November 12
The Queen's Knee
Sun Position
The Sun is in Scorpius at roughly -20° declination. Northern Hemisphere twilight ends early; Southern Hemisphere enjoys warm, extended evenings.
Sky Highlight
Cassiopeia is nearly overhead from mid-northern latitudes in November evenings, the W shape is an unmistakable landmark for orienting in the autumn sky. From the Southern Hemisphere, Cassiopeia rides low in the north; the W shape is inverted and the whole group is harder to access but still visible from tropical and subtropical latitudes.
Deep Sky Object
NGC 457, the Owl Cluster (also called the E.T. Cluster), open cluster in Cassiopeia, about 7,900 light-years away. A compact, bright cluster whose two lucid stars and accompanying fainter members suggest a wide-eyed face. One of the most visually distinctive open clusters in the autumn sky. Circumpolar from northern mid-latitudes; low from the Southern Hemisphere.
Featured Star
Ruchbah (δ Cassiopeiae) is a white giant 99.4 light-years away, spectral class A5III, also a known eclipsing variable, dimming slightly over a period of about 759 days as a companion star periodically crosses its disk. It marks the knee of Cassiopeia as she sits chained on her throne, one of the five stars that define the W.
Around This Date
- November 12, 1833The great Leonid meteor storm struck, producing a display estimated at tens of thousands of meteors per hour, described by witnesses as stars falling like snowflakes.
- November 16, 1974The Arecibo message was transmitted toward the globular cluster M13, humanity's first intentional high-power radio message aimed at other potential civilizations.
Ruchbah's slow eclipse cycle is too gradual for casual observation, but it runs like a clock regardless of whether anyone is timing it.