Many people have the mistaken notion that there is a full Moon every year on Halloween, when in fact we won’t have a full Moon on Halloween again until 2020.

So every year I like to point out something that is even spookier than a witch and a full Moon: Every Halloween you can see seven sinister sisters flying across the sky at midnight.

At midnight on Halloween night (Oct. 31) face south. If you look almost overhead you will see the tiny cluster of stars called The Pleiades, more popularly known as the Seven Sisters.

To cultures long ago, whenever the seven sisters reached their highest point at midnight, which happens every year at the end of October and beginning of November, this was seen as a sort of cosmic signal telling people to honor their ancestors.

There was also a popular belief that great natural catastrophes had occurred on some of the nights when The Pleiades culminated at midnight. In fact some legends claim that the Great Flood and the Ten Plagues of Egypt, even the legendary sinking of Atlantis, occurred when The Pleiades culminated at midnight.

This belief was so widespread that the Aztec and Maya conducted ceremonies when The Pleiades culminated at midnight because they believed that the world had already been destroyed and recreated not once but four times when the Seven Sisters were overhead at midnight.

Even the pyramid of the sun at Teotihuacan, Mexico, was oriented to the setting of The Pleiades as were all of the city’s west-facing streets. Coincidentally, many ancient Greek temples were also lined up with the setting or rising of the Seven Sisters.

Now although The Pleiades no longer reach their highest point exactly at midnight on the same nights as they did in ancient times, nevertheless, they are still almost at their highest every Halloween as a modern reminder that our ancestors were deeply moved by the cosmos and used cosmic coincidences to determine important religious and ceremonial events in their lives.

Saturn’s rings return

 A few weeks later in mid-November, an aging waning crescent Moon will slowly shrink and pay a visit to the prettiest ringed planet, Saturn.
 
On Thursday morning, Nov. 12, about 30 minutes before sunrise, face southeast where you will see an exquisite 25-day-old crescent Moon.

Just off to its left, you will see Saturn, the planet whose lost rings have now returned. The reason I say that is because twice in Saturn’s 30-year orbit about the Sun, about every 15 years, our Earth and Saturn line up in such a way that its rings completely disappear from view for a few nights. But then, as both planets keep moving and changing their aspect to one another, we see more and more of Saturn’s rings.

The rings completely disappeared in September. Before September we saw the bottom or southern side of Saturn’s rings for several years. Now, we are just starting a several year, ever-expanding view of the top or northern side of Saturn’s rings.

On Friday morning, Nov 13, a slightly skinnier Moon will be well past Saturn and on its way to the brightest star in Virgo the virgin, Spica, which may be hard to see in twilight.

But if you wait 24 hours more, you can use the Moon to find it because on Saturday the 14th an even skinnier Moon will be almost beside it. Finally, on Sunday morning the 15th, one of the skinniest Moons you’ll ever see (if you have a clear, flat horizon) will be just to the side of the brightest planet of them all, Venus.

Meteor shower

Every November we are treated to a meteor shower that appears to originate from Leo the Lion. So we call this event the Leonid meteor shower.

Last year it was a dud because of bright moonlight. But this year, ta da!, no moonlight will interfere. If you get far from city lights and it’s clear out you should be able to catch quite a few.

The best time to look is between midnight and dawn on Tuesday, Nov. 17. At about 3 a.m., face east where halfway up from the horizon you’ll see the stars that make up Leo the Lion.

The front part of Leo is marked by stars that trace out a backwards question mark. Leo’s rear is marked by three stars that form a triangle. This year you’ll see a bright light above Leo’s head that usually isn’t there, planet
No. 4, rouge-gold Mars.

You can expect to see 15 to 20 meteors per hour or even more. Lay back in a sleeping bag with your feet pointing east and scan the sky back and forth. Do not use a telescope or binoculars. This is strictly a naked eye event, which is my favorite kind.

Keep looking up!