What's in the Sky Tonight?

NOVEMBER 2026

November 2: Conjunction of Crescent Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. Look in the East before sunrise.

November 4-5: Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurids runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the the night of November 4. With a waning crescent moon, the skies will be just dark enough for a good show. Best viewing will be right after midnight from a dark location away from city lights.

November 9: New Moon.

November 14-16: Connection of Mars and Jupiter. Look high in the E-SE to S sky, in the pre-dawn and early morning hours.

November 17-18: Leonids Meteor Shower. This shower runs annually from November 6-30 and peaks on the night of the 17th. A waxing gibbous moon will block some of the fainter meteors in the early evening, but it will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent early morning show.

November 24: Full Moon, Supermoon. This is the second of three supermoons in 2026. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

What are the 2026 best viewing nights when the Moon is least bright?

2026 best viewing nights

ASTRONOMY BINOCULARS
A mini telescope you can take anywhere

If you love sky gazing, you have to have a pair of astronomy binoculars! Binoculars are a fantastic alternative to telescopes—inexpensive, lightweight, and portable. For city dwellers where there is a lot of light pollution, binoculars are essential if you want to see much of anything.

Binoculars enlarge and brighten the beauty and immensity of the night sky. You can see the detail of the moon's craters, the phases of Venus, the moons and stripes of Jupiter, the awesome jewels that dot the Milky Way, nebulae, star clusters, and comets when they're passing near.

Our favorite astonomy binoculars is the Celestron SkGiyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars. These are excellent as well:

ANOTHER GREAT ASTRONOMICAL TOOL:

THE PLANISPHERE
A year-round, real-time sky map

A planisphere is a rotating star chart that allows you to dial in the entire visible sky for any day and time of the year and with great precision. It has been called an analog star computer and was considered magical in ancient times.

Planispheres show the brightest stars, constellations, notable galaxies and nebulae, as well as the path of the Milky Way. The plane of the ecliptic is also shown, which reveals the pathway of the planets as they appear to move across the night sky.

Purchase a planisphere for $7.95