November 2026 will bring several notable sights to the night sky, including three meteor showers, a close apparent pairing of Mars and Jupiter, a full supermoon and a major milestone for NASA’s Voyager 1. The month’s events offer opportunities for both casual observers and dedicated skywatchers to see bright meteors, planets and the Moon, while Voyager 1 reaches a distance at which a radio signal would need an entire day to travel from Earth.
Skywatching highlights for November 2026
- Around November 5: The Southern Taurid meteor shower reaches its maximum, with a chance of an exceptionally bright fireball.
- Around November 12: The Northern Taurids peak, producing about five meteors per hour under ideal conditions.
- November 15 and 16: Mars and Jupiter appear just 1.2 degrees apart in the southeastern sky before sunrise.
- November 17: NASA celebrates Voyager 1’s historic distance milestone with Shine Bright for Voyager’s solar launch.
- November 17 and 18: The Leonid meteor shower offers its best viewing before dawn, after the Moon sets. Ideal conditions could produce about 15 meteors per hour.
- November 24: A full supermoon lights up the evening sky, beginning a sequence of three consecutive supermoons.
Three meteor showers could light up the sky
November gives skywatchers several opportunities to see meteors flash across the darkness. The first comes from two related showers: the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids, which reach peak activity about a week apart.
The Southern Taurids peak around November 5, while the Northern Taurids reach their maximum around November 12. Both showers are named for the constellation Taurus, the region of the sky from which their meteors appear to originate when viewed from Earth.
Neither shower produces a large number of meteors. Even under excellent conditions, each typically generates only about five meteors per hour. However, the Taurids are known for occasionally producing fireballs—exceptionally bright meteors that can make an otherwise quiet night of stargazing memorable.
The Leonids provide another opportunity later in the month. The best viewing is expected during the early morning hours of November 17 and 18, particularly after the Moon has set. Under ideal conditions, observers could see about 15 meteors per hour, although the actual number is generally lower.
For the best chance of seeing meteors, move away from bright city lights. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, and scan a broad area of sky rather than focusing on a single small region.
Mars and Jupiter appear almost side by side
Meteor showers will not be the only reason to go outside before dawn. On November 15 and 16, Mars and Jupiter will form a striking pairing in the southeastern sky.
The planets will appear to be only about 1.2 degrees apart—slightly more than the apparent width of two full moons placed side by side.
Jupiter will be the brighter and easier planet to identify. Mars will appear nearby with its characteristic reddish color.
No telescope or binoculars will be necessary. Under suitable viewing conditions, both planets should be visible to the naked eye.
Although Mars and Jupiter will appear close together from Earth, they remain separated by a vast distance in space. Their apparent proximity is simply the result of their positions along our line of sight.
Watching the planets over several consecutive mornings will reveal another feature of their motion. They will appear to draw closer together before changing position and beginning to move apart again.
Voyager 1 reaches an extraordinary deep-space milestone
While November offers plenty to see in Earth’s skies, an equally remarkable event is taking place far beyond the planet.
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has reached a historic distance of one light-day from Earth, making it the first human-made object to travel that far from our planet.
A light-day is the distance light travels through space in 24 hours. Because radio signals travel at the speed of light, a message sent from Earth would take a full day to reach Voyager 1 at this distance.
If the spacecraft responded immediately, the return signal would take another 24 hours to arrive. The fastest possible round trip would therefore take approximately 48 hours.
The milestone illustrates how far Voyager 1 has traveled since leaving Earth and how challenging communication becomes as spacecraft explore increasingly distant regions of space.
Voyager 1 is traveling generally in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, although it is far beyond anything visible to the naked eye.
NASA is marking the achievement with Shine Bright for Voyager’s daylight launch on November 17, inviting people to celebrate the spacecraft’s extraordinary contribution to space exploration.
November’s supermoon begins a three-month celestial sequence
The final major skywatching highlight arrives on November 24, when a full supermoon rises in the evening sky.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the Moon being relatively close to Earth in its orbit. The Moon follows a slightly elliptical path rather than a perfect circle, so its distance from Earth changes throughout the month.
When a full moon occurs near the closer part of that orbit, it can appear somewhat larger and brighter than an average full moon. The difference is real, but often subtle enough that casual observers may not notice it immediately.
The November supermoon is particularly notable because it begins a sequence of three consecutive supermoons. The next will occur in December, followed by a third expected in January.
For a memorable view, NASA recommends looking toward the eastern horizon around sunset on November 24, when the full Moon rises.
Near the horizon, the Moon may appear unusually large. Much of this dramatic effect comes from the well-known moon illusion, an optical phenomenon that makes the Moon seem larger near the horizon than when it is overhead, even though its actual apparent size is almost unchanged. The illusion can occur with any full moon, not only a supermoon.
With three meteor showers, a close apparent planetary pairing, a historic Voyager 1 milestone and the beginning of a supermoon sequence, November offers plenty of reasons to look up at the night sky.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com
