In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
November 2026 astronomy highlights
- 2 November: See an impressive line-up in the morning sky, with Regulus, Jupiter, Mars, the waning crescent Moon and the Beehive Cluster
- 7 November: Venus and Spica lie near the Moon in daylight
- 24 November: Tonight's full Moon is a supermoon
- 25 November: Uranus reaches opposition
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT.
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
Family stargazing tip for November 2026
It will involve a few early mornings, but seeing the dance between Jupiter and Mars this month is worth it.
Jupiter is the slower mover and together with the bright star Regulus (Alpha (α) Leonis) makes a good reference against which to track the rapid motion of Mars.
Get your young astronomers to sketch the arrangement, recording at least Mars, Jupiter and Regulus, but other stars too if they like.
Add the date and time to each sketch. With a few results collected over several mornings, compare them to see just how fast Mars is when you’re keeping an eye on it!
Planets
Read our month-by-month guide to visible planets for the whole year
- Mercury: Evening planet in Libra, only really visible from 20 November
- Venus: Southeast in Virgo, two hours before sunrise. Best seen towards end of month.
- Mars: South in Leo. Morning planet moving towards Jupiter.
- Jupiter: South in Leo. Morning planet moving towards Mars.
- Saturn: South in Cetus. Evening planet best seen at the start of November.
- Uranus: South in Taurus, visible all night long. Opposition on 22 November.
- Neptune: South in Pisces, best seen around midnight at the start of the month.
Large galaxies
November’s nights are long and, minus the Moon, beautifully dark.
Full Moon is on 24 November, a perigee full Moon, or supermoon, slightly larger and brighter than average.
This means early November has the darkest skies – a great time to investigate local galaxies Andromeda, M31, its two satellite companions M32 and M110, and the Triangulum Galaxy M33.
M31 is easy to locate. Extend the top edge of the Great Square of Pegasus east (left) for the same distance, heading a little north to locate Mirach (Beta (β) Andromedae).
Turn 90° to head up the sky by roughly half the Great Square’s top edge length and you’ll arrive at M31.
It’s visible to the naked eye from a reasonably dark location, binoculars bringing out the elliptical fuzz, which represents the galaxy’s core, well.
ou should be able to see M32 looking like an out of focus star just south of the core’s centre, fainter M110 a little farther out to the northwest of the core’s centre.
You can use M31 to locate M33. Extend a line from M31 through Mirach and keep going for the same distance to find M33.
It's a spiral galaxy, listed as a seventh magnitude object. However, it is hard to see, as it is a face on object, with a large angular size of 70x45-arcminutes, and its light is spread over a large area, resulting in low surface brightness.
Mars, Jupiter, Regulus and the Moon
In the early hours, there’s an impressive line-up taking place.
At 02:00 UT on 2 November you can see mag. +1.3 Regulus (Alpha (α) Leonis), -1.9 Jupiter, +0.9 Mars and a 47%-lit waning crescent Moon (just after last quarter) all pointing toward the Beehive Cluster M44.
Don’t miss the following morning too, the now 36%-lit waning crescent Moon sitting between Regulus and Jupiter.
If possible, stay with the Moon through dawn and into daylight until 09:00 UT, Regulus appears 1.5° north of the Moon’s centre, the Moon’s 0.5° apparent diameter a convenient measure.
Use optical assistance to spot a night-time star during the day.
The amazing Solar System line-up is back at the end of the month. On 30 November at 05:40 UT, a 61%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 2.1° southwest of mag. -2.1 Jupiter, itself 3.5° northwest of Regulus.
Slightly brighter than at the start of the month, Mars appears 2.3° northeast of Regulus.
On 28 November, a 74%-lit waning gibbous Moon occults the southern part of M44 from around 21:30 UT, visible shortly after moonrise.
Uranus
Uranus reaches opposition on 25 November.
Currently midway between the Pleiades and Hyades open clusters in Taurus, Uranus has an opposition magnitude of +5.6.
Meteor shower
The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of 17/18 November. The Moon is 54%-lit at the time and fortunately sets around 23:30 UT as the Leonid radiant, located within the Sickle asterism, is gaining altitude.
This leaves the rest of the night dark for a Leonid meteor watch.
Night sky in November 2026, night-by-night
Monday 2 November
Impressive morning line-up with mag. +1.3 Regulus (Alpha (α) Leonis), mag. –1.9 Jupiter, mag. +0.9 Mars and a 46%-lit waning crescent Moon all in a line spanning 16°.
