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Autumn nights offer five celestial events, including supermoon and meteor showers

Longer autumn nights in the northern hemisphere will provide opportunities to observe five celestial events, starting with the Pleiades star cluster.

  • The Pleiades star cluster will become increasingly prominent as autumn nights lengthen.
  • The Orionid meteor shower is active from early October, peaking around October 21.
  • A planetary parade of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter is expected around November 14.
  • The Leonid meteor shower is anticipated to peak around November 17.
  • November's full moon, known as the Beaver Moon, will also be a supermoon on November 24.

As autumn brings longer nights to the northern hemisphere, skywatchers can look forward to a series of celestial spectacles. The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, a cluster of young stars approximately 440 light-years from Earth, will become more visible. Most observers can see about six stars with the naked eye, and it can be found in the constellation Taurus by looking east during autumn evenings.

The Orionid meteor shower will be active from early October into November, with its peak expected around October 21. This shower occurs as Earth passes through dust and debris left by Halley's Comet, creating streaks of light as particles enter the atmosphere.

Early risers around November 14 could witness a planetary parade featuring Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter above the horizon before sunrise. Venus and Jupiter are expected to be easier to spot due to their brightness.

Later in November, the Leonid meteor shower is predicted to peak around November 17. These meteors can travel at approximately 70km per second, making them among the fastest visible from Earth. Under ideal conditions, around 10 to 15 Leonids per hour may be visible.

The final event is the Beaver supermoon, which will reach its full phase on November 24. A supermoon appears slightly larger and brighter when a full moon is relatively close to Earth. This will be the first of four consecutive full moons classified as supermoons, continuing until February 2027.

What this means for you: You can check the weather before skywatching to make the most of these autumn events.

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