The below notes outline predictable astronomical events visible from Canberra, Australia during the period 3 – 9 November 2019. In most cases, the events will be visible to the unaided eye.
Finder charts for a selected range of events can be found elsewhere on this website.
All week
Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are visible to the unaided eye above the Western horizon as evening twilight ends.
Sunday 3 November 2019
Early morning. NASA TV (https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public) will webcast the launch of the Cygnus Cargo robotic spacecraft to the International Space Station. At the time of preparing these notes, the launch is scheduled to occur at 12.30 am.
Monday 4 November 2019
First Quarter Moon occurs at 9.23 pm AEDT.
NASA TV (https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public) will webcast live the capture and docking at the International Space Station by the Cygnus Cargo robotic spacecraft. Coverage starts at 6.45 pm AEDT. The ‘capture’ is scheduled to occur at 8.10 pm AEDT.
Evening twilight. Pass over Canberra by International Space Station. It will look like a slowly moving star to the unaided eye. More information (when and where to look plus a finder chart) can be found here: https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=-35.41187&lng=149.10904&loc=Gowrie&alt=0&tz=AEST
Tuesday 5 November 2019
Evening twilight. Pass over Canberra by International Space Station. It will look like a slowly moving star to the unaided eye. More information (when and where to look plus a finder chart) can be found here: https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=-35.41187&lng=149.10904&loc=Gowrie&alt=0&tz=AEST
Wednesday 6 November 2019
Evening twilight. Pass over Canberra by International Space Station. It will look like a slowly moving star to the unaided eye. More information (when and where to look plus a finder chart) can be found here: https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=-35.41187&lng=149.10904&loc=Gowrie&alt=0&tz=AEST
Thursday 7 November 2019
Moon at apogee (furthest from Earth in its orbit) at 8 pm AEDT.
Evening twilight. Pass over Canberra by International Space Station. It will look like a slowly moving star to the unaided eye. More information (when and where to look plus a finder chart) can be found here: https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=-35.41187&lng=149.10904&loc=Gowrie&alt=0&tz=AEST
Friday 8 November 2019
Evening twilight. Pass over Canberra by International Space Station. It will look like a slowly moving star to the unaided eye. More information (when and where to look plus a finder chart) can be found here: https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=-35.41187&lng=149.10904&loc=Gowrie&alt=0&tz=AEST
Further information about astronomy and space events can be found on this website. Alternative excellent sources of information are the annual astronomy yearbook published by Quasar Publishing (http://www.quasarastronomy.com.au/) or the fantastic astronomy apps in the Sky Safari family (go to the app store on your phone or tablet). A fantastic free astronomy computer program is Stellarium (https://stellarium.org/).
