Night Sky This Month: November 2026 Guide to What's Visible

October closed with Saturn fading from its best brightness and the Orionids burning out their last meteors. November opens a different chapter: two overlapping meteor showers, a planet returning from behind the Sun, Mars and Jupiter closing in on each other night after night, and a supermoon that kicks off a run of three in a row. None of it demands special equipment — most of it rewards nothing more than a dark horizon, a clear night, and knowing where to look.

Quick answer: November 2026's night sky highlights are the Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers (peaking November 5 and 12), a near-moonless new moon on November 9, the Leonid meteor shower peaking overnight November 17–18, Venus returning to the predawn sky after its October 23 conjunction, Mars and Jupiter passing closest together around November 15–16, the full "Beaver" supermoon on November 24, and Uranus reaching opposition on November 25.

The Night Sky This Month: November 2026, at a Glance

• Nov 5 (19:00 UTC): Southern Taurids peak — slow, occasionally fireball-producing meteors
• Nov 9 (07:02 UTC): New moon — the darkest night of the month
• Nov 12 (18:00 UTC): Northern Taurids peak — overlaps with the Southern stream
• Nov 15–16: Mars and Jupiter at their closest approach to each other before dawn
• Nov 17 (11:48 UTC): First-quarter moon; Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight into Nov 18
• Nov 22: Mars, Jupiter, and Regulus form a tight triangle before sunrise
• Nov 24 (9:53 a.m. EST / 7:53 a.m. MST): Full Beaver Moon — the first of three consecutive supermoons
• Nov 25 (23:00 UTC / 4:00 p.m. MST): Uranus at opposition, in Taurus near the Pleiades

When Do the Taurid Meteor Showers Peak in November 2026?

November opens with the tail end of one of the year's quirkier meteor showers. The Southern Taurids peak at 19:00 UTC on November 5, 2026, and the Northern Taurids follow at 18:00 UTC on November 12, according to the RASC Observer's Handbook as cited by EarthSky. Neither stream puts on a dramatic show on its own — each produces roughly 5 meteors per hour under a dark sky, or about 10 total during the overlap in early November — but Taurids make up for low rates with size. Earth is passing through debris shed by Comet 2P/Encke, much of it in larger chunks than a typical meteor shower's dust, which is why Taurids produce a disproportionate share of bright fireballs: about 1% of Taurid meteors are fireballs in a typical year, rising to as much as 7% in exceptional years when Earth crosses a denser filament of the debris trail, per EarthSky. The November 9 new moon at 07:02 UTC falls almost exactly between the two peaks, so neither shower has to compete with moonlight this year.

When Is the Best Night to Watch the Leonids in 2026?

The Leonid meteor shower peaks at 0:00 UTC on November 18, 2026 — roughly 5:00 p.m. MST on November 17, before nightfall at Kosmos — so the practical viewing window runs from full darkness on November 17 through dawn on November 18, per EarthSky. Under a dark, moonless sky, the Leonids typically produce 10 to 15 meteors per hour, radiating from near the star Algieba inside the Sickle asterism of Leo the Lion. This year a first-quarter moon (exact moment: 11:48 UTC on November 17) complicates things, but not fatally — a first-quarter moon sets around midnight, which leaves the back half of the night, after moonset until dawn, genuinely dark. The radiant itself doesn't clear the horizon until around midnight and climbs highest at dawn, which conveniently lines up with the moon-free stretch of the night. Jupiter and Mars, by this point, are also hanging nearby in the morning sky, having made their own closest approach to each other just a day or two earlier.

When Does Venus Return to the Morning Sky?

