Skywatch -- Look up! (Astronomical Bulletins)

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If you're sitting around on Saturday night with nothing to do, aspie style, you can watch a livestream of the Leonid meteor shower (which I fear won't be very exciting):

Possible Meteor Storm Thursday-Friday night, November 21-22, from the Alpha Monocerotids:

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astrono ... ocerotids/

More to follow.

Estimated peak will be about 04:50 GMT on Friday the 22nd (= 11:50pm US Eastern on Thursday). It may last as little as 15 minutes, so you'll want to be out ahead of time to be sure. Global map of viewing chances:

Signs and Wonders:

Newfound Comet ATLAS is getting really bright, really fast

For years, amateur astronomers have been waiting for a bright, naked-eye comet to pass by Earth — and finally, such an object may have arrived.

The possible celestial showpiece is known as Comet ATLAS, or C/2019 Y4. When it was discovered on Dec. 28, 2019, it was quite faint, but since then, it has been brightening so rapidly that astronomers have high hopes for the spectacle it could put on. But given the tricky nature of comets, skywatchers are also being cautious not to get their hopes up, knowing that the comet may fizzle out.

https://www.space.com/comet-atlas-may-b ... nting.html

Big light show this weekend – Venus exceptionally bright:

https://www.almanac.com/news/astronomy/ ... -your-life

^ She’s been really bright here for the last fortnight (Well, on the cloudless nights): about ten or so days ago I stepped outside the back door at around 10pm and for a split second thought someone had left a floodlight on at the football stadium!
She was beautifully aligned with the yellow-tinged crescent moon just after sunset today

Comet ATLAS C2019/Y4 was discovered at the very end of December, and some people thought it might become very bright as it approached the sun, but now it appears to be breaking up.



https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200416.html

The Porpoise Galaxy (or maybe the Penguin Galaxy): https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200510.html