Is dancing under the stars in the night sky a perfect Christmas for you? Do you watch out for meteors, constellations, and planetary alignments in general? In our magazine's pages, we are continuing the tradition of bringing to you the perfect compilation of the celestial events of the month to keep you gazing at the night sky, awaiting fascinating cosmic wonders.

This permanent feature of our magazine is courtesy of one of our ex-editors, Celestia Carrow. In her absence, I have endeavored to carry forward her guide to the celestial wonders for you, taking you through the mind-blowing theatrics of the night sky each month while also keeping your appetite piqued for the impending mysteries to be unveiled next month.

November marked the beginning of chills in the Northern Hemisphere, our calendars alerting us to the shortened days and the winter season. Conversely, in the Southern Hemisphere, the days became longer and warmer, marking the arrival of summer.

All month, the evenings were witnesses to a very bright Jupiter and a yellowish Saturn with Fomalhaut on its heels.

The most significant cosmic events in November 2023 included: 

✧ On November 3, Jupiter was in opposition, that is, in the opposite direction of the Sun from the Earth, which meant that we Earthlings got to spectate the brightest and approximately closest view of Jupiter possible this year.

→ If you embraced any boisterous and loud changes that Jupiter brought this month or faced the arrival of unstoppable forces, owing to the brightness of Jupiter, and survived, it calls for a celebration.

✧ On November 9, the Waning Crescent Moon was near the super-bright Venus in the predawn east. Spica and Antares were visible as neighbors.

→ Therefore, if you felt super-romantic and indulged in a lot of self-love and inward healing, it could be due to the influence of Venus.

✧ For magical practitioners, November 12-13 was your average New Moon night to experiment with spells.

✧ Also on November 13, Uranus was in opposition, curating transitions in thought and occasionally action.

✧ The Leonids Meteor shower graced the skies on November 17. This year, the Leonids were at their peak with about 15 meteors per hour when viewed from a dark site, a huge outburst. This phenomenon only happens once every 33 years, with pretty weak showers and occasional small outbursts dominating the majority of the Leonids' parades.

✧ On November 20, the Moon and Saturn were dangerously close, with the bright star Fomalhaut just below Saturn.

→ If you had to think twice and consider carefully this month, it was due to Saturn in the sky.

✧ On November 24, bright Jupiter came close to the Moon.

✧ Our dearest werewolf readers may have exercised caution on November 27, the night of the Full Moon.

RADIO-SIGNALS FROM THE SUN FOR THE FIRST TIME

And what is this that I hear? Astronomers spotted an aurora, but it's near the Sun? 

Auroras are a show of light on Earth, especially near the poles, more commonly the North Pole, due to bursts of energy being discharged in the form of light. When magnetic fields around sunspots (magnetically warped darker patches on the Sun's surface) knot into kinks before suddenly snapping, a sudden release of energy causes bursts of radiation known as solar flares, and explosive jets of solar material called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are fired. These energetic solar debris rush through the atmosphere near the Earth's poles, where the protective magnetic field is the weakest, upsetting oxygen and nitrogen molecules, thus bringing about the emission of energy from the molecules in the form of light, resulting in the magnificent display we call an aurora. One of the most beautiful auroras is the Aurorae Borealis, also dubbed the Northern Lights.

Aurora-like radiation from distant stars has been detected by scientists in the past. However, this is the first time such a brilliant display of light, roughly 25,000 miles above a sunspot, has been seen on the Sun's surface by astronomers. In addition, radio waves were simultaneously spewed out of the Sun and detected on Earth over the course of a whole week. Astronomers published their discovery in a journal named "Nature Astronomy" for Muggle netizens and magical astronomers to see on November 13, 2023.

NASA'S WARNING OF A SOLAR STORM TO HIT EARTH

In an unrelated event, on November 25, 2023, NASA warned that the Sun's activity had increased in the past few weeks, with the number of sunspots rising since November 18. The sunspots were said to be spewing out several CMEs everyday. NASA expected one of these CMEs to hit our magnetic field and atmosphere late on November 25, along with solar flares, disrupting electricity and internet connections for the Muggles. For magical people, this could simply mean a few spells backfiring, but nothing major has been reported recently.

Important cosmic events in the month of December will include: 

✧ On December 4, Mercury will be visible at its Greatest Eastern Elongation.

→ You can look up to Mercury for inspiration and sudden, influential bouts of creativity.

✧ December 13 will be the New Moon night for opportunistic spell creators and inventors.

✧ The night sky on December 14-15 will shine spectacularly, thanks to the Geminids meteor shower peaking. So, get ready to watch the largest meteor show ever.

✧ December 22 will mark the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere with the shortest day of the year and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere with the longest day of the year.

✧ On December 22-23, we will witness yet another splendid spectacle in the night sky, the Ursids meteor shower.

✧ WARNING: Dearest Werewolf Readers, the next Full Moon is set to rise on December 27, 2023, so check and replenish the levels of Wolfsbane potion in your cabinets.

That was all for this issue. "Celestia's Celestial Events" were specially brought to you this month by Hiya Debnath, Editor, Compiler, Publisher, and Journalist, Hogwarts Monthly Magazine, in the absence of Celestia.

Stay tuned, and don't miss the blazing trail left behind by the marvelous mysteries of the cosmos. The next issue of this magazine will bring you more of Celestia's Celestial Wonders to ensure that you spend your most wondrous nights under a canopy of stars.

- Hiya Debnath, Journalist, Compiler, Publisher, Editor, Hogwarts Monthly Magazine.