Venus spent October as an evening object before slipping behind the Sun's glare at inferior conjunction on October 23, 2026, passing directly between Earth and the Sun. On the other side of that conjunction, Venus re-emerges into the eastern predawn sky as the Morning Star — the same planet, a new role. The first clean marker to watch for is November 7, 2026, when a thin crescent Moon joins Venus and the bright star Spica roughly 10 degrees above the east-southeast horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise, according to Sky at Night Magazine's planet-alignment coverage for the season. Venus climbs a little higher and brightens a little more every morning through the rest of November, so patience is the only equipment this one requires — don't expect the Morning Star's full brilliance on night one.

Where Do Mars and Jupiter Appear Closest Together This Month?

Before dawn in mid-November, four planets line up rising from the southeast horizon — Mercury lowest and hardest to spot, Venus above and to its right, then Mars and Jupiter higher still. Mars and Jupiter pass closest to each other on the nights of November 15 and 16, 2026, appearing almost like a bright double star, with the bright star Regulus nearby, per Sky at Night Magazine. By November 22, the two planets and Regulus have drifted into a tight triangle. The best viewing window for the whole lineup is 45 to 60 minutes before sunrise, looking southeast — and it's worth stopping well before actual sunrise, since Mercury and Venus sit low enough on the horizon that lingering too long risks looking straight at the rising Sun.

When Is the Full Beaver Moon, and Why Is It a Supermoon?

November's full moon — the Beaver Moon — reaches peak illumination at 9:53 a.m. EST (7:53 a.m. MST) on November 24, 2026, according to Space.com. Because it peaks in the morning, the Moon looks its fullest in the evenings of both November 23 and 24. It's also a supermoon — the first of three consecutive supermoons closing out 2026 — falling within about 90% of lunar perigee, the closest point in the Moon's orbit to Earth. Per NASA, as Space.com reports, a supermoon can appear roughly 14% larger and 30% brighter than the year's smallest full moon, though the difference is subtle enough that most people wouldn't notice without a side-by-side comparison. Early risers get a bonus: in the predawn hours of November 24, the Moon sits less than 5 degrees from the Pleiades star cluster — close enough to frame both in a pair of 10x50 binoculars — while Mars, Regulus, and Jupiter form a triangle in the southern sky and Saturn sits in the southeast after sunset.

How Do You See Uranus at Its November Opposition?

Uranus reaches opposition — the point in its orbit directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth, when a planet is at its closest and brightest for the year — at 23:00 UTC on November 25, 2026, per EarthSky. At magnitude +5.6, it's as bright as Uranus gets all year, a level it holds from roughly mid-October to mid-December, but that's still faint enough that most observers will need binoculars or a telescope to pick it out with confidence — EarthSky describes it as only barely perceptible to sharp naked eyes under a genuinely dark sky. Uranus sits in Taurus near the Pleiades star cluster, which makes a handy signpost: find the Pleiades, then scan nearby with binoculars for a small, steady, faintly blue-green "star" that doesn't twinkle the way true stars do. Through a telescope, it resolves into a tiny 3.8-arcsecond disk, and sharp optics under dark skies can occasionally reveal one or more of its larger moons.

What Else Is Worth Watching This Month?

Saturn is an easy evening target all month, rising in the east at dusk, crossing the southern sky, sitting due south around midnight, and setting in the west around dawn, per Sky at Night Magazine. On November 20, a gibbous Moon pairs with Saturn shortly after sunset — a good night to point a telescope at the rings before they head toward their own less-favorable viewing angle in the years ahead. And for photographers: the new moon window around November 9, combined with the Taurids and the lead-up to the Leonids, makes the first half of the month the better stretch for Milky Way and meteor photography, before the Beaver supermoon brightens the sky for the back half of November.

