The night sky in November 2026
Moon phases, meteor showers, planets and the best nights to look up from the UK in November 2026. Times are UK clock time (GMT) for central England.
Best nights to watch
- Northern Taurids peak, night of 12–13 November: Good. The Moon is 12 per cent lit and sets at 17:41.
- Leonids peak, night of 17–18 November: Good. The Moon is 55 per cent lit and sets at 23:34.
- Moon-free dark skies on the nights from 4 to 15 November: the best nights this month for faint shooting stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky objects.
The Moon
Each day shows the Moon's shape in the evening. Shaded days start the best Moon-free dark nights.
Meteor showers
Northern Taurids
Good from the UKPeak: night of 12–13 November (a broad maximum around Thu 12 Nov). Zenithal hourly rate: about 5 (what one observer would see in an hour under a perfect sky with the radiant overhead; expect fewer). Radiant: Taurus (near the Pleiades). Parent: Comet 2P/Encke.
The Moon is 12 per cent lit and sets at 17:41. The best watching is from about 19:30 to 05:40, when the sky is dark, the radiant is well up and the Moon is out of the way.
Leonids
Good from the UKPeak: night of 17–18 November (maximum expected around 00:00 GMT on Wed 18 Nov). Zenithal hourly rate: about 15 in most years; storms of thousands per hour in rare years (what one observer would see in an hour under a perfect sky with the radiant overhead; expect fewer). Radiant: Leo (in the Sickle). Parent: Comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle.
The Moon is 55 per cent lit and sets at 23:34. The best watching is from about 01:20 to 06:20, when the sky is dark, the radiant is well up and the Moon is out of the way.
Smaller showers peaking this month: Kappa Ursae Majorids (around 5–6 November, a few an hour at best); Alpha Monocerotids (around 21–22 November, a few an hour at best); November Orionids (around 28 November, a few an hour at best).
Also active: Orionids (peak around 21–22 October).
On any dark night you can also see a few sporadic meteors an hour, which belong to no shower. Rates are usually higher after midnight, when your side of Earth faces the direction it is travelling.
Planets
For the middle of the month. Magnitude measures brightness: the lower the number, the brighter, and anything brighter than about 2 is easy to see from a town.
- Mercury
- In the morning sky before dawn, low in the south-east, from about 06:05 until the sky gets too bright. Brightness: magnitude −0.1.
- Venus
- In the morning sky before dawn, low in the south-east, from about 05:25 until the sky gets too bright. Brightness: magnitude −4.6.
- Mars
- Comes into view in the east at about 23:45 and stays up for the rest of the night, highest in the south as dawn breaks. Brightness: magnitude 0.7.
- Jupiter
- Comes into view in the east at about 23:45 and stays up for the rest of the night, highest in the south as dawn breaks. Brightness: magnitude −1.9.
- Saturn
- Visible from dusk, starting in the east and highest in the south at about 21:05, until it sinks low at about 02:25. Brightness: magnitude 0.8.
Dates for your diary
- Monday 2 November, before dawn: The Moon near Mars. The half-lit Moon (46 per cent lit) is about 4° from Mars at about 06:20. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
- Tuesday 3 November, around midnight: The Moon near Jupiter. The crescent Moon (37 per cent lit) is about 1° from Jupiter at about 01:00. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
- Saturday 7 November, before dawn: The Moon near Venus. The crescent Moon (4 per cent lit) is about 2° from Venus at about 06:30. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
- Monday 16 November: Mars and Jupiter close together. Mars and Jupiter appear only about 1° apart, in the morning sky. Binoculars show both in the same view.
- Saturday 21 November: Mercury at greatest western elongation. Mercury is 19° from the Sun, as far as it gets on this swing, and in the morning sky before sunrise. Mercury is always low and hard to spot from the UK; look for it in a clear sky low in the east, 30 to 45 minutes before sunrise.
- Wednesday 25 November: Uranus at opposition. Uranus is opposite the Sun and at its best for the year, up all night at magnitude 5.6. It is just visible to the eye from a very dark site, and easy to find with binoculars and a star chart.
- Monday 30 November, before dawn: The Moon near Jupiter. The gibbous Moon (61 per cent lit) is about 1° from Jupiter at about 07:10. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
Find a safe spot away from street lights, wrap up warmly and lie back so you can see a wide sweep of sky. Give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust and keep phone screens dim. No telescope is needed for meteors. Children should always watch with an adult. Never look at the Sun.
Read about every meteor shower, what a radiant and the zenithal hourly rate mean, and how moonlight hides faint meteors. Children can start with how to watch for shooting stars.