Astro-enthusiasts have an extraordinary month ahead in November 2026, featuring everything from a brilliant supermoon and the Leonid meteor shower to rare planetary alignments involving the moon, Jupiter, Mars, and the bright star Regulus. Additional celestial highlights include a prime morning viewing window for Mercury, Uranus reaching opposition, and a stunning lunar-Venus pairing. Here is your complete guide to navigating the night sky this November.

Early risers should head outside about an hour before sunrise on Monday, Nov. 2, to catch a striking four-object alignment. Positioned vertically in the eastern sky, a 43%-lit waning crescent moon will sit above Mars, brilliant Jupiter, and the luminaries of Regulus, altogether forming a scattered diagonal spanning roughly 13 degrees.

As the week progresses to Saturday, Nov. 7, a slender 3% crescent moon will cruise past Venus ahead of dawn, accompanied closely by the star Spica. This event marks the closest nighttime conjunction of Venus and the moon throughout all of 2026, promising a breathtaking early morning tableau.

Mark your calendars for an hour before dawn on Monday, Nov. 16, when Mars and Jupiter stage their headline-grabbing approach, closing within just 1.2 degrees of each other. While magnitude -2.0 Jupiter will easily outshine the +0.9 red planet, Mars' unmistakable rusty hue ensures the duo remains effortlessly distinguishable.

Overnight from Monday to Tuesday, Nov. 16-17, the annual Leonid meteor shower reaches its zenith. Although glare from a nearly first-quarter moon may present a minor hurdle, stargazers still stand a strong chance of catching swift, luminous shooting stars streaking across the atmosphere.

On Friday, Nov. 20, Mercury hits greatest elongation, stretching to its maximum angular separation from the sun. Look toward the eastern horizon roughly 45 minutes prior to sunrise to spot the elusive planet resting just beneath Venus and Spica.

The month's lunar centerpiece arrives on Tuesday, Nov. 24, as November's full moon takes center stage as an official supermoon. Because it reaches its full phase while sitting relatively close to Earth, it will appear noticeably larger and brighter than a typical full moon, glowing near the famous Pleiades star cluster.

Closing out the month on Monday, Nov. 30, the four-way alignment first seen on Nov. 2 repeats itself. Forty-five minutes before sunrise, a 61%-lit waxing gibbous moon, Jupiter, Regulus, and Mars will assemble in a tight ragged line spanning just over five degrees.

In fact, planetary activity dominates November, particularly during predawn hours. Venus starts the month as a dazzling morning star near Spica, later joined by Mercury. Following the close Mars-Jupiter pairing on Nov. 16, Mars drifts toward Regulus on Nov. 26. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, Uranus reaches opposition as Earth positions itself directly between the distant ice giant and the sun. Reaching peak brightness, Uranus will remain visible all night long, though spotting it requires binoculars or a telescope.

The Winter Night Sky Returns

As November nights lengthen, iconic Northern Hemisphere constellations return to prominence in the evening sky. Looking east after dark reveals Taurus, Auriga, and Orion rising alongside brilliant stellar groupings and nebulae. The dark skies surrounding the Nov. 9 new moon offer ideal conditions to explore these winter star fields. Orion's Belt serves as an intuitive starting point, guiding the unaided eye toward the Orion Nebula, a magnificent target that truly shines when viewed through binoculars. These winter constellations will appear progressively earlier each evening as the month concludes.

Voyager 1 Reaches One Light-Day From Earth

Sometime this November, NASA’s legendary Voyager 1 spacecraft—which crossed into interstellar space back in 2012—will achieve yet another monumental distance milestone by traveling one light-day away from Earth. This means radio transmissions traveling at light speed will require a full 24 hours to reach the probe, and another 24 hours for any reply to traverse back home. Launched in 1977 and functioning nearly half a century later, Voyager 1 stands as humanity's most distant manufactured object, currently drifting approximately 16.1 billion miles (25.9 billion kilometers) from our planet.