.
Featured Star
Rana (δ Eridani) is an orange subgiant just 29.5 light-years away, spectral class K0IV, close enough that if it harbored a planet, that planet would resolve as a distinct point of light from space. It is partway through the transition from main-sequence hydrogen burning to red giant expansion, a star caught mid-evolution.
Around This Date
- November 6, 1572Multiple observers across Europe recorded the sudden appearance of Tycho's Supernova in Cassiopeia, though Tycho Brahe's systematic observations became the most famous account.
- November 9, 1967NASA launched Surveyor 6, which later became the first spacecraft to lift off from the lunar surface under its own power.
Rana is near enough that its light takes less than thirty years to reach us, a neighbor, as stars go.