November 15, 2026: See Mars and Jupiter close together before sunrise, find Venus near Spica and Mercury low in the east-southeast, and observe the waxing Moon and Saturn after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:40 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 4:30 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Before sunrise, four bright planets are in the southeastern sky. Saturn and the moon are visible after sundown.
Jupiter-Mars Conjunction
Step outside an hour before sunrise. Bright Jupiter is high in the south-southeast. The planet rambles eastward in front of Leo, 4.4° to Regulus’ upper right, the Lion’s brightest star. Mars, considerably dimmer than Jupiter, is passing by 1.2° to the Jovian Giant’s upper left. At their conjunction tomorrow morning, the gap is slightly smaller than it is this morning. While they appear close together in the sky, the gap between them is nearly 370 million miles.
Mars continues its eastward march, passing Regulus on November 26.
Jupiter, Mars, and Regulus are visible to the unaided eye and fit into the same binocular field.
Venus, Mercury, Spica
At this hour, brilliant Venus is 15° above the east-southeast horizon and 1.5° above Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Look at the Morning Star through a spotting scope or small telescope to see the planet’s morning crescent phase, 14% illuminated.
Mercury is emerging from bright morning twilight, 6° above the horizon and nearly 13° to Venus’ lower left. Use a binocular to see the Elusive Planet. As twilight brightens, follow it higher in the sky through the binocular. It brightens and increases in altitude – height above the horizon – during the next several days.
Waxing Moon After Sunset
After sunset, the moon, 35% illuminated, is nearly 30° above the southern horizon. The First Quarter or evening half moon occurs on November 17 at 5:48 a.m. CST, when it is below the horizon from the Americas.
Saturn in East-Southeat
Saturn is the lone bright planet in the evening sky. While not as bright as Venus or Jupiter, it is the brightest “star” in the region. An hour after sunset, find it 30° or one-third of the way from the horizon to overhead.
The Ringed Wonder continues to retrograde – appears to move westward against the sidereal background – in front of Cetus. It turns eastward or direct on December 10.
Saturn is nicely placed in the evening sky for telescopic inspection. The rings are tilted 10° along the line of sight, so that the view is toward the southern hemisphere. Titan, the largest Saturnian moon, is west of the planet in the same plane as the rings.
Find the bright planets and moon during the night.
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