The Sky This Month

Daily Lunar Phases This Month

Diagram created with LunarPhase Pro

Events for November, 2026

NASA What’s Up In November, 2026 BBC Sky At Night: What’s In The The Night Sky For November, 2026 High Point Scientific | What’s in the sky November, 2026? November, 2026 Podcasts: The Jodcast - from Jodrell Bank in the UK. For more information about what's happening this month, visit the Jodcast November page. What Messier Objects Are Visible This Month (November, 2026): A list of messier objects visible this month. All are possible with binoculars, most are easy even with small binoculars. This month we will search for seven more objects from the Messier Catalog. These include four globular clusters, the largest and the smallest planetary nebulas in the catalog, and a small oddity. Two of the objects are fairly easy in binoculars, while four others will require dark skies, patience, and keen eyes to find. M57 This smallest planetary nebula in the Messier Catalog is the famous Ring nebula in the constellation Lyra. Low power telescope views show a very small blue/green disk, not much bigger than a star. Medium to high power will magnify the size of the nebula while leaving the surrounding stars the same size, confirming you have found it. Can be seen in binoculars as a faint star like point of light. M56 Also in the constellation of Lyra we find our first globular cluster of the night. In a telescope look for a small round ball of light, slightly brighter in the center. This is a difficult binocular object appearing as a small fuzzy patch. M27 Also known as the Dumbbell nebula, the largest planetary nebula in the Messier Catalog, M27 lies in the constellation Vulpecula. Fairly easy to see in binoculars as a small hazy patch. In small to medium scopes it appears as a rectangular patch of light. In large scopes it may even appear round in shape with a bright rectangular, or dumbbell shaped core. M71 Lying in Sagitta, this globular cluster appears as a faint oval hazy patch of light in a telescope. This is a very difficult but possible binocular object, requiring dark skies and trained eyes. M30 This globular cluster in Capricornus is tough but very possible to see in binoculars as a faint fuzzy star. Telescopes show a small fuzzy ball of light, bright in the center fading to the edges. M72 This is a small faint globular cluster in Aquarius. Look for a faint oval patch of light, gradually brighter towards the middle. A very difficult binocular object. M73 This asterism is located near M72 in Aquarius. In a low power telescope view it looks like a very small fuzzy patch of light at first glance. When stared at it reveals itself as a small collection of stars. Medium to high power shows the view best described by Messier "cluster of three or four stars...containing very little nebulosity". Via The Messier Catalog Other Events To Watch Out For This Month Morning vs. Evening 2026-11-08 06:00 StarDate The planet Venus is climbing higher into the morning sky day by day. It’ll reign as the “morning star” until summer, when it passes behind the Sun. It’ll return to view as the evening star... Read more » Mars and Jupiter 2026-11-07 06:00 StarDate Two planetary siblings are headed for a family reunion. They’re moving toward one another, and will be at their closest in a little more than a week. And they’re both bright, so you can follow... Read more » The Sky Today on Tuesday, November 10: Seek Saturn’s two-toned moon 2026-11-10 09:00 Astronomy Magazine Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  November 9: Chase Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS Challenge yourself to pick up Saturn’s moon Iapetus, which tonight reaches greatest eastern elongation 9.4’ east of... Read more » SpaceX goes for a Starship double catch 2026-11-09 20:13 Astronomy Magazine Rocket launches this week On Monday, Nov. 9, SpaceX is targeting 10:03 p.m. EST to launch USSF-627 on a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The... Read more »

This Week’s “Sky at a Glance”
From Sky & Telescope

AMS Meteor Activity Outlook
A weekly preview of meteor activity

Monthly Notes

Sky at Night  Catch up on the latest edition of the BBC Programme. Episodes are now unforunately only playable using the BBC’s iPlayer so you’ll need a VPN set to a UK IP address to watch them.

Stardate Daily Programme Calendar 
Monthly listing of aired programs from StarDate

Heavens Above
Provides all the information you need to observe satellites such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, spectacular events such as the dazzlingly bright flares from Iridium satellites as well as a wealth of other spaceflight and astronomical information.

Daily predictions for brighter satellites (Heavens Above)
Provides a range of charts and information, including sky charts for your location (which you’ll have to specify).

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars
This page lists the dates of issue and the titles of the items on the twenty most-recent IAUCs. Individual items can be displayed by selecting the relevant title. Note: These circulars went behind a paywall in 2017 and only those with a subscription can see new ones.

Minor Planet Center: Recent MPECs
This list gives the dates of issue, titles and details of the items on the fifty most-recent MPECs.

Current Observable Comets
Lists links to orbital elements and ephemerides of (potentially) observable comets. Here is an alternative, less technical site.

BAA Comet Section
lists links to news, current magnitudes and ephemerides of currently observable comets.

American Association of Variable Star Observers
The AAVSO is the largest organization of variable star observers worldwide. You can get daily updates and find out more about them, the projects they sponsor and the data they make available to astronomers around the world.

The Minima of Algol
The star Algol (Beta Persei) was the first eclipsing variable star ever discovered, and it’s still the most famous one. You can check on it whenever you step outdoors on nights when Perseus is in view.

International Occultation and Timing Association
This page gives information on the circumstances of lunar and other types of occultation for various locations around the world.

SEDs Messier Catalog
A listing of images and information on the Messier objects with links to other deep sky catalogues (NGC objects, etc.)

The Interactive NGC Catalog Online
An interactive NGC (IC, and Messier) catalog at SEDS, based on the famous NGC 2000.0 by R.W. Sinnott of Sky Publishing Corp.

The Sky Live
Online simulator shows upcoming close approaches between Earth and NEO (Near Earth Object) Asteroids; find information, position data and sky charts for Planets, Asteroids, Comets, Interplanetary Probes; Use the Observing Guide to plan observations of Solar System objects visible tonight from your location; create accurate and interactive maps of the sky visible from any location up to the year 2035; has a 3D Solar System Simulator.

The Sky at Night
The BBC’s dedicated Sky at Night website. Contains past episodes and other video material.