StarPixels Skynotes — North Texas (Denton/Argyle 76226) — Fri, Nov 21, 2025

TL;DR: 🌤️ Mostly clear and dry. 🌙 New-Moon edge (≈1% crescent). 🪐 Saturn early, Jupiter late; Uranus most of the night. ☄️ Leonids still worth pre-dawn; Northern Taurids can toss slow fireballs. Easy targets: M31 & M45.

🌅 Sun & Twilight

Sunset: 5:23 pm Evening dusk: Civil 5:50 pm • Nautical 6:20 pm • Astronomical ~6:50 pm Morning: Astronomical ~5:36 am • Nautical ~6:06 am • Civil ~6:36 am • Sunrise ~7:04–7:05 am (CST).

🌙 Moon

Phase / illumination: Waxing crescent, ~1% (new Moon Nov 20 → ultra-dark skies tonight). Rise / Set (local, approx): ~7:00 am / 5:30 pm (negligible glare; verify exact minutes in your app).

🪐 Visible Planets (local windows)

Saturn — best just after dark; sets ~2:10–2:15 am. Jupiter — rises ~9:20–9:30 pm, excellent midnight→dawn. Uranus — rises ~5:30 pm, up most of night (binoculars). Venus — very low pre-dawn (~6:10 am, E); challenging.

🚨 Transient Alerts

(Each lists RA/Dec J2000 • constellation • best local window • Argyle Alt/Az at window start — approx)

Leonids — lingering after the 17/18 peak Radiant (J2000): ~RA 10h, Dec +22° (Leo); fast meteors; typical activity still possible. Best window: 3:00–6:00 am (radiant high; negligible Moon). At 4:30 am: Alt ~60–70°, Az ESE. Northern Taurids — fireball-prone Radiant (J2000): RA 03h 50m, Dec +22° (Taurus). Best window: 9:00 pm–1:00 am (radiant high; dark sky).

🎯 Easy Targets (binoculars / small scope)

M31 — Andromeda Galaxy: big elongated glow; best early evening high W→NW. Visuals/info: https://theskylive.com/sky/deepsky/messier-31-andromeda-galaxy-object • NASA/Hubble: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-31/ M45 — Pleiades (Taurus): rich, blue cluster; high 10 pm–2 am. Visuals/info: https://theskylive.com/sky/deepsky/messier-45-pleiades-object • NASA/Hubble: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-45/

🔗 Verified Visuals (direct, no-login)

Planets: Jupiter info/tracker https://theskylive.com/jupiter-info • https://theskylive.com/jupiter-tracker Saturn info/tracker https://theskylive.com/saturn-info • https://theskylive.com/saturn-tracker Meteors: Leonids guide https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-leonid-meteor-shower/ • AMS/overview https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/leonids.html • Taurids guide https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/taurid-meteors-all-you-need-to-know/ Planetarium: Stellarium Web https://stellarium-web.org/ • SIMBAD https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/ • Aladin Lite https://aladin.cds.unistra.fr/AladinLite/ • SkyView https://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/current/cgi/query.pl

🌡️ Local sky / seeing note (North Texas)

Dry, mostly clear → good transparency; expect average/soft seeing. Use wind shields for steadier planetary views. (Quick-check local NWS near dusk.)

🔁 Yesterday vs Today (Denton County)

Sunset: 5:23 pm → 5:23 pm (steady) • Sunrise: 7:04 am → ~7:05 am (≈+1 min). Moonlight: new Moon → ~1% crescent (darker evenings continue).