2026, November 21: Four Bright Planets Before Sunrise and Saturn Near the Beaver Moon

November 21, 2026: See Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars before sunrise. After sunset, find Saturn near the 91%-illuminated Beaver Moon.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Venus, Mercury, Spica, and Moon, November 13, 2020
Photo Caption – 2020, November 13: Sparkling Venus – nearly 18° up in the east-southeast – is 8.1° to the upper right of the old moon and 5.5° to the upper left of Spica. The lunar crescent is 6.9° to the lower left of Spica and 5.1° above Mercury.

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:48 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:25 p.m. CST.  Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

Four Bright Planets Before Sunrise

Four bright planets are visible before sunrise, while Saturn and the Beaver Moon are seen after sunset.

Jupiter, Mars

Jupiter, Mars, and Regulus, November 21, 2026
Chart Caption – 2026, November 21: An hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter, Mars, and Leo’s Regulus are high in the southern sky.

Step outside an hour before sunrise. Bright Jupiter is high in the southern sky. It is brighter than all the celestial bodies this morning, except for Venus in the east-southeast.

Jupiter slowly rambles eastward in front of Leo, 3.7° to Regulus’ upper right, the Lion’s brightest star. The Jovian Giant begins to retrograde on December 12, 3.2° from Regulus, a quasi-conjunction, occurring when a planet is within 5° of another planet or bright star. A Jupiter-Regulus conjunction does not occur until July 26, 2027, as they disappear into bright evening twilight in the western sky.

Mars approaches Regulus for their conjunction in five mornings. This morning, the Red Planet is 2.3° to Jupiter’s upper left and 2.6° to Regulus’ upper right. This grouping easily fits into the same binocular field. Note Regulus’ blue-white color, while Mars is red-orange and Jupiter is yellow-white. Watch the two planets move relative to Regulus during the next week.

Venus, Mercury

Venus, Mercury, Spica, November 21, 2026
Chart Caption – 2026, November 21: During morning twilight, brilliant Venus and Mercury are in the southeastern sky. Venus is near Spica.

Farther eastward, brilliant Venus is nearly 20° above the southeast horizon. It is 2.0° to Spica’s upper left as it appears to make a loop around the star. Look each clear morning as Venus separates from Spica toward the lower left. Through a spotting scope or small telescope, note that Venus shows a morning crescent phase, 20% illuminated.

Even though Venus displays a thin crescent phase, it is very bright in the sky. The Morning Star’s greatest brilliancy occurs on November 24, according to NASA’s Horizons computer program, although the difference in peak brightness from morning to morning during the next week or so is nearly impossible to see. Light sensors are needed to measure the planet’s light intensity. Simply, the planet is brilliant in the morning sky.

Mercury is the fourth bright planet in this morning’s sky. It is 15.9° to Venus’ lower left and nearly 10° above the east-southeast horizon. The Elusive Planet is bright, but a binocular helps with its initial identification. As morning twilight brightens from the approaching sunrise, follow it until the sky is brighter than the planet.

Saturn, Moon After Sunset

Saturn, Moon, November 21, 2026
Chart Caption – 2026, November 21: An hour after sunset, Saturn and the Beaver Moon are in the east-southeastern sky.

Meanwhile, the fifth bright planet, Saturn, is in the southeastern sky after sunset. First locate the bright Beaver Moon, 91% illuminated, over 30° above the east-southeast horizon. The Full Moon phase occurs on November 24 at 8:53 a.m. Central Time.

Saturn is less than 20° to the Moon’s right. Not as bright as Venus or Jupiter, it is the brightest “star” in a region. It retrogrades in front of Cetus until December 10. Before Saturn turns eastward, or direct, its apparent westward motion slows considerably.

Through a telescope, the Ringed Wonder is the solar system’s crown jewel. The view is toward the planet’s southern hemisphere, and muted cloud stripes and the rings’ southern side are visible.

Look for the bright planets. Before sunrise, find Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars while Saturn is near the Beaver Moon.

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