Night Sky Preservation

🌠 November features three meteor showers: 1) Southern Taurids peak November 4–5, producing slow-moving fireballs. Visibility may be limited due to the full moon. 2) Northern Taurids peak November 11–12, also known for bright fireballs. Moonlight will be less obstructive. 3) Leonids peak November 17–18, offering up to 15 meteors per hour. A waning crescent moon ensures dark skies for optimal viewing.

🌕 Moon and Constellation Pairings: On November 5, the Full Beaver Moon rises in Taurus, near the bright star Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster. On November 6, the Moon passes close to the Pleiades, forming a striking triangle with Aldebaran. Later in the month, the Moon appears near Saturn (Nov 28–29) and Jupiter (Nov 10). The constellations Orion, Gemini, and Taurus become prominent in the evening sky.

🌝 Full and New Moons: Full Moon: November 5 – Known as the Beaver Moon, also a supermoon, the largest and brightest of 2025. The New Moon is November 20 – A micro new moon, ideal for deep-sky viewing. Other phases: Last Quarter on November 12, First Quarter on November 28.

🌅 Sunrise and Sunset Times: November 1: Sunrise at ~7:52 AM, Sunset at ~6:48 PM. November 30: Sunrise at ~7:18 AM, Sunset at ~5:34 PM. Daylight decreases by over an hour during the month, with Daylight Saving Time ending on November 2.

🪐 Planets in the evening sky: Saturn is visible in the southwest after sunset, near the Moon on Nov 28–29. Uranus reaches opposition on November 21, best viewed with a telescope near midnight in Taurus, below the Pleiades. Neptune is faint but visible with binoculars or a telescope. In the morning sky: Jupiter rises before midnight and is bright in the eastern sky. Mercury is visible in the last week of November, low in the east before sunrise. Venus is visible early in the month, near Spica in Virgo, but fades mid-month.

🔭 Naked-eye highlights include: the Andromeda Galaxy (M31): The most distant object visible to the naked eye, appearing as a faint, elongated patch in the constellation Andromeda. Best viewed on moonless nights in the northeast sky; Pleiades (Seven Sisters): A bright open star cluster in Taurus, easily spotted above Aldebaran. It resembles a tiny dipper and is stunning even without equipment; Hyades Cluster: Another open cluster in Taurus, forming a V-shape around Aldebaran. Though Aldebaran isn’t part of the cluster, it adds to the visual appeal; Great Square of Pegasus: A prominent asterism in the eastern sky, marking the body of the Pegasus constellation. It helps locate nearby deep-sky objects like the Andromeda galaxy. See more at these links:

https://starwalk.space/en/news/november-deep-sky-objects and

https://flandrau.org/learn/skywatchers-guide/october-and-november-2025.

🔭 Binocular highlights include: the Orion Nebula located in Orion’s sword, this glowing nebula is visible with binoculars as a fuzzy patch. It’s one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth; Triangulum Galaxy (M33): A faint spiral galaxy near Andromeda. Though challenging with the naked eye, binoculars reveal its soft glow under dark skies.

For more celestial objects to see, check out the back of a current month’s sky map.