Where to Watch November's Sky From a Genuinely Dark Site

Kosmos Stargazing Resort & Spa is a sustainable stargazing resort in Mosca, Colorado, roughly 18 minutes from the Great Sand Dunes National Park entrance, where three open Stargazing Villas sit under Bortle Class 2 skies at 7,600 feet elevation in the San Luis Valley. In April 2026, Kosmos became Colorado's first DarkSky Approved Lodging property, a certification tied to how the resort manages light at night — which is exactly why a faint target like Uranus, or a modest shower like the Taurids, shows up so much more clearly here than from a typical backyard. Every Stargazing Villa includes a Celestron Origin smart telescope and a 10-inch Celestron Dobsonian, both well suited to hunting down November's fainter targets once the easy, naked-eye events — the meteors, the Moon, the planet lineup — have had their moment. Guests who'd rather have an astronomer point the way can also book a guided Stargazing Tour, which runs through whatever the sky is offering on a given night, meteors, planets, or the Moon.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next meteor shower in November 2026?
The Southern Taurids peak November 5, the Northern Taurids peak November 12, and the Leonids peak overnight November 17–18 — three separate windows across the month.

When does Venus become visible in the morning sky again?
Venus passed inferior conjunction on October 23, 2026, and began its run as the Morning Star soon after. By November 7 it's visible low in the east-southeast before dawn near a crescent Moon and the star Spica, and it climbs higher through the rest of the month.

When do Mars and Jupiter look closest together this month?
On the nights of November 15 and 16, 2026, when the two planets appear almost like a single bright double star low in the southeast before dawn.

What is the Beaver Moon, and when does it peak in 2026?
The Beaver Moon is November's full moon, named for the time of year beavers finish storing food for winter. It peaks at 9:53 a.m. EST (7:53 a.m. MST) on November 24, 2026, and is the first of three consecutive supermoons.

How do I find Uranus during its November opposition?
Look toward Taurus near the Pleiades star cluster around midnight on November 25. At magnitude +5.6, Uranus is at its brightest of the year, but binoculars or a telescope make it far easier to confirm than the naked eye alone.

Is the 2026 Leonid shower worth watching with a first-quarter moon in the sky?
Yes, if you wait. The first-quarter moon sets around midnight on peak night, leaving a genuinely dark window from then until dawn — right when the Leonid radiant climbs highest anyway.

What's the darkest night to stargaze in November 2026?
November 9, the date of the new moon, with several nights on either side nearly as dark. The Beaver supermoon on November 24 is the brightest, washing out all but the Moon, planets, and brightest stars.

Key takeaways

• Two Taurid meteor showers bookend early November — Southern Taurids peak Nov 5, Northern Taurids peak Nov 12 — both modest in rate but prone to occasional fireballs.
• The Leonids peak overnight Nov 17–18; a first-quarter moon sets around midnight, leaving the pre-dawn hours dark for viewing.
• Venus returns to the morning sky after its October 23 inferior conjunction, visible near a crescent Moon and Spica by November 7.
• Mars and Jupiter pass closest together Nov 15–16, then form a triangle with Regulus by Nov 22 — all before dawn in the southeast.
• The full Beaver supermoon peaks Nov 24, the first of three consecutive supermoons closing out the year.
• Uranus reaches opposition Nov 25 at magnitude +5.6, its brightest of 2026, near the Pleiades in Taurus.
• The new moon on Nov 9 offers the darkest skies of the month, ideal for meteors and the Milky Way.

Plan a November Night Under a Darker Sky

Every event above is easiest to see — and the faint ones like Uranus are sometimes only possible — under skies darker than most backyards ever get. Book a Kosmos Stargazing Tour to catch whatever November's sky is offering on your dates, guided by an astronomer with a Celestron Origin and a 10-inch Dobsonian already set up. For tips on photographing this month's two meteor showers, see our guide to how to photograph a meteor shower.

Sources

• EarthSky — Taurid Meteors: All You Need to Know
• EarthSky — Everything You Need to Know About the Leonid Meteor Shower
• EarthSky — Uranus at Opposition: Closest, Brightest, Best
• Space.com — November Full Moon 2026: The Beaver Moon
• Sky at Night Magazine — The Next Planet Alignment Is Coming
• The Weather Channel — Venus Will Pass Between Earth and the Sun This Week