November 5, 2026: Find Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and the crescent moon before sunrise. Learn how to spot Spica, follow Mars toward Jupiter, and photograph earthshine.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:28 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 4:4o p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and the crescent moon decorate the southeastern morning sky.
Venus, Crescent Moon, Spica
Step outside an hour before sunrise. The crescent moon, 14% illuminated, is nearly 30° above the east-southeast horizon. Look carefully for earthshine on the moon’s night portion. This is sunlight reflected from Earth’s features that softly illuminates the lunar night. This can be photographed with a tripod-mounted camera or a steady camera phone. Exposures up to five seconds overexpose the lunar crescent while recording earthshine’s gentle light.
Venus, nearly 10° above the east-southeast horizon, is 25° to the moon’s lower left. The Morning Star emerges from bright morning twilight, rising earlier each morning. Until it is higher in the sky at this time before sunrise, find a clear horizon looking in that direction. A view from a hilltop or elevated structure helps to see Venus this morning.
Use a binocular to see Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, 1.7° to Venus’ upper left.
Jupiter, Mars, Regulus
After locating Venus, find bright Jupiter almost 35° to the moon’s upper right. The Jovian Giant slowly rambles eastward in front of Leo, 5.4° to Regulus’ upper right. Mars, 4.1° to Jupiter’s upper right, marches toward their conjunction in 11 mornings, followed by a conjunction with Regulus on November 26.
The three bright planets, from Venus to Mars, span nearly 65°. Watch Mars close the gap to Jupiter while Venus appears higher in the sky each morning. As this lunation ends, the crescent moon appears closer to Venus during the next two mornings.
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