The Sky This Week from Oct. 31 to Nov. 7: Catch celestial ghosts

Open cluster NGC 559 in Cassiopeia is also referred to as the Ghost’s Goblet. Credit: Digitized Sky Survey

Sky This Week is delivered to you partly by Celestron.

Friday, October 31
This Halloween, peer into the Ghost’s Goblet, a younger grouping of stars in Cassiopeia the Queen. Formally cataloged as NGC 559 and Caldwell 8, you’ll discover this open cluster excessive within the northeast a couple of hours after sundown. Look for the W of stars that kind Cassiopeia’s physique — early within the night, it stands on its facet, trying just like the quantity 3. NGC 559 is positioned between the final two stars on the backside of the quantity, Delta (δ) and Epsilon (ε) Cassiopeiae. Draw a line between these stars, then look just a bit left of the midpoint, or about 2.8° due west of Epsilon (on the very backside). There lies the Ghost’s Goblet. 

Shining at magnitude 9.5, the Ghost’s Goblet is seen in binoculars and is a superb goal for any telescope, small or giant. It spans about 7’ and reveals off quite a few brilliant stars in its triangular core. 

So, why is it known as the Ghost’s Goblet? This identify was bestowed by Astronomy contributor Stephen James O’Meara, who sees that triangle-shaped core because the cup of an vintage goblet, with ever-fainter arcs of stars defining its define. He writes in his ebook The Caldwell Objects: “The faint glow of unresolved starlight within the cup seems to be a brew of fleeting vapors. With imagination this central core takes on an eerie quality, that of a still photograph of a ghostly jeweled goblet in the act of vanishing.”

What do you see? 

Sunrise: 7:29 A.M.
Sunset: 5:58 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:24 P.M.
Moonset: 1:31 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (75%)
*Times for dawn, sundown, moonrise, and moonset are given in native time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. native time from the identical location.

Saturday, November 1
Tonight is an opportunity to view the stays of a huge effect crater on the Moon: Sinus Iridium, which carves out a bit of Mare Imbrium. 

You can start viewing the Moon any time this night, as it’s already above the horizon at sundown. By 7 P.M. native daylight time, you’ll discover our satellite tv for pc within the southeastern sky, simply to the higher proper of 1st-magnitude Saturn. Zoom in on our satellite tv for pc with a telescope and look towards its northwestern limb, the place you’ll discover the spherical fringe of Sinus Iridium poking out of northwestern Mare Imbrium. 

Stretching some 160 miles (258 kilometers) huge, Sinus Iridium’s personal northwestern edge is fashioned by the rugged Jura Mountains. It has no southeastern rim, as a substitute showing to circulate proper into the bigger Mare Imbrium. This is as a result of lava from that overlapping “sea” flooded into Sinus Iridium a number of instances over a interval starting from about 3.4 billion to 1.2 billion years in the past.

Slightly north of Sinus Iridium, there’s rugged terrain simply now coming underneath dawn. Look for the craters J. Herschel and Philolaus, marked on the picture for this entry. The former spans some 96 miles (155 km) and is about twice as huge because the latter, and in addition a lot older as effectively. 

Sunrise: 7:30 A.M.
Sunset: 5:57 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:48 P.M.
Moonset: 2:41 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (84%)

Sunday, November 2
Daylight saving time ends as we speak at 2 A.M. So, if you’re in an space that observes daylight saving time, your clocks will “fall back” from 1:59 A.M. daylight time to 1 A.M. customary time this morning. 

The Moon passes 4° north of Saturn at 6 A.M. EST, then passes 3° north of Neptune at midday EST. This night after sundown, you’ll discover the waxing Moon positioned to the higher left of naked-eye Saturn within the southeastern sky. Neptune is between them, although the magnitude 7.7 planet can’t be seen with out optical assist. However, it might be troublesome to see the faint, distant ice large with the brilliant Moon close by. 

If you need to give it a attempt, heart your telescope on Saturn, then scan some 4.2° northeast. Neptune tonight stands about 22’ north of a magnitude 7.5 area star; the 2 will seemingly seem about the identical brightness. Neptune is the northernmost object of the pair; its 2”-wide disk could look grey or blue in colour, and seem considerably “flatter” than the pinprick star. 

Even when you can’t catch Neptune, spend a while with Saturn and its razor-thin rings, now tilted by lower than a level. 

Sunrise: 6:30 A.M.
Sunset: 4:56 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:12 P.M.
Moonset: 2:53 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (92%)

Monday, November 3
Let’s meet up with Venus within the morning sky; Earth’s sister planet sits simply to the left of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, because the Maiden rises earlier than daybreak this morning. 

About an hour earlier than dawn, the 2 lights are simply over 3° excessive within the east. Venus is brightest, its magnitude –3.9 glow far outshining magnitude 1.0 Spica. The two will rise greater collectively as daybreak approaches — how lengthy are you able to comply with Spica into the twilight? 

As the sky is brightening (however effectively earlier than dawn), check out Venus by a telescope. Seeing the brilliant planet in opposition to a brilliant background helps scale back distinction and provides a clearer view of its disk, which stretches 10” and is 96 % lit. You aren’t seeing the floor of Venus by your scope — relatively, you’re viewing daylight reflecting off the planet’s thick blanket of clouds. 

Sunrise: 6:32 A.M.
Sunset: 4:55 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:38 P.M.
Moonset: 4:07 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (97%)

Tuesday, November 4
Tonight Jupiter sports activities a three-for-one as Io transits with its shadow in tow and Europa’s shadow sneaks onto the disk in preparation for its personal moon to transit.

Jupiter rises round 9:30 P.M. native time in Gemini the Twins. East Coast observers will be capable to see the ingress of Io’s shadow, which seems on the jap limb round 10:20 P.M. EST. By the time Jupiter is rising within the Mountain time zone, the shadow is roughly midway throughout the disk, with Io itself simply crossing onto the disk from the east. Europa is farther east, whereas Callisto (closest) and Ganymede (farther) misinform the planet’s west. 

Europa’s shadow seems on the disk at 12:12 a.m. EST on the fifth (in EST solely). By this time, Io’s shadow is approaching the western limb and Io is about one-third of the best way throughout the disk. There’s now a 20-minute window when each shadows are seen along with transiting Io. Io’s shadow reaches the western limb and disappears at 12:32 a.m. EST. Make certain to transform these instances to your native time so that you don’t miss the temporary present! (Also, when you’re studying this upfront, bear in mind the change to plain time on the 2nd.)

Once Io’s shadow disappears, Io nonetheless has half the disk to traverse. It takes just a little greater than an hour, with Io lastly reaching the western limb round 1:45 A.M. EST. And it’s almost yet another hour earlier than Europa begins to transit, with that occasion beginning simply after 2:40 A.M. EST. 

Sunrise: 6:33 A.M.
Sunset: 4:54 P.M.
Moonrise: 4:07 P.M.
Moonset: 5:25 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full

Wednesday, November 5
November’s Full Moon happens at 8:19 A.M. EST. This month’s Full Moon can also be known as the Beaver Moon. 

The Moon additionally reaches perigee, the closest level to Earth in its orbit, simply hours later, at 5:27 P.M. EST. Our satellite tv for pc is then 221,726 miles (356,833 km) away. When these two occasions — the Full section and perigee — coincide, we see a phenomenon known as a Super Moon, throughout which the Moon seems barely bigger and brighter than regular. In this case, because the Moon rises this night, it seems 33.5’ huge. Compare that to its common measurement of 31’ — not an enormous distinction, however it’s possible you’ll discover it appears a bit brighter tonight than at different instances through the 12 months. The Full Moon rises round sundown and units round dawn, so there’s loads of time to get pleasure from it, irrespective of whenever you step exterior to have a look. 

This is the second of three Super Moons in 2025, with subsequent month closing out the 12 months with the December Cold Moon as a Super Moon as effectively. The definition of a Super Moon is just a little free, nonetheless, as it’s not an official designation. So, shops usually decide their very own threshold for a way shut a Full Moon have to be to perigee to qualify. According to Farmers’ Almanac, 2026 will carry three Super Moons as effectively, in January, November, and December. But based on the Royal Museums Greenwich, solely the December Full Moon happens shut sufficient to perigee to earn “super” standing. 

The Moon rises in Aries this night, main the Pleiades (M45) into the sky as our satellite tv for pc stands 10° west of the younger group of stars. By tomorrow, their positions will likely be reversed, with M45 main the best way and the Moon trailing, having moved east of the open cluster. 

The Pleiades is a superb goal for binoculars and small scopes — in reality, the decrease the magnification, the higher. Even a finder scope will present it effectively. Roughly 445 light-years away and 100 million years outdated, this cluster spans 110’ on the sky and accommodates not less than a number of hundred stars. Its brightest suns, seen to the bare eye, make the form of a tiny spoon or dipper within the sky — although don’t confuse this with the a lot bigger Little Dipper within the north! 

Observers can watch in a single day because the Moon crosses the remainder of Aries and eventually strikes into Taurus shortly after 5:30 A.M. EST on the sixth. After each have set for these within the contiguous U.S., the Moon will make its method throughout a number of stars within the Pleiades in an occultation seen from components of Alaska, Asia, and Europe. 

Sunrise: 6:34 A.M.
Sunset: 4:53 P.M.
Moonrise: 4:42 P.M.
Moonset: 6:46 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (99%)

Thursday, November 6
The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus at midday EST and rises east of (after) the Pleiades this night. 

Meanwhile, Titan transits Saturn tonight, with the occasion underway as darkness falls on the East Coast. By the time the sky is darkish, you’ll see Saturn 30° excessive within the southeast, glowing at magnitude 0.8 (the brightest mild in that area). You’ll want a telescope to look at the transit. 

Titan is transferring from east to west; it reaches midway throughout the disk simply earlier than 7 P.M. EST. It lastly reaches the western limb simply earlier than 9:30 P.M. EST and takes greater than quarter-hour to maneuver totally off the disk, given the massive measurement of this moon. 

Although Titan is the one moon you may see transiting in opposition to the glare of Saturn’s cloud tops, it’s not the one satellite tv for pc to take action tonight. Earlier within the night, Dione leads Titan westward throughout the disk, exiting round 6:40 P.M. EST. The moon itself can’t be seen visually in opposition to the brilliance of the disk, although it and its tiny shadow could also be seen in stills from high-speed video seize methods. Similarly, Rhea begins a transit simply after 6:20 P.M. EST, additionally invisible to the attention in opposition to the disk. Its shadow seems round 7:45 P.M. EST. Rhea’s transit ends simply earlier than 10:20 P.M. EST, when the Tenth-magnitude moon is lower than 3” southeast of brighter, mid-Eighth-magnitude Titan. If you wait an hour, Rhea will move due south of Titan because the pair travels simply north of the western facet of the rings, rendering the 2 inconceivable to separate by eye. 

Sunrise: 6:35 A.M.
Sunset: 4:52 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:27 P.M.
Moonset: 8:09 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (96%)

Friday, November 7
Let’s return to Cassiopeia to spherical out the week with a special open cluster: M103. Shining at magnitude 7.4, yow will discover this group close to magnitude 2.7 Delta Cas. Simply heart this star in binoculars or a small telescope, then transfer 1° northeast to your goal. 

Spanning about 6’ on the sky, M103 accommodates a couple of dozen brilliant stars. At some 8,000 to 9,000 light-years from Earth, it’s one of many extra distant open clusters that seems on Messier’s checklist. M103 is probably going about 25 million years outdated, although that quantity is pretty unsure and a few estimates put it at a a lot youthful 9 million to 12 million years. 

Note the brilliant pink large within the tough heart of this cluster — its hue could seem pink or orange in contrast with the blue-white stars round it. 

Sunrise: 6:36 A.M.
Sunset: 4:50 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:22 P.M.
Moonset: 9:29 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (90%)