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Subj: The Sky This Week from November 21 to 28:
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The Sky This Week from November 21 to 28: Uranus at opposition
An ice giant remains visible all night as Mercury and Venus meet and Saturn stands still in the sky this week.
| Published: November 21, 2025
Friday, November 21
The solar system's seventh planet, the ice giant Uranus, reaches opposition this morning at 7 A.M. EST among the stars of Taurus the Bull. Now is the best time to view the planet, which rises as the Sun sets and remains visible all night long. Plus, Uranus is located not far from the easy-to-find Pleiades cluster (M45), offering a great steppingstone to the faint magnitude 5.6 planet, which is best seen with binoculars or a telescope.
A few hours after sunset, around 8 P.M. local time, Uranus has reached an altitude of nearly 40ø high in the eastern sky. Look first for the Pleiades, a cluster of several bright, blue-white stars that forms the shape of a tiny dipper. From this gorgeous group of stars, slide your view about 4.3ø south - to the lower right on the sky. In your binoculars or telescope eyepiece, look for a pair of two 6th-magnitude stars standing side by side: 13 and 14 Tauri. Uranus also stands in line with these stars, about 0.9ø east of 14 Tau, which is the slightly fainter, easternmost star in the pair. Uranus and 13 Tau are roughly the same magnitude, so look for two brighter lights sandwiching a slightly fainter point between them. Uranus is the object farthest east.
The ice giant's disk appears 4" wide, thanks to its vast distance from Earth. It may show off a grayish or bluish tint to the eye.
Sunrise: 6:52 A.M.
Sunset: 4:39 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:28 A.M.
Moonset: 5:16 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (3%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40ø N 90ø W. The Moon's illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
Sunrise: 6:52 A.M.
Sunset: 4:39 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:28 A.M.
Moonset: 5:16 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (3%)
Saturday, November 22
Titan transits the face of Saturn this evening, already crossing the disk as darkness falls.
Target Saturn as soon as you're able; it's the brightest light in the southeastern sky, about 40ø high an hour after sunset. Titan appears midway across the disk not long after 5 P.M. EST, visible only to observers on the U.S. East Coast, though the sky may still be bright. An hour later, the sky is just starting to darken for the Midwest, with Titan more than halfway along its trip toward the western limb.
By 7 P.M. EST the planet should be easily visible from the eastern half of the country, with darkness starting to fall in the Mountain time zone. Titan is still visible on the disk, but will reach the limb and begin to leave around 7:50 P.M. EST. The large moon takes some 16 minutes to fully slip away from the disk.
Also visible are some of Saturn's smaller moons: Rhea, Tethys, and Dione, all around 10th magnitude. Rhea is hidden behind Saturn early in the evening, but emerges from behind the eastern limb around 5:40 P.M. EST. After that, it appears east of Saturn, moving away from the planet as the hours pass. Farther east is Dione, while Tethys lies to Saturn's west.
Dione is moving west even as Rhea is moving east. Around 9:45 P.M. EST, the two moons pass each other, appearing to briefly merge into one for visual observers.
Sunrise: 6:53 A.M.
Sunset: 4:38 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:24 A.M.
Moonset: 6:06 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (8%)
Sunday, November 23
Andromeda the Princess is high in the evening sky after dark. Best known for the eponymous Andromeda Galaxy (M31), there is so much more to see in this royal domain, including the lovely edge-on spiral we're targeting tonight: the Silver Sliver Galaxy (NGC 891).
Wait until after moonset, then pull out your telescope and point east. Look for Almach (Gamma [?] Andromedae), shining at magnitude 2.1. The Silver Sliver is just 3.5ø east of this star. Floating in a rich field of Milky Way Stars, NGC 891 glows at magnitude 9.9. That puts it within the range of small telescopes, though larger apertures will, as ever, reveal more detail. (For example, scopes 10 inches or larger should show the dark dust lane neatly bisecting the galaxy's plane.)
True to its name, the Silver Sliver is much longer than it is wide, as we're viewing its spiral disk edge-on. Inclined just 1.4ø to our line of sight, it appears some 13' long and only 3' wide.
Sunrise: 6:55 A.M.
Sunset: 4:38 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:13 A.M.
Moonset: 7:03 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (13%)
Monday, November 24
Venus and Mercury stand separated by 1.5ø in the early-morning sky, visible in the east about half an hour before the Sun rises. The catch is that while bright magnitude -3.9 Venus is readily spotted with the naked eye, Mercury is only magnitude 2.9 and will need binoculars to spot.
This morning, Mercury is located just to the lower left of Venus. Above them are Alpha (?) and Beta (?) Librae, fading quickly in the growing twilight. The two planets will rise as sunrise approaches, but the sky will also brighten accordingly.
If you have a telescope, you can view the planets' disks as well. Mercury shows off a 9"-wide disk, of which only a thin crescent is illuminated, just 7 percent lit. Venus' disk is only a little larger - 10" - but shows the opposite phase, a gibbous that is nearly fully illuminated at 98 percent lit.
Make sure to put away any optics at least several minutes before sunrise from your location, which may differ from the time given below.
Mercury will pass 1.1ø north of Venus at midnight EST tonight. If you step outside tomorrow morning (the 25th) at the same time (30 minutes before sunrise), Mercury will stand 1.4ø to Venus' upper left and appear slightly brighter, at magnitude 2.1.
Sunrise: 6:56 A.M.
Sunset: 4:37 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:55 A.M.
Moonset: 8:05 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (21%)
Tuesday, November 25
The Moon passes 0.4ø north of Pluto at 9 A.M. EST, though neither is visible at that time.
By evening, our satellite is a nearly six-day-old crescent, sinking slowly in the southwest after dark. It's located in western Capricornus. Sunrise is slowly making its way across the lunar landscape, lighting up Lacus Mortis, the Lake of Death, just northeast of Mare Serenitatis, whose eastern portion is now illuminated.
Lacus Mortis has a diameter of nearly 100 miles (160 kilometers) and has a roughly hexagonal shape. Although it began as a crater, the lunar surface beneath it fractured and filled with lava, which created its smooth, dark floor. That floor still holds signs of geologic activity, including a rille, or channel, in its southwestern region that formed as the ground there pulled apart.
Located within the Lake is the prominent bowl-shaped crater Burg, which stretches about 25 miles (40 km) across. Note its distinct central peak and slumped outer walls.
Sunrise: 6:57 A.M.
Sunset: 4:37 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:30 A.M.
Moonset: 9:11 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (29%)
Wednesday, November 26
Jupiter passes 7ø south of Pollux at 2 A.M. EST. By 9 P.M. local time this evening, the giant planet stands about 10ø above the eastern horizon, visible to the lower right of Gemini's twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Of those stars, Castor is higher and appears slightly bluer, while Pollux has more of an orange-yellow hue and hangs below it.
Through a telescope, Jupiter's disk stretches 44" wide, offering visible details including alternating dark and light belts of clouds. Later tonight, the Great Red Spot will rotate onto the disk, reaching roughly midway across around 1 A.M. EST on the 27th (late on the 26th for the western half of the U.S.).
Jupiter's four Galilean moons are stretched out in a line, all west of the planet. Closest is Io, followed by Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. As the hours pass, Io approaches Jupiter's western edge, winking out of visibility around 1:15 A.M. EST (again, early on the 27th for the Eastern and Central time zones). At this time, the moon is still some 20" from the planet's limb, but disappears because it has passed into Jupiter's long, dark shadow, which stretches far to the west. Unseen, Io passes behind the planet's disk proper about an hour later.
If you continue observing into the early-morning hours of Thursday, you can watch Io reappear at Jupiter's eastern limb around 4:30 A.M. EST on the 27th.
Sunrise: 6:58 A.M.
Sunset: 4:37 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:00 P.M.
Moonset: 10:17 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (39%)
Thursday, November 27
Dwarf planet 1 Ceres stands stationary at 6 P.M. EST in the constellation Cetus the Whale. Previously moving westward, or retrograde, after today the dwarf planet will now turn and begin moving prograde (eastward) against the background stars.
Eighth-magnitude Ceres is visible as soon as it's dark, floating above the southeastern horizon. Tonight it lies near 3rd-magnitude Iota (?) Ceti, just 2ø southeast of this star. You can scan the sky with either binoculars or a telescope, either should pick up Ceres' glow. Use the chart above to aid you.
Also within Cetus the Whale is the "wonderful" variable star Mira (Omicron [?] Ceti). A known long-period variable star, Mira's brightness changes over the course of nearly a year, swinging from 2nd to 10th magnitude, in and out of visible range. According to the American Association of Variable Star Observers, Mira is currently around mid-8th magnitude, roughly the same brightness as Ceres. It will also require binoculars or a telescope to view - see if you can find it tonight, far east of Ceres' position and about 6ø southwest of 4th-magnitude Delta (?) Ceti.
Sunrise: 6:59 A.M.
Sunset: 4:36 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:25 P.M.
Moonset: 11:25 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (49%)
Friday, November 28
First Quarter Moon occurs this morning at 1:59 A.M. EST. At this phase, the Moon is not visible in the morning, but rises in the afternoon and remains in the sky all evening, setting around local midnight.
Saturn comes to a stationary point in our sky tonight at 8 P.M. EST in the constellation Aquarius. At 8 P.M. local time, the ringed planet is some 40ø high in the south, shining at magnitude 0.9. You can't miss it, as it's the brightest point of light in this region of the sky, hanging below the Circlet asterism of Pisces the Fish and far to the upper left of magnitude 1.2 Fomalhaut, the brightest star in this part of the sky. The waxing Moon is just to Saturn's lower right, also in Aquarius this evening.
Through a telescope, Saturn's disk spans 18", while its rings stretch 41" along their long axis. The ring system is tilted just 0.4ø to our line of sight, so the rings appear virtually edge-on. If you're observing at 8 P.M. EST, 10th-magnitude Rhea, Tethys, and Dione are visible near the planet. Rhea is alone to the east, while Dione is slightly closer than Tethys to the west. Titan, the brightest moon, is mid-8th magnitude and now sits far west of the planet after transiting earlier this week; it is located some 2' from the planet's center.
The light of the nearby Moon will likely make it difficult to spot any of Saturn's other, smaller moons, as they are fainter than 10th magnitude.
Sunrise: 7:00 A.M.
Sunset: 4:36 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:49 P.M.
Moonset: -
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (59%)
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