Jupiter, our solar system’s largest planet, is the brightest “star” in the November evening sky. You can’t miss it! If you have a dark sky, you can see it lies below the western side of the Great Square, a group of 4 stars in Pegasus. Also, between the Great Square and the bright planet is a pretty, but faint group of 6 stars known as the Circlet in the constellation Pisces. If you have dark enough skies, you can also look for M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. Here’s how to find it using the Great Square. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
Visible planets (evening)
Saturn is high in the sky after sunset – golden in color, shining steadily – perfect for observing in the evening. Jupiter is easy to spot, brighter than all the stars. It’s high in the east after sunset, and sets earlier each night – after midnight – throughout the month. Mars rises in the east a few hours after sunset. It’s very red now and brighter than most stars, racing towards its December 8 opposition, when Earth will fly between Mars and the sun.
Visible planets (morning)
On November mornings, Mars is shining brightly in the west (direction opposite the sunrise horizon).
Where are Venus and Mercury?
Venus, the brightest planet and next planet inward from Earth in orbit around the sun – went behind the sun as seen from Earth on October 22. So Venus is hidden in the sun’s glare now. It’ll return to our evening sky before the year ends.
Mercury is lost in morning light early November and then is barely visible after twilight at month’s end. Mercury also goes behind the sun as seen from Earth on November 8.
Note: Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view from your location, try Stellarium Online.
Visible planets and night sky guide November, 2022
November evenings: Mars in Taurus
On November evenings, bright red Mars slides between the stars of the Horn of Taurus. Mars is well placed for observing all night since it rises in the early evening. By the way, Mars will be closest to Earth for this 2-year period on November 30, 2022. Then it will be 50.6 million miles (81.4 million km) away. Mars will continue to brighten between now and December 8, 2022, when it will reach its once-in-2-years opposition. Also, you’ll notice lovely Pleiades glowing higher in the sky. And the nearby red star Aldebaran can guide you to a “V” shape star cluster, known as , Hyades. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
The 1st quarter moon lies close to the golden planet, Saturn on November 1, 2022. You can watch Saturn and the moon crossing the sky nearly all evening, traveling along the ecliptic, the same path the sun travels during the day. Read more about the moon near Saturn. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 4 evening: Waxing gibbous moon near Jupiter
On the evening of November 4, 2022, the waxing gibbous moon slides by bright Jupiter. Other than the moon, Jupiter is the brightest object in the evening sky this month. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and reached opposition on September 26. So the planet is now up all evening and into the wee hours. Beautiful! Read more about the moon and Jupiter. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 7 evening: Full moon near Mars and Pleiades, ready for lunar eclipse tomorrow morning!
The November 2022 full moon will rise near sunset on November 7, 2022. And fiery Mars, the Red Planet, will rise soon afterward and be near the moon during the lunar eclipse! Red Mars and a red eclipsed moon. Wow! Mars is racing towards its opposition on December 8, 2022. That’s when Earth will pass between Mars and the sun, and the distance between our 2 worlds will be closest for about 2 years. So Mars is particularly bright now … very fun to see. Also nearby, look for the delicate star cluster Pleiades and red star Aldebaran, eye of Taurus the Bull. Read more about the moon on November 7. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
On the morning of November 8, 2022, a lunar eclipse begins at 9:09 UTC (3:09 a.m. CST). The curvature of the shadow on the moon’s surface becomes visible a few minutes later. Totality lasts from 10:16 UTC (4:16 a.m. CST) to 11:41 UTC (5:41 a.m. CST). During that time, the darkened moon lies completely in the Earth’s shadow. The moon leaves the umbral shadow at 12:49 UTC (6:49 a.m. CST). People on the east coast won’t see the end of the eclipse because it happens too close to their sunrise. Also, Uranus is near the full moon and is occulted by the moon as it’s coming out of eclipse. But the brightness of the full moon will make viewing the occultation next to impossible. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 8 and 9 evenings: Moon near Pleiades
The waning gibbous moon lies near the delicate Pleiades on the evening of November 8, 2022, and then moves to the east as a waning gibbous moon on November 9, 2022. Also, 2 obvious red “stars” are visible – Aldebaran and Mars. Aldebaran is the fiery red eye of Taurus the Bull. Mars is racing towards opposition on December 8, 2022. That’s when Earth will pass between Mars and the sun, and the distance between our 2 worlds will be closest for about 2 years. Read more about the moon on November 8 and 9. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 8-9 overnight: Uranus reaches opposition
Uranus reaches opposition on the overnight of November 8 – more specifically on November 9, 2022 at 8 UTC (2 a.m. CST). At that time, it lies opposite the sun in the sky. Uranus is also at its nearest point from Earth being over 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers) distant. With the bright, waning gibbous moon glowing so closely to it in the sky, the planet will be challenging even through binoculars. Pleiades glimmers east of the pair with reddish Mars and Aldebaran shining brightly nearby. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 10 and 11 evenings: Moon near Orion and Mars
The evenings of November 10 and 11, 2022, finds the waning gibbous moon glowing near the stars of the constellation Orion the Hunter. Mars, the red planet, is now brighter than 2 nearby red stars – Aldebaran in Taurus and Betelgeuse in Orion – because Mars is drawing ever-nearer to its opposition on December 8, 2022. That’s when Earth will pass between Mars and the sun, and the distance between our 2 worlds will be least, not just this year but for about a 2-year period. The shimmering Pleiades star cluster – a true family of stars, born together in space – is also near bright red Mars. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 12 evening: Moon near Castor and Pollux
The evening of November 12, 2022, finds the waning gibbous moon glowing close to Castor Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini. The following evening, November 13, 2022, the waning gibbous moon moves to the other side of Castor and Pollux. Although the twin stars don’t look alike, they are quite noticeable near each other in the sky for being bright and close together. Castor is the slightly dimmer star of the pair. And Pollux is more golden in color. Also nearby is Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor the Lesser Dog. It’s sometimes called the Little Dog Star. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November evenings: Saturn after sunset to around midnight
In November 2022, watch for Saturn from sunset until it sets around midnight. Golden Saturn – faintest of the bright planets – shines in the dim, but pretty constellation Capricornus the Sea Goat. In dark skies, you can see Capricornus as an arrowhead pattern. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
On the morning of November 16, 2022, the last quarter moon lies among the stars of the Sickle asterism in Leo. You’ll notice Leo’s brightest star, Regulus. Then on November 17, 2022, the moon is still near Regulus, but on the other side of the Sickle. We typically associate Regulus the season of spring. And indeed, it’ll be back in our evening sky about 5 months from now! Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 20 and 21 mornings: Moon near Spica
On the morning of November 20, 2022, the waning crescent moon floats in the sky near the star Spica. Spica is the brightest star in Virgo the Maiden. The following morning, November 21, 2022, finds the moon on the other side of Spica shortly before sunrise. Also, the beautiful glow you see on the unlit portion of the moon is earthshine. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
The waxing crescent moon sinks among the Teapot stars of Sagittarius shortly after sunset on November 25 and 26, 2022. By the way, the thin crescent moon looks beautiful with earthshine. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November 28 and 29 evenings: Moon near Saturn
The thick waxing crescent moon hangs low in the south after sunset on November 28 and 29 , 2022. The bright object by the moon both nights is the beautiful ringed planet, Saturn. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.
November-December 2022 heliocentric solar system planets
The sun-centered charts below come from Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2022 here, in his Astronomical Calendar. Guy Ottewell explains:
In these views from ecliptic north, arrows (thinner when south of the ecliptic plane) are the paths of the four inner planets. Dots along the rest of the orbits are five days apart (and are black for the part of its course that a planet has trodden since the beginning of the year). Also, semicircles show the sunlit side of the new and full moon (vastly exaggerated in size and distance). Additionally, pairs of lines point outward to the more remote planets.
Phenomena such as perihelia (represented by ticks) and conjunctions (represented by lines between planets) are at dates that can be found in the Astronomical Calendar. Likewise, Gray covers the half of the universe below the horizon around 10 p.m. at mid-month (as seen from the equator). The zodiacal constellations are in directions from the Earth at mid-month (not from the sun).
Bottom line: In November, the morning planet is Mars. In the evening, the gas giant planets Saturn and Jupiter dominate the southeast sky as night falls, with Mars rising in mid-evening. There is a total lunar eclipse early on November 8.
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