What’s Up in the Night Sky – November 2025
from In-The-Sky.org
Moon Phases
New Moon – October 21
First Quarter – October 29
Full – November 5 – Full Hunter’s Moon
Last Quarter – November 11
New Moon – November 20
First Quarter – November 28
Close Encounters
October 29: Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to the Sun. Unlikely to be visible due to the proximity (12°) of the Sun.
October 29: Mercury is at its greatest separation from the Sun in the evening (western) sky. It shines at magnitude -0.2 but is less than 8° above the horizon at sunset.
November 2: Daylight Saving Time ends at 2am.
November 2: The 12-day old Moon passes south of Saturn. They miss each other by a little more than 3°.
November 3-4: Watch for Taurid meteor fireballs overnight. See below for more details.
November 7: The Moon passes close to Beta Tauri in the evening. The Moon occults Beta Tauri for parts of South America and Africa.
November 10: The 20-day old Moon passes about 4° north of Jupiter.
November 12: The Moon and Regulus pass close to each other in the early morning sky. Very northern portions of Europe will see the Moon occult Regulus.
November 17: The Leonid meteor shower peaks in the early morning. A thin waning crescent will not interfere too much. See below for more details.
November 21: Uranus is at opposition in the early morning sky, shining at magnitude 5.6 in the constellation of Taurus.
November 29: The 9-day old Moon passes north of Saturn by a little more than 3°.
Major Meteor Showers – from https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/
The Orionid meteor shower begins around October 2 with a peak of 10-20 meteors per hour around October 22-23 (thin day-old-Moon that night) and winding down around November 12.
The Southern and Northern Taurids begin around October 13, have a fireball peak around November 4, and ends around the first of December. The year 2025 is identified as a swarm year so look for those fireballs on November 4th!
The Leonid meteor shower is active from November 6 through November 30 with peak activity on November 17. A maximum zenithal hourly rate of 15 may be reached under clear, dark skies.
Planet Watch for October 25, 2025
Mercury is becoming visible in the morning sky as it passes inferior conjunction.
Venus is about to pass behind the Sun. It will emerge and be visible in the evening sky where it reaches its highest point in June 2026.
Mars is in Ophiuchus and has ended its most recent apparition, being only 1° above the horizon at sunset. Mars reaches superior conjunction (when Mars is on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth) on January 9, 2026.
Jupiter rises around 12:11am and is visible for the rest of the night. It shines in Gemini at magnitude -2.5.
Saturn is visible once the sky darkens and is visible until a little after Midnight. The southern faces of the rings are coming into view, even if only at about a 3.5° tilt from our vantage point. The ringed planet shines at magnitude 1.0 in Aquarius.
Uranus is 4 days past opposition. The distant planet becomes reachable by telescope after around 6:15pm once skies darken and Uranus rises above the thick atmosphere near the horizon. It is currently in the constellation Taurus, shining at magnitude 5.6.
Neptune is visible in the southeast sky once skies are dark. Neptune sets low enough to preclude telescopic examination around 11:30pm as it sinks into the thick atmosphere near the horizon It is currently shining at magnitude 7.8 in the constellation Pisces.
COMETS! (Info as of October 22, 2025) From In-The-Sky.org.
C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) / Magnitude 5.3 expecting to brighten to 4.1 on October 29. In the constellation Bootes with a 40° separation from the Sun.
C/2025 R2 (SWAN) / Magnitude 7.4 and fading. In Aquila with 84° separation from the Sun.