Sun

On the 23rd, the Sun enters Scorpius, where it will have its briefest traverse of any constellation, at just 6.5 days, before entering Ophiuchus, the only non-zodiacal constellation on the ecliptic, on the 29th.

Moon

The Moon is new on the 1st, beginning Lunation 1260.

Use the 2.3-day, 5.6% illuminated crescent Moon to find Mercury on the 3rd. Start looking about 30 minutes after sunset, low in the southwest, about 3° above the horizon. Once you locate the Moon, look 7.0° directly to its right. You may also notice Antares, in Scorpius, 1.5° to the northeast of the Moon.

On the 4th, the 10.8% illuminated crescent is just 3.7° below (south-southwest of) Venus.

The Moon is first quarter at 12:55am on the 9th, in Capricornus.

On the 10th, the 8-day waxing gibbous Moon is close to Saturn, coming to within 0.1° of the planet at 9:54pm. The following evening, the 11th, at 9:21pm, the Moon occults Neptune. The outer planet reemerges from behind the sunlit limb of the Moon 66 minutes later.

The full Beaver Moon occurs at 4:28pm on the 15th, in Taurus. It rises just 29 minutes before it reaches its full phase, and 25 minutes before the Sun sets. This, along with it being one of the most northerly full Moons of the year, will make for a very impressive and photogenic sight in the east-northeastern sky.

Just after dark, look for Uranus only 3.1° south of the Moon.

The full Moon transits at 11:43pm, when it will be 71.6° above the southern horizon. Beginning at 2:27am, and extending through 5:05am, the Moon occults the brighter members of the Pleiades cluster.

The full Moon sets at 7:41am on the 16th, 64 minutes after the Sun rises.

Early morning on the 17th, the Moon is 5.6° northwest of Jupiter.

On the 19th, the waning gibbous Moon is 2.1° south of Pollux, in Gemini, and on the following evening it can be found 2.1° north of Messier 44, the Beehive cluster, in Cancer.

The Moon is last quarter at 8:18pm on the 22nd, in Leo. When it rises just before midnight, find Regulus 3.9° to its west.

The waning crescent Moon occults first magnitude Spica, in Virgo, on the 29th. Ingress occurs at 5:39am, and egress, from the darkened limb of the Moon, is at 6:52am, which is, unfortunately, during daylight.

Mercury

Mercury is at maximum elongation on the 16th, at 22.5° west of the Sun. Latest Mercuryset for this elongation occurs at 5:26pm on the 17th, which is just over one hour after sunset. 

Mercury is low in the southwest after sunset. Even though it is at maximum elongation next week, it sets only about 45 minutes after sunset.

Venus

Venus is now appearing noticeably higher in the sky each evening. By the end of November, it is setting nearly three hours after sunset.

Venus moves into Sagittarius on the 8th, and passes 1.2° south of Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula, on the 12th.

You may notice that Venus has a companion on the 16th and 17th, as the magnitude 2.8 star Kaus Borealis (lambda Sagittarii), the star marking the top of the teapot asterism, lies just 0.5° west, and 0.7° east of Venus on these dates, respectively. Also on the 17th, observers with a large telescope, and looking for a bit of a challenge, may find the globular cluster NGC 6638 just 4 arcminutes north-northwest of Venus on that date. Somewhat less of a challenge, the large globular cluster Messier 22 lies 1.6° to the north of Venus on the 18th.

Mars

Mars is becoming quite prominent in the late evening sky. Rising just after 11:00pm early in November, the Red Planet spends the month moving eastward through Cancer.

From the 3rd, Mars will be closer than 1.000 au from Earth, and its widening gibbous disk grows to 11.6 arcseconds by the end of the month.

Brightening past magnitude 0 on the 5th, Mars is now brighter than all of the stars in the Winter Hexagon except Sirius.

Throughout the second half of November, Mars is located within the same binocular field of view of Messier 44, the Beehive cluster.

Jupiter

Jupiter is now in our evening sky relatively early, rising before 7:00pm EST in early November, and before 5:00pm at the end of the month.

The waning gibbous Moon passes by on the 17th-18th.

During the first few days of November, Jupiter passes close to magnitude 6.5 100 Tauri, giving the appearance of a fifth Galilean moon.

On the 9th, at about 2:45am, Callisto appears over Jupiter’s north pole.

