SkyNotes-Nov2025
| November 1st | sunrise 7:30 am GMT | sunset 4:29 pm GMT |
| November 15th | sunrise 7:51 am GMT | sunset 4:01 pm GMT |
| November 30th | sunrise 8:20 am GMT | sunset 3:40 pm GMT |
In mid-November, the sky is reasonably dark between 5.30 pm and 6.30 am GMT.
The Sun lies in the constellation of Libra, the Scales, for the first part of November, moving into Scorpius on Sunday 23rd and then into Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, on Saturday 29th.
The sunrise, sunset and twilight times given here are for Dundee but generally apply across central Scotland.
The Moon is at broad waxing gibbous phase at the start of November. On the evening of Saturday 1st, the Moon lies out to the right of Saturn; on the following evening, Sunday 2nd, it will appear to the planet’s upper left.
Full Moon falls on the