Buresh Blog: Average date of the first freeze of the season... November night skies

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The first strong cold fronts of the season are moving across the U.S. which brings me to the *average* date of the first freeze of the season. For inland Duval, the average first date of 32 degrees (average means 50% of the time it’s earlier, 50% of the time it’s later) is Dec. 6 but is November for areas well inland - near & west of Highway 301... & not until late Dec. near the coast (if not later):

November skies (Sky & Telescope):

Nov. 16 (morning): Mars and Jupiter climb together into the south, with a little more than 1° separating the pair.

Nov. 17–18 (all night): The Leonid meteor shower should peak. The first-quarter Moon won’t interfere with viewing.

Nov. 20 (dawn): Mercury appears its farthest west of the Sun, a separation of 20°. Look for it low in the southeast 45 minutes before dawn.

Nov. 24 (morning): The full Moon hangs 2° lower right of the Pleiades. Binoculars will help you tease out the cluster stars from the dazzle of the nearby Moon.

Nov. 26 (morning): In the east, Mars and Regulus pair up to form an isosceles triangle with Jupiter spanning 4°.

Nov. 27 (morning): The waning gibbous Moon, Pollux, and Castor form a line 10° long.

Nov. 30 (night): Low above the eastern horizon, the waning Moon, just shy of last quarter, Jupiter, and Mars cluster around Regulus. The separation between the Moon and Mars is some 6°.

Dec. 1 (dawn): Spot Mercury low in the east-southeast; to its upper right are Venus, Spica, the waning crescent Moon, Mars, Regulus, and Jupiter.

Dec. 4 (dawn): Face southeast before sunrise to see Spica, Virgo’s brightest light, and the waning lunar crescent some 3¼° apart. Venus blazes lower left of the pair.

Moon Phases

Last Quarter Nov. 1 3:28 p.m. EST

New Moon Nov. 9 2:02 a.m. EST

First Quarter Nov. 17 6:48.m. EST

Full Moon Nov. 24 9:54 a.m. EST (Beaver Moon; Frost Moon)