November 16, 2026: Watch Mars and Jupiter appear 1.2° apart before sunrise. Find Venus near Spica and Mercury low in the east-southeast, then observe the First Quarter Moon and Saturn after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:42 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 4:29 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, Mars and Jupiter appear close together in the southeastern sky. Venus and Mercury are also in the morning 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, 4.3° to Regulus’ upper right, the Lion’s brightest star. Mars, considerably dimmer than Jupiter, is passing by 1.2° to the upper left. At their conjunction, the gap is slightly closer than it was the previous morning.
While the two planets 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 easily fit into the same binocular field.
Venus, Mercury, Spica in East-Southeast
In addition to the conjunction, brilliant Venus and Mercury are low in the east-southeast. The Morning Star is 15° above the east-southeast horizon. The planet has seemingly zoomed into the morning sky after it passed between Earth and Sun on October 23.
Venus is 1.5° above Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. It seems to be making a loop over the star. Watch it continue to move left and lower while appearing to open a gap.
Mercury continues to emerge from bright morning twilight. This morning, the Elusive Planet is over 6° above the horizon and 13° to Venus’ lower left. Use a binocular to find it and track it as twilight brightens and the planet appears higher in the sky.
Evening Moon
After sunset, the moon, 45% illuminated, is 30° above the southern horizon. It is in front of Capricornus, 5.4° to the lower right of Deneb Algedi. The moon is at the First Quarter phase tomorrow at 5:48 a.m. CST, when it is below the horizon in the Americas.
Saturn After Sunset
Farther eastward, Saturn is 30° above the east-southeast horizon, nearly 50° from the moon. The Ringed Wonder slowly retrogrades in front of Cetus.
Through a telescope, the solar system’s crown jewel displays its rings as well as subtle cloud bands in the southern hemisphere. Titan, its largest moon, is visible in the same telescopic view.
Saturn moves farther westward during the night, setting over four hours before sunrise.
Look for the Jupiter-Mars conjunction and, during the next 10 days, watch Mars close in on Regulus. Find Venus and Mercury before sunrise. After sunset, find the moon and the evening’s lone bright planet, Saturn.
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