What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what’s on view in our monthly stargazing guide.
What’s in the night sky tonight?
Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can’t always plan when and where we’re going to get the chance to gaze upwards.
Busy schedules, light pollution, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.
So when you do find the time, you’ll need to know what’s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.
Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners and astronomy for beginners.
Here’s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.
Our guide is centred around what’s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
In our guide, we useUniversal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.
If you’re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
What’s in the night sky tonight?
Highlights
- 3 November: Jupiter reaches opposition
- 9 November: Daylight lunar occultation of Venus
- 10 November: Excellent transit of Ganymede and its shadow from 17:15 UT
- 13 November: Uranus reaches opposition
- 17/18 November: Leonid meteor shower peak (favourable)
Stars and constellations
November’s night sky displays summer, autumn and winter stars, as long as you’re prepared to stay up all night.
As darkness falls, the now inappropriately named Summer Triangle remains visible high in the southwest.
It’s starting to struggle though, as its inevitable drift to the west is dragging it ever further towards the northwest horizon as darkness falls.
Having said this, all three stars in the triangle remain visible under dark sky conditions right through to the end of December, but the amount of time they all stay above the horizon decreases.
West of the Summer Triangle sits the Great Square of Pegasus.
The geometry continues in this area of the sky, the faint Circlet asterism lying south of the Great Square.
Pisces represents two fish tied by a cord. The cord is depicted by a series of faint stars running west of the Circlet, changing direction at magnitude 3.8 Alrescha (Alpha (α) Piscium) to head northeast up the sky.
It ends at a triangular pattern representing the northern fish, which is hard to make out.
Andromeda
Spreading out of the northeast corner of the Great Square is wedge-shaped Andromeda, the Chained Princess, the home of the famous Andromeda Galaxy, M31.
A simple way to find the Andromeda Galaxy M31 is to start in the top-right (northwest) of the Great Square, at Scheat (Beta (β) Pegasi).
Extend a line towards the top-left (northeast) star, Alpheratz (Alpha (α) Andromedae).
Keep going for more or less the same distance again, bending up slightly to locate Mirach (Beta (β) Andromedae).
Now turn by 90º, heading up the sky. You’ll then encounter dim Mu (μ) Andromedae and even dimmer Nu (ν) Andromedae.
M31 lies northwest of this star and from a reasonably dark sky location appears as an elongated fuzz. This is our nearest large spiral galaxy neighbour, 2.5 million lightyears away.
The three brightest stars in Andromeda, Alpheratz, Mirach and Almach (Gamma (γ) Andromedae) all have the same brightness.
Almach is a lovely telescopic double, a yellow primary and blue secondary, separated by 9.8 arcseconds.
South of Almach is the sharply pointed isosceles triangle constellation of Triangulum, the home of M33, the spiral Triangulum Galaxy.
Find it by extending a line from M31 through Mirach for the same distance again.
Although M33 is listed at seventh magnitude, it’s hard to spot as it’s virtually face on with a low surface brightness.
Planets
South of Triangulum is Aries, the Ram, the current home of the very bright planet Jupiter and significantly dimmer Uranus.
While Jupiter is obvious, Uranus is right on the threshold of naked eye visibility and best seen with a little help from binoculars.
Both planets reach opposition this month. Jupiter is at opposition on 3 November, Uranus on 13 November.
A telescope view of Jupiter from 01:12-03:32 UT on 4 November will show Europa and its shadow in transit.
Similarly, a view between 03:55-06:05 UT on 5 November will show Io and its shadow in transit.
So near to opposition, the moons and their respective shadows appear close during both events.
An excellent transit of Ganymede and its shadow can be seen on 10 November between 17:15-19:55 UT.
You can find out more about these moon events by reading our guide on how to see Jupiter’s Galilean moons.
Continuing the run of moonless meteor shower peaks this year, the Leonid shower reaches its crescendo on the night of 17/18 November.
The 21%-lit waxing crescent Moon sets just after 7pm UT on 17 November, leaving the rest of the night for Leonid spotting.
Night sky in November 2023, night-by-night
Friday 3 November
Jupiter reaches opposition when it can be seen shining at an impressive mag. –2.8 in southern Aries.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Saturday 4 November
Rising just after 22:00 UT, the 53%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 3° north of the Beehive Cluster, M44.
How to see it:
- Binoculars: 10×50 recommended
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
And
Europa transits in sync with its shadow, from 01:16 until 03:35 UT.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Sunday 5 November
Io transits in sync with its shadow between 03:55 and 06:07 UT.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Monday 6 November
After opposition on 3 November, this evening Io appears to transit Jupiter from 22:21 UT, just ahead of its shadow.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Wednesday 8 November
Another Io transit this evening, the moon now well ahead of its shadow. The event starts at 16:45 UT and concludes at 19:00 UT.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Thursday 9 November
A daylight lunar occultation of Venus. The event occurs between 09:43 and 10:41 UT from the UK’s centre, varying slightly with location. Venus has a 58% phase, appearing 20 arcseconds across.
How to see it:
- Binoculars: 10×50 recommended
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Friday 10 November
Ganymede and its shadow put on a lovely transit between 17:30 and 19:45 UT.
And
Lunar libration favours a view of the Moon’s Mare Orientale this morning.
How to see them:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Saturday 11 November
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is beautifully presented early evening, appearing on the planet’s centre line at 20:45 UT.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Sunday 12 November
The Moon is completely out of the way at present, leaving the skies good and dark.
Northern Taurid meteor shower peak (ZHR 5).
How to see it:
- Naked eye: Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
Monday 13 November
Uranus reaches opposition when it can be seen shining at mag. 5.6 in the night sky tonight amongst the stars of Aries.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Tuesday 14 November
Europa and its shadow transit Jupiter between 16:35 and 19:28 UT. Callisto drifts south of Jupiter as this is happening.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Friday 17 November
Ganymede and its shadow transit Jupiter’s southern polar region between 20:43 and 23:45 UT.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Saturday 18 November
The Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak, with maximum activity expected this morning under favourable conditions (ZHR 15).
How to see it:
- Naked eye: Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Monday 20 November
The first quarter Moon sits 3.6° south-southeast of mag. 0.7 Saturn in the night sky tonight.
How to see it:
- Naked eye: Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Tuesday 21 November
The large crater Plato is nicely presented on this evening’s 67%-lit waxing gibbous Moon.
How to see it:
- Small/medium scope: Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Friday 24 November
Ganymede and its shadow transit Jupiter’s southern polar region between 23:58 UT tonight and 03:50 UT on 25 November.
Saturday 25 November
This evening the almost full Moon is located close to mag. –2.7 Jupiter.
How to see it:
- Naked eye: Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
- Photo opp: Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR