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 SKY & TELESCOPE NEWS BULLETIN
 NOVEMBER 9, 1990

MARS

We're now less than two weeks away from Mars's closest approach to Earth until
early in the next century.  On the night of November 19th and 20th the red
planet will be high in the northern sky and just 48 million miles away, offering
telescopic observers superb views of its 18.1-arc-second disk.  We've been
hearing reports from a number of amateur astronomers who have found that Martian
winds are kicking up some dust.  Yellowish dust clouds seem to be forming mainly
inside and southeast of Solis Lacus, blowing around for a few days, and settling
back to the surface.  Then new clouds form and the cycle repeats, alternately
covering and uncovering various dark markings on the planet's surface.  A
complete guide to viewing Mars during this apparition appears on page 130 of
last August's Sky & Telescope.

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Mars is a striking sight in the east-northeast on these cold November evenings. 
It shines a brilliant yellow-orange about a third of the way up by 10 p.m. local
time, near the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in Taurus.

VESTA

The asteroid Vesta passes through the same area of sky over the next few months.
A finder chart is on page 521 of the November Sky & Telescope.

SATURN

Don't wait too late to view Saturn, which by mid-evening is already getting
fairly low in the southwest, where it shines yellow-white and much dimmer than
Mars.  Saturn's Great White Spot continues to delight observers.  A report from
the European Southern Observatory on IAU Circular 5131 notes that the main spot
now girdles the entire equator, while a very bright smaller spot continues to
swirl at the site of the original eruption.  Here are Universal dates and times
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when the spot's nucleus crosses Saturn's central meridian while the planet is
conveniently placed for observations from at least some parts of the United
States: On November 10th, 4:37; on the 11th, 1:06; on the 13th, 4:16; on the
14th, 0:44; on the 15th, 7:27; and on the 16th, 3:55.

JUPITER

Jupiter is the November sky's other planetary attraction. It rises in the
east-northeast in the middle of the night and is high up by dawn.  Gleaming
white, it's a bit brighter than Mars.
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[5HSKY & TELESCOPE NEWS BULLETINS

 1 November 23, 1990
 2 November 16, 1990
 3 November 9, 1990
 4 November 2, 1990
 5 October 26, 1990
 6 October 19, 1990
 7 October 12, 1990
 8 October 5, 1990
 9 September 28, 1990
10 September 21, 1990
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 SKY & TELESCOPE NEWS BULLETIN
 NOVEMBER 23, 1990

MARS

Last week Mars made its closest approach to Earth until the year 2001.  This
week the red planet reaches opposition, the point in its orbit almost directly
opposite the Sun in our sky.  On Tuesday evening, November 27th, Mars rises when
the Sun sets, and then it sets when the Sun rises on Wednesday morning the 28th.

By the end of evening twilight Mars has climbed well up into the
east-northeastern sky.  It hangs like a fiery orange beacon among the stars of
Taurus, far outshining the reddish star Aldebaran, which is below it and
slightly to the right. For the next few weeks the red planet remains a fine
sight to behold in small telescopes.  Its visible disk, now 18 arc seconds
across in apparent size, displays a variety of dark surface markings, but these
shadings are subtle and require careful observation.  A complete guide to
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observing Mars, along with a map of the surface markings, appears on page 130 of
SKY & TELESCOPE for August.

SATURN

Saturn is in the news again following last week's release by NASA of stunning
images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The pictures show amazing detail in the
Great White Spot, a giant storm that was first seen by amateur astronomers on
September 24th and has been raging ever since.  While the rings are always
spectacular, the planet itself usually looks rather bland in a telescope,
especially when compared with Jupiter.  But after looking at the Hubble images
showing white clouds churning all around Saturn's equator, some astronomers
joked that perhaps Saturn is turning into another Jupiter.

The ringed planet shines yellow-white low in the southwestern sky at dusk, much
more faintly than Mars.  Even a small telescope will show the bright white band
cutting across Saturn's visible face.  Don't delay your observations, for Saturn
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is rapidly sinking into the evening twilight and will soon be lost in the Sun's
glare.

JUPITER

Jupiter rises in the middle of the night and climbs high into the eastern sky by
dawn.  It glows creamy white, in stark contrast to Mars's fiery orange.  Like
Saturn, Jupiter has undergone major changes in its atmosphere in recent months. 
For example, the South Equatorial Belt virtually disappeared last year and is
now back, and the Great Red Spot has faded dramatically.

COMET TSUCHIYA-KIUCHI

Comet Tsuchiya-Kiuchi is heading from Hydra into Pyxis in the predawn sky. 
Observers report that it's around 7th magnitude.  An ephemeris appears on page
523 of Sky & Telescope for November.
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