November 1, 2025: November brings shifting daylight, a bright Jupiter before dawn, Saturn fading into the evening sky, and Venus retreating into morning twilight. Mercury begins its best morning appearance of the year while the moon visits the bright planets throughout the month.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:24 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 5:45 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
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Sun and Moon
- Sun: Daylight lasts 10 hours, 21 minutes today at Chicago’s latitude. It is overhead at noon at latitude 14° south.
- Outlook: During the month, Chicago loses nearly an hour of daylight ending with 9 hours, 23 minutes, of daylight. The sun rises and sets 10° farther south, while the sun’s noon height decreases 7°. In comparison, Miami, FL loses 31 minutes of daylight, ending with 10 hours, 39 minutes of sunlight. In Anchorage, AK, daytime loses 2 hours, 19 minutes of sunshine, ending the month with 6 hours, 8 minutes. Daylight Saving Time ends on the morning of November 2. A common misconception is that turning the clock back to Standard Time causes the loss of an hour of daylight. In reality, the sun’s seasonal southerly shift shortens daylight by about three minutes from November 1 to November 2. Autumn’s midpoint occurs November 6 at 11:30 p.m. Central Time.
- Moon: The lunar orb begins the month as a waxing gibbous moon, 83% illuminated. It is in the southeast after sunset, 5.3° to Saturn’s upper right. The month’s major phases: Full (Beaver), Nov. 5; Last Quarter, Nov. 11; New, Nov. 20; and First Quarter, Nov. 28. It appears near Jupiter on Nov. 9, Venus, Nov. 18, and Saturn (again), Nov. 29.
Inner Planets
- Mercury: Having just passed its greatest elongation, Mercury visibility is poor for northern hemisphere sky watchers, but it is putting on a wonderful display in the southern hemisphere.
- Outlook: Mercury retreats into evening twilight, passing inferior conjunction between Earth and Sun on November 20. It then begins its best morning appearance of the year peaking on December 7.
- Venus: The Morning Star is low in the east-southeast before sunrise. This morning at 45 minutes before sunrise, it is less than 10° above the east-southeast horizon, 3.7° to Spica’s upper left. Find a clear view toward the planet and use a binocular to see it with the star.
- Outlook: Venus continues to retreat into bright morning twilight, heading for its superior conjunction and its return as the Evening Star next year. Tomorrow morning, it passes Spica in a wide conjunction (3.5°). Venus continues to step eastward in front of Virgo as it loses 40 minutes of rising time compared to sunrise. On the 18th, the moon is 8.5° to the planet’s upper right, though this occurs during brighter twilight.
Outer Planets
- Mars: The Red Planet continues to descend into bright western evening twilight. It is not easily visible, setting 50 minutes after the sun on November 1. Mars reaches conjunction, rising and setting with the sun early next year.
- Jupiter: The Jovian Giant is the second brightest star in the sky tonight after Venus. Early in the month, it rises before midnight, about five hours after sunset. Jupiter is high in the south-southwest during morning twilight. This morning, it is 6.7° to Pollux’s lower left
- Outlook: Jupiter rises in the east-northeast earlier each night, and it appears farther westward each morning. It begins to retrograde on November 11 as opposition approaches early next year. Sky watchers with telescopes can see the shadows of two of Jupiter’s moons on the cloud tops on Nov 1 at 15:54 UTC; Nov 5, 05:12; and Nov 21, 01:33.
- Saturn: The Ringed Wonder is in the southeast after sundown as the month opens. Its rings are presented to earthbound sky watchers from the side or edge. They resemble a thin line cutting through the planet. It is south about the time Jupiter rises.
- Outlook: It is higher in the sky at sunset and farther westward. It sets after midnight earlier each night. As noted in the moon section, Saturn appears with the lunar orb twice during the month.
- Uranus: From rural areas, the Tilted World can be seen as a very faint star near the Pleiades star cluster, riding on the back of Taurus. From suburban settings a binocular is needed to see it as an aquamarine star.
- Outlook: Early in the month, moonlight interferes with the observation of Uranus, but the view improves as the moon wanes to crescent.
- Neptune: The modern solar system model’s farthest planet is very challenging to see through a binocular, greatly affected by moonlight and outdoor lighting. It is in the same binocular field with Saturn and best located when Saturn is in the south.
- Outlook: Continue to use Saturn as a guide until this pair disappears into evening twilight next year. After their solar conjunction, Saturn appears farther eastward than Neptune, making it detection more difficult.
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