As Nahiku (the Big Dipper) sinks below the western horizon, Iwakeli‘i (Cassiopeia) and Kalupeakawelo (the Great Square of Pegasus) climb high into the northeastern sky, signaling the arrival of Makali‘i (Pleiades) in the star house ‘Aina Ko‘olau on the star compass.

The arrival of Makali‘i after sunset on the eastern horizon heralds the beginning of the Makahiki season. An open star cluster, the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters and Messier 45) features hot-blue and very luminous stars that are obvious to the naked eye. Makali‘i, or Matariki in the South Pacific Polynesian islands, shares this common name and follows a similar celestial cycle.

Historically, each island had different names for the lunar months of the year. In the Hawaii island calendar, October is ‘Ikuwa, November is Welehu, December is Makali‘i and January is Ka‘elo.

The Makahiki season lasted for four lunar months. Counting months following a lunar calendar is problematic as a lunar month is about 29.5 days. Over time the calendar drifts, and the names no longer align with the celestial season.

In David Malo’s book “Hawaiian Antiquities,” editor W.D. Alexander writes that following the lunar calendar meant the yearly Hawaiian calendar drifted about 10.75 days a year set against the backdrop of a yearly 365-day sidereal calendar.

To rectify this, the kahuna kilo hoku, or person who observes the heavens, would need to intercalate the calendar, that is, insert a third month every three years. Although we do not know the name of that additional month, this protocol follows South Pacific Polynesian traditions.

During the Makahiki season, Lono, the god of agriculture, succeeded the pantheon of Hawaiian gods. Warfare was suspended, taxes or tribute were collected and athletic competitions became part of the season’s activities.

Competitions such as boxing, wrestling, spear throwing and bowling were held. And in a clockwise circuitous procession, the king’s retinue moved from community to community to collect taxes, which were in the form of food and utilitarian products such as cloth, rope and feathers.

At the end of the lunar month of Ka‘elo, Lono was replaced by Ku as the paramount god, and the leisurely life of the Makahiki season came to an end.

Featured Mauna Kea discovery/observation

Ever since the first exoplanet was discovered in the mid-1990s, research at the observatories of Mauna Kea has pushed our understanding of these unique interstellar objects to new heights.

In 2007 the Keck Observatory and the Gemini North Telescope became the first observatories to directly image a planet orbiting around another star, and this technique is now widely used by astronomers in their research.

Recently, researchers using the Subaru Telescope and the Keck Observatory discovered one of the youngest planets. This new baby planet is named 2M0437b; it is a bit more massive than Jupiter and is estimated to have begun forming with its star around the same time the main Hawaiian Islands first emerged from the ocean. Further studies allowed researchers to unlock secrets about our own solar system’s creation.

To learn more about this amazing discovery, visit hawaii.edu/news/2021/10/22/infant-planet-discovered-­2m0437b.

Special events

In the late evening on Nov. 18, we will be able to witness a partial lunar eclipse.

The lunar eclipse will begin at about 8:02 p.m. when the moon will begin passing through the outer layer of Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra; at this time the moon will appear significantly dimmer.

Around 9:18 the moon will begin to pass through the main part of Earth’s shadow, the umbra, start the partial lunar eclipse and take on a deep red color.

During lunar eclipses the moon’s red color is a result of light being refracted from Earth’s atmosphere before hitting the moon’s surface. This reddish color leads many to call lunar eclipses the rather dramatic name “blood moon.”

The moment of maximum eclipse will take place at 11:02 p.m. — the moon will mostly be within Earth’s shadow with the exception of a small sliver which will just be out of the shadow. After the moment of maximum eclipse, the red color will slowly disappear until the partial eclipse ends at 12:47 a.m. However, the penumbral eclipse will continue until 2:03 a.m.

Through mid- to late November, the spectacular Leonid meteor shower will scatter our sky with shooting stars. These meteors come from the tale of the comet Tempel-Tuttle, a periodic comet which last swept through Earth’s orbit in 1998. The shower officially peaks at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 17, though up to 10-15 meteors an hour will be visible the evening before.

Evening observations

As the days get shorter in the winter season, stargazing can start as early as 6:30 p.m.

Immediately after sunset Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will all be visible in the southwestern sky. Venus will stand out as the third-brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon. Venus will appear to be fixed in the southwestern sky as Jupiter and Saturn appear to inch closer to the bright planet over the course of the month.

The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn will chase Venus into the western sky. Jupiter is the fourth-brightest object in the sky, and sandwiched between Jupiter and Venus is the fainter Saturn.

Saturn may be dimmer than Venus and Jupiter, but it will still stand out against the background of stars. The other two gas giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, will also be in the sky during the early evening; however, these planets are so far from the sun they are usually too faint to be seen with the naked eye.

On Nov. 4, Uranus will be at a unique position in its orbit known as opposition, which refers to when an outer planet (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune) is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun.

While in opposition, the planet is at its closest position to Earth and will look somewhat brighter in the sky, rising at the same time as the sun sets and remaining in the sky the entire night.

While looking toward the body of Kalupeakawelo — about 10 degrees north and west of the star Manokalanipo and almost 20 degrees south of ‘Iwakeli‘i — we can see a small, faint smudge in the sky.

This faint object is the Andromeda galaxy, the closest full-size galaxy to the Milky Way and the only object visible to the naked eye that is outside Earth’s own galaxy. The Andromeda galaxy is approximately 2.5 million light-years away from Earth, meaning that the light that we see from this object is more than 2.5 million years old.

Morning observations

The sun will rise between 6:35 and 6:50 a.m. throughout November with dusk beginning to color the sky around 6:15. With careful observation we will be able to see the rusty red planet Mars in the east just before sunrise.

Around 5 a.m. the bright recognizable shape of Kaheiheionakeiki, also known as Orion, will be visible toward the western sky. Beneath Orion will be the incredibly bright star of ‘A‘a, also known as Sirius.

November 2021 Skywatch by Honolulu Star-Advertiser

The ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii is a center for informal science education at the University of Hawaii at Hilo showcasing astronomy and Hawaiian culture as parallel journeys of human exploration.