Sydney Observatory night sky map

A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky

November 2011
www.sydneyobservatory.com.au

This star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth for November 2011 at about 7.30pm (Local Standard Time) or 8.30pm (Local Daylight Savings Time). For Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown. To use the chart, rotate it so that the direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly above your head, called the zenith, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon.

Star brightness
Zero or brighter 1st magnitude PERSEUS 2nd 3rd 4th

Andromeda Galaxy
ANDROMEDA

LYRA TRIANGULUM
Alpha Andromedae

GREAT SQUARE OF PEGASUS

PEGASUS ARIES

VULPECULA

Jupiter
TAURUS

PISCES

M15

DELPHINUS

SAGITTA

EQUULEUS

Altair

Moon on 3rd
AQUARIUS CETUS AQUILA

Mira

CAPRICORNUS CAPRICORNUS

SCUTUM OPHIUCHUS Mars

NW

SCULPTOR ERIDANUS FORNAX Rigel PHOENIX

PISCIS AUSTRINUS MICROSCOPIUM GRUS SAGITTARIUS M28 SERPENS

M8 OPHIUCHUS
INDUS

ERIDANUS
Achernar HOROLOGIUM LEPUS CAELUM RETICULUM HYDRUS OCTANS COLUMBA PICTOR TUCANA

CORONA AUSTRALIS TELESCOPIUM

Centre of the Galaxy

M19 Venus Mercury on 21st on 21st Antares Antares SCORPIUS SCORPIUS M80

P P

47 Tucana

PAVO ARA

SMC

MENSA
DORADO

LMCMENSA

South Celestial Pole

NORMA APUS TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE LUPUS CIRCINUS Alpha Centauri Hadar

Chart key
CANIS MAJOR

Canopus VOLANS

CHAMAELEON SOUTHERN CROSS MUSCA

Bright starAdhara Faint star Ecliptic PUPPIS Milky Way P Planet LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud SMC or Small Magellanic Cloud

SW

POINTERS
CARINA CRUX Mimosa

CENTAURUS

South

Jupiter remains visible in the early evening as a bright object towards the north-east. Low in the west are Mercury and Venus. On the 27th at 8.50pm the crescent Moon is located next to Venus towards the western horizon. The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 3rd. Crux (the Southern Cross) is located to the south, near the horizon, making it difficult to see.
Sydney Observatory, with a magnificent view overlooking Sydney Harbour, is open every day (except Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day) between 10am and 5pm. Day visits (excluding programs) are free. Bookings are essential for night programs (times vary check our website). View the sky nightly through one of our telescopes, and see 3D movies about the Universe. For more information, check the website at www.sydneyobservatory.com.au or call (02) 9921 3485. Sydney Observatory is at Watson Road, Observatory Hill, in the historic Rocks area of Sydney. Our self-guided historic/scientific walking tour around Observatory Hill is available for $1.99 (subject to change) as an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch app from the iTunes store: http://from.ph/obstourapp.
Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum. The Sydney Observatory night sky map is prepared by Dr M Anderson using the software TheSky. 2011 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.

West

North
LACERTA Deneb CYGNUS

Moon phase
First quarter: Full Moon: Last quarter: New Moon:
Vega

03rd 11th 19th 25th

NE

OPHIUCHUS

East
SE