Planets before dawn, November 2026

15 nights to go

14 November 2026 to 24 November 2026 · Before dawn

The Moon that night: 29% lit. If the sky is clear.

In the mornings of mid-November 2026, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are up before sunrise, and Mercury joins them very low in the east from about 16 to 25 November. Around 15 November, Mars and Jupiter are about one finger-width apart, high in the south-east.

Early in the morning in November, four planets are in the sky. The two high up are very close together. Wake up early with a grown-up and look.

Planets do not twinkle much, and they move a little against the stars every night. In mid-November, Mars passes right by Jupiter: on about 15 November they are only about a finger-width apart. Venus is low in the east and Mercury lower still.

Mars and Jupiter come within about 1.2° on 15–16 November 2026 (astronomy-engine, geocentric), though they are hundreds of millions of kilometers apart. Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on 20 November, its best morning showing of the season, but it stays under about ten degrees high from the United States.

Two bright points close together in a twilight sky above a lake. — Jupiter and Saturn a tenth of a degree apart above Jordan Lake, North Carolina, 21 December 2020: two planets close together, as Mars and Jupiter are in November 2026. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls (NASA Image and Video Library, public domain).

Where to look

South-east and east, about 45 minutes before sunrise. Jupiter and Mars are six fists up; Venus is one or two fists up in the east-south-east; Mercury just above the horizon.

What to do

Set an alarm for about 45 minutes before sunrise and look south-east.
Find Jupiter first: the brightest point high up. The orange dot next to it is Mars.
Then look low in the east for Venus, and lower still, near the horizon, for Mercury.

More sky events

“If it's cloudy, don't worry. The planets will still be there tomorrow night.”