On the 10th, all four Galilean moons form a slender rectangle to the east of the planet at 11:43pm.

On the 16th, as Io goes into shadow at 8:04pm, the remaining three moons are in tight formation to the west of Jupiter. By 9:30pm, they appear in a line, from north to south, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Io reappears at 10:49pm, then it forms a line with Ganymede and Callisto at 1:45am.

Saturn

Saturn is best positioned for early evening observing throughout November. Located in Aquarius, it lies on the same meridian as Fomalhaut (alpha Piscis Austrini) and the western edge of the Great Square of Pegasus.

Saturn is no longer with us late into the night, and by the end of the month, it is setting before midnight.

On the 10th, watch for a very close pairing of Saturn and the waxing crescent Moon. The best viewing is between 9:30 and 10:00pm, when the pair is just 0.1° apart.

Saturn is stationary and resumes its prograde (eastward) motion on the 16th.

Saturn’s ring plane angle remains at a relatively generous 6° in November, but will begin to narrow as we approach its equatorial plane crossing in March 2025. 

Uranus

November is the best month for observing Uranus, which reaches opposition on the 16th at a distance of 18.572 au.

Uranus is at opposition next week, rising just after sunset, and is visible all night.

Located just 6° southeast of the Pleiades cluster, Uranus is quite easy to locate. From the westernmost bright stars of the Pleiades, move directly south 4.5° to find a pair of 6th magnitude stars, 14 and 13 Tauri, which are separated by 1/3° and lie on an east-west line. The nearest object of similar brightness to the west-southwest of this pair of stars will be the blue-green glow of Uranus.

Neptune

Neptune is in Pisces. It is located in the southeast after sunset, and sets at 2:30am.

It can be found by looking for a quadrilateral of 4th and 5th magnitude stars located between the Circlet and magnitude 3.6 iota Ceti, to the southeast. The quadrilateral consists of two parallel lines just under 1.0° apart, 2.5° tall, and aligned in a roughly south-southeast to north-northwest orientation, with the easternmost pair extending slightly longer to the north. Look at the  northwestern star (27 Psc) and move 2.2° farther to the northwest to find Neptune, which is also 0.7° east of 20 Piscium.

A much easier opportunity to locate Neptune occurs on the 11th, when the waxing gibbous Moon passes directly in front of, or occults, the distant planet. Beginning at 9:21pm, the magnitude 7.7 planet is covered by the dark limb of the Moon. Neptune reappears from behind the sunlit limb at 20:27pm.

Minor Planets

Ceres is low in the southwest after sunset. It is moving eastward through Sagittarius, a few degrees west of the Herman’s Cross asterism, composed of 58, 59, 60, and 62 Sagittarii. It is now magnitude 9.2, requiring telescopic observation. The waxing crescent Moon is 3.3° to its west-northwest on the 6th.

Vesta is in Virgo, and rises at about 3:00am. It is magnitude 8.2, and moving east-southeastward through the southern area of the Realm of the Galaxies.

In early November, comet C/2023 A3 is still well-placed in the southwest after twilight, in Ophiuchus. It is located within the same binocular field of view as IC 4665, and it passes through a notable asterism known as Taurus Poniatovii all this week (October 31-November 4). 

The comet continues to gain distance, and passes 1 au on the 1st, when it still appears to be moving eastward at just over 1° per day. 

The comet has faded beyond naked-eye visibility, but remains visible with binoculars, at least before the bright phases of the Moon mid-month. 

C/2023 A3 crosses into Serpens on the 10th, and for the following few days it lies within the same binocular field of view as the open star cluster IC 4756.

The comet passes into Aquila on the 24th, where it will remain for the next several weeks as it recedes and fades from view.

November is the last opportunity to observe Pluto this season, until it rises again in spring 2025. Located near the border of Capricornus and Sagittarius, the magnitude 14.5 dwarf planet is 1.8° southeast of the globular cluster M75.

Both the Southern and Northern Taurids meteor showers are active in November, with the former peaking on the 4th-5th, and the latter peaking on the 11th-12th. Both showers produce low rates (about 5-10 per hour) of slow-moving meteors that appear to originate from their namesake constellation Taurus. The particles are remnants of periodic comet 2P/Encke.

The Leonids, typically a larger meteor shower that is composed of dust left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, are active all month, but peak on the night of November 17-18, when the Moon is nearly full.