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November Programs
Autumn Constellations — The mythology and science behind star patterns in the Fall sky above Lincoln. [Plays when the sky is clear and there is no moon.] Run time: approximately 20 minutes.
Earth’s Nearest Neighbor — A program about the moon, runs only on evenings when the moon is visible. Run time: 21 minutes.
Explore Mars 2018 — A new program on the Red Planet, which is now prominent in our evening sky, and closer to Earth than it has been in 15 years. Run time: 23 minutes.
Your Window on the Universe
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Our Telescopes
Featuring views of the night skies through our 3 Telescopes!
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Presentations & Programs
Astronomy Presentations every Saturday Night!
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It's all FREE
There is NO ADMISSION CHARGE
HOURS
We’re open every Saturday year-round.
Hyde may be closed if Saturday falls on or very near a major holiday. If in doubt call first: (402) 441-7094.
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March 15-August 31
Sundown to 11 PM
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September 1-30
8 PM to 11 PM
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October 1-March 14
7 PM to 10 PM
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November 24
CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
What we’re looking at through the observatory’s telescopes in November:
The Planets
Saturn is low in the Southwest early in November, but as the month progresses, it sinks too low for the telescopes to pick up after about 8:00 p.m. Mars is bright orange in the southwest sky all month. At the same time, however, the distance between Earth and Mars is increasing as the Earth speeds away from the Red Planet in its orbit. During November, the apparent diameter of Mars in a telescope is reduced by a third, and it becomes just half as bright as it was last month. This is our last shot at a reasonably good view of Mars this year.
The Moon
On Saturday public nights this month: November 3 — Approaching New Moon in the morning sky, it is not visible during observatory hours; November 10 — the moon is a 3 day-old crescent that sets about 45 minutes after the observatory opens, an excellent — but short — period of lunar viewing; November 17 –2 days after First Quarter, the terminator (boundary between light and dark) will provide excellent contrast for surface features — another good night to see the moon through our telescopes; November 24 — Just after Full, the Moon rises before the observatory opens and is in the sky all evening. But the sun is shining directly down on its surface producing no shadows, so surface features have little contrast. Not the best time to view the moon through a telescope.
Deep Sky Objects
Galaxies, nebulae, globular star clusters and other objects will be targets for the Hyde telescopes throughout the month, depending upon sky conditions (best seen on November 3 and 10, when the moon will not be blotting out faint objects in the sky). In the East when the sky has darkened after sunset, look for a prominent large square made up of 4 stars. They are not the brightest stars in the sky right now, but they are in a relatively uncluttered area, and they make up the “Square of Pegasus”, part of the constellation the Winged Horse. (It takes some imagination to see a horse!) The rise of Pegasus heralds full-on astronomical Autumn.