November 28, 2025: Watch the moon and Saturn in the evening sky while Mercury climbs into the morning twilight. Jupiter reigns the night as daylight shortens.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:56 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:22 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
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Today’s Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets
Sun: The central star continues to rise and set farther southward, although the rate is slowing as it nears the Tropic of Capricorn. The sun is overhead at noon at latitude 21° south.
Moon: The lunar orb is at the First Quarter phase at 12:59 a.m. Central Time, nearly 90 minutes after yesterday’s moonset in the Central Time Zone. Sky watchers farther westward might see the terminator – the day-night line – appear as a straight line near moonset. Today, moonrise occurs around 1 p.m., about three hours before sunset. Find it in the eastern sky later during the afternoon. After sundown, find Earth’s satellite, 57% illuminated, less than halfway up in the south-southeast, 10° to the right of Saturn.
Inner Solar System
Mercury: The innermost planet in the solar system races into the eastern predawn sky. This morning it is less than 10° above the horizon and about 6° below Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. Use a binocular to locate them. Mercury rises 85 minutes before sunrise, gaining about four minutes of rising time each morning.
Venus: The Morning Star retreats into bright sunlight. This morning it rises about 50 minutes before sunrise. Venus aficionados can find it low in the east-southeast during bright morning twilight. Venus passes behind the sun (superior conjunction) early next year and becomes the Evening Star.
Outer Solar System
Mars: The Red Planet descends in evening twilight, setting only 35 minutes after sunset. It reaches solar conjunction on January 9th, then begins a slow climb into the eastern morning sky.
Jupiter: The Jovian Giant reigns the nighttime sky as Venus disappears into morning twilight. It rises in the east-northeast, over three hours after sunset — not so late with autumn’s early sunsets. It is south around four hours before sunrise and about halfway up in the western sky during morning twilight. Jupiter gently retrogrades in front of Gemini, near Pollux, 6.7° away. It passes the star in a wide conjunction on December 13th, the second in a series of triple conjunctions.
Saturn: The Ringed Wonder is at the end of its retrograde and begins to move eastward against Pisces’ dim stars. Saturn is in an ideal spot for telescope observing during the evening hours. Tonight, it is 10° east of the moon.
Uranus: The Tilted World is a few days past opposition, appearing farther westward during the night. It is easily found through a binocular near the Pleiades star cluster. The field of view includes dimmer stars about the same brightness as the planet. The best viewing occurs after moonset and before morning twilight begins, about 90 minutes before sunrise.
Neptune: Without moonlight, the solar system’s most distant planet is a challenging sight in the same binocular field with Saturn. Wait until the moon returns to its waning crescent phase to look for it.
Look for Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon during the nighttime hours. The sun continues its southward trek while daylight dwindles in the northern hemisphere.
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