German text, "Beim frühen Morgenlicht," thought to date from around 1800 (perhaps even the mid-1700s). The German text was first published in Sebastian Portner's Katholisches Gesangbuch (1828) in fourteen stanzas of couplets with a refrain line. The James Webb Space Telescope, which launched on Christmas Day, has successfully deployed its sunshield and mirror panels. It is now on its way out to the point in space where it will begin operations, some 1.5 million km (1 million miles) away from Earth – around four times further away than the Moon! Degrees (measuring the sky): The sky is 360 degrees all the way around, which means roughly 180 degrees from horizon to horizon. It's easy to measure distances between objects: Your fist on an outstretched arm covers about 10 degrees of sky, while a finger covers about one degree. During November the creamy-yellow dot of Saturn will first appear in the lower part of the southern sky after dusk. Orbiting at an average altitude of 400 km above the surface of the Earth, the ISS travels at a whopping 17,500 miles per hour, or 28,000 kilometers per hour, and takes around 90 minutes to complete one orbit around the Earth. This means that on the ISS, you get to see the Sun rise and set over the Earth 16 times every day! Due to its large solar panels, the ISS is easy to see because it reflects light from the Sun.

November 17 – The annual Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight. The most meteors will be visible between midnight and dawn on the 18th.

Discover

Orion was low in the west after sunset around March and April. By June of each year, the Hunter lies behind the sun as seen from Earth. Orion only returned to visibility in Earth’s sky about a month ago. When a constellation becomes visible again, after being behind the sun, it always appears in the east before sunrise. For many years astronomical almanacs and calendars would make reference to the date when Venus arrived at its peak brilliance: "Venus at greatest brilliancy." But beginning in 2009, a new type of nomenclature appeared to describe this occurrence: "Venus at greatest illuminated extent." Neptune's westerly motion will be slowing as it readies to complete its retrograde loop next month. The planet will be easiest to see while it is highest in the sky during early evening. Much brighter Saturn will be shining about 24 degrees to Neptune's lower right (or celestial west). In a telescope, Neptune's tiny apparent disk will span 2.3 arc-seconds, but larger telescopes can also show Neptune's large moon Triton. The bright, waxing gibbous moon will hop past Neptune on Nov. 21-22. Skywatching terms As seen from the Northern Hemisphere, Orion precedes Sirius into the sky. After Orion first appears at dawn, you can count on Sirius to appear in the morning sky a few weeks later. Nikunj Rawal in Gir National Park, India, captured this photo of Orion on November 21, 2020. Note the brightest star at the bottom, Sirius. Thank you, Nikunj! The heliacal rising of Sirius Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium . He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine , the Farmers' Almanac and other publications.

Here’s an early morning sight you won’t want to miss. The return of Sirius and the winter constellations to the morning sky heralds a change of season. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky. The November Full Moon, traditionally known as the Beaver Moon or Frost Moon, always shines within or near the stars of Taurus and Aries. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night) If you enjoy a good cuppa, why not treat yourself to a celestial pot of tea! Lying low above the horizon in the south is the constellation of Sagittarius, home to a well-known asterism called “The Teapot”. June nights will host a spectacular alignment of the brighter planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all line up in the early morning sky. November 24 – On the 24th, look for the nearly full moon close to giant Jupiter in the east after sunset. Some binoculars will be able to capture both of them in the same field of view.The northeastern sky on November evenings hosts the bright constellations of Perseus and W-shaped Cassiopeia, with the very bright star Capella positioned below them. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night) Since Earth will be positioned between the sun and the planet on that date, Jupiter will rise at sunset, remain visible all night long, and set at sunrise. At opposition, Jupiter will approach 370.2 million miles, 595.8 million km, or 33.1 light-minutes from Earth, and it will shine at its maximum brightness for 2023 of magnitude -2.91.