November 11-15, 2026: Watch the crescent moon move through Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, and Capricornus. Find the Teapot, observe earthshine, and follow the Moon toward First Quarter.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
The Moon Returns
The moon returns to the western evening sky after the New moon on November 9. Its visibility is delayed by the shallow angle the ecliptic makes with the western horizon at this season, along with the moon’s position below that plane. The result is that the moon’s reappearance in the evening sky after the new lunation begins is delayed compared to the waxing crescent phases during the spring when the ecliptic makes a large angle with the western horizon.
This sequence across five evenings takes the moon from low in the southwest to the southern sky. It appears farther eastward each evening, in front of Ophiuchus, then Sagittarius, ending with Capricornus.
Sagittarius as a Teapot
Sagittarius’ brighter stars resemble a teapot, an arrangement known in modern vernacular as the Teapot. The constellation is in front of the Milky Way’s center, near the sun’s winter solstice location. At 45 minutes after sunset, the pot is tipped toward the southwest horizon. Use a binocular to see the shape.
As the moon advances toward the First Quarter phase on November 17, it displays earthshine, sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, oceans, and land that softly illuminates the lunar night. The best evenings are when the moon is about 10% to 20% illuminated. Vary the exposures and the zoom to capture the moon with terrestrial features or center a zoomed image on the crescent. When the moon is about 30% illuminated, it casts shadows on the ground.
Use a tripod-mounted camera or a steady camera phone with exposures up to two or three seconds at this level of evening twilight. The lunar crescent is overexposed while capturing the earthshine effect.
The Highlights
Here’s what to see 45 minutes after sunset:
- November 11: The crescent moon, 7% illuminated, is less than 5° above the southwest horizon. Find a clear horizon in that direction. It is in front of Ophiuchus.
- November 12: The moon, 12% illuminated, is about 10° above the southwest horizon. In front of Sagittarius, it is 2.3° to the upper right of Alnasal, the tip of the Archer’s arrow. On the Teapot, it is at the tip of the spout.
- November 13: The lunar crescent, 19% illuminated, is over 15° above the south-southwest horizon, 0.7° below Nunki, in the Teapot’s handle.
- November 14: Still in front of Sagittarius, but east of the Teapot, the crescent moon, 26% illuminated, is over 20° above the south-southwest horizon.
- November 15: Tonight, the lunar crescent, 35% illuminated, is in front of Capricornus, nearly 30° above the southern horizon.
Watch the moon appear farther eastward and higher in the sky as the phase waxes toward the First Quarter shape.
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