Tuesday 3 November
This morning, the 36%-lit waning Moon sits 2.2° southeast of Jupiter.
At 09:00 UT under daylight conditions, Regulus is 1.5 ° north of the 33%-lit waning crescent Moon.
Wednesday 4 November
The Moon's evening terminator is moving in on the beautiful Bay of Rainbows, Sinus Iridum.
Saturday 7 November
At 06:30 under brightening dawn twilight, mag. –4.3 Venus isn’t alone. Sitting 2° to its right (as seen from the UK) is a slender 4%-lit waning crescent Moon, while 1.3° to its left is mag. +1.0 Spica (Alpha (α) Virginis).
Sunday 8 November
We'd recommended a deep-sky tour within Auriga, taking in the famous Messier trio of open clusters, M36, M37 and M38.
Thursday 12 November
Peak of the Northern Taurid meteor shower (ZHR 5 meteors per hour). Despite its low rate, the absence of moonlight interference will make this year’s broad peak favourable.
Friday 13 November
Minor planets 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta are currently close to one another in Cetus.
Saturday 14 November
Alnilam (Epsilon (ε) Orionis) is currently due south at 02:00 UT.
Sunday 15 November
It may still technically be autumn, but winter’s Orion constellation reaches its peak altitude due south at 02:00 UT – a glorious sight, with Mars and Jupiter together to its east, and Saturn approaching setting to its west.
Monday 16 November
Mars sits 1.2° north of Jupiter, a dramatic pairing visible in the morning sky.
The Lunar X and V clair-obscur effects are visible on the Moon this evening from 20:00 UT.
Tuesday 17 November
Tonight and into tomorrow morning, the Leonid meteor shower reaches peak activity. The first quarter Moon won’t interfere as it sets as the Leonid radiant rises. Best rates are likely in the morning, when
the radiant gains altitude.
Friday 20 November
Mag. –0.4 Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, 19.6° from the Sun, rising two hours before sunrise.
This evening’s 81%-lit waxing Moon sits 5.4° north of mag. +0.4 Saturn.
Monday 23 November
Asteroid 344 Desiderata reaches opposition, shining at mag. +12.6 as it tracks north of the Pleiades and Hyades.
Libration is currently favourable for a view of the Mare Orientale region.
Tuesday 24 November
Today’s full Moon occurs approximately a day ahead of lunar perigee, making this a perigee full Moon or supermoon, one that’s slightly larger and brighter than an average full Moon.
Wednesday 25 November
Uranus reaches opposition today, shining at mag. +5.6 and located just to the south of the Pleiades open cluster.
Saturday 28 November
From around 21:30 UT, a 74%-lit waning gibbous Moon can be seen occulting M44, the Beehive Cluster.
Monday 30 November
See an interesting arrangement at 05:40 UT as a 61%-lit waning Moon sits 2.1° southwest of mag. –2.1 Jupiter, which itself lies 3.5° northwest of mag. +1.3 Regulus, while mag. +0.5 Mars sits 2.3° northeast of Regulus.
FAQs
What time is best for stargazing tonight?
It might sound obvious, but the best time for stargazing is when it's properly dark! That means when the Sun has truly set and the sky is at its darkest.
Having said that, not all objects visible in the sky tonight will be visible for the whole night. You might want to observe a planet that's visible at the moment, only to find it sets shortly after the Sun.
Or you might be looking for the Moon at a time when it's below the horizon.
A good stargazing app will help you decide what you want to observe in the night sky tonight, where and when to look.
Do I need a telescope?
You don't need a telescope to get a good view of the night sky, and this is especially the case for beginners. If you have a clear night and a dark sky free from light pollution, there's a lot you can see.
Bright stars and constellations, bright planets, meteor showers and even distant star clusters can be seen with the naked eye.
Binoculars will get you a closer look at these objects, and you'd be surprised at what even a modest pair can do for your view of the night sky.
A telescope, however, takes things to the next level, giving you amazing detail on the surface of the Solar System planets and the Moon, and revealing objects that would be invisible to the naked eye.
What if it's cloudy tonight?
Keep an eye on the weather forecast; it may be due to clear later on in the evening. If you really are facing a night of clouds, however, there's not much you can do.
You could stay indoors instead and plan for future stargazing sessions. Take a look at the weather forecast for the coming week. Work out when you've got the best chance of having a clear sky and plan what you might want to observe in advance.
That way, when a clear night rolls around, you'll have a plan of action and will be able to get your stargazing underway much more quickly.
Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
