November 9-10, 2025: During the night of November 9–10, 2025, the gibbous moon steps eastward between Jupiter and Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins. Watch the lunar orb rise in the east-northeast, glide between the bright planet and star, and shine high in the southwest by morning twilight.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Jupiter, Moon, Pollux
On the night of November 9–10, the gibbous moon passes between Jupiter and Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins.
The moon’s revolution carries it eastward compared to the stars, while Earth’s rotation makes it appear to move westward, rising in the east and setting in the west. Tonight, the lunar phase decreases from 72% illumination to 69%.
The bright moon rises over four hours after sunset. An hour later, the lunar orb is nearly 10° above the east-northeast horizon, 4.2° to Jupiter’s upper right and 3.2° to the lower right of Pollux. Notice that the moon is west (upper right) of an imaginary line from the planet to the star.
Moon between Jupiter and Pollux
During the night, the planet, moon, and star climb higher in the eastern sky. At 12:10 a.m. Central Time (06:10 UTC), during the new calendar day across about half of North America, the moon passes between Jupiter and the star, when they are less than halfway up in the eastern sky. For western time zones, the calendar still reads November 9th.
Jupiter, Moon, and Pollux tightly fit into the same binocular field of view.
Before Sunrise
As the new calendar day continues, Jupiter, the moon, and Pollux appear farther westward, while the moon slowly steps eastward along its path. By morning twilight, look for the moon high in the southwest, slightly east of the Jupiter–Pollux line. It is 3.6° above Jupiter and 4.2° to Pollux’s lower left.
Watch daylight overwhelm the visibilities of Jupiter and Pollux, while the moon remains visible until it sets around noon local time.
On the evening of the 10th, the moon rises nearly 50 minutes after Jupiter and appears over 10° to the Jovian Giant’s lower left. Watch the moon’s slow eastward motion as it passes between Jupiter and Pollux overnight tonight.
LATEST ARTICLES
- 2026, August 23: Almanac – Jupiter Returns to the Morning Sky While Mars Marches Against Gemini
August 23, 2026: Before sunrise, Jupiter emerges from morning twilight while Mars marches eastward in front of Gemini. Saturn retrogrades in front of Pisces, Venus brightens after sunset, and the waxing gibbous moon glides above Sagittarius. - 2026, August 22-25: Waxing Moon Previews the Harvest Moon
August 22-25, 2026: The August waxing gibbous moon previews the Harvest Moon effect as it stays at a similar altitude while moving eastward and rising later each night. - 2026, August 21: How to Find Uranus Near the Pleiades Star Cluster Before Dawn
August 21, 2026: Use the Pleiades star cluster, 37 and 39 Tauri, and nearby reference stars to locate Uranus before morning twilight. Follow this binocular guide to identify the Tilted World. - 2026, August 20: Venus and Spica – Evening Star Approaches September Conjunction
August 20, 2026: Brilliant Venus shines in the western evening sky, stepping eastward in front of Virgo toward Spica. Watch the Evening Star close the gap before their September 1 conjunction. - 2026, August 19: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn Before Sunrise; Venus and Moon After Sunset
August 19, 2026: Mars marches past Gemini near Castor’s foot as Jupiter returns to the morning sky. Saturn retrogrades against Pisces while Venus and the First Quarter moon shine after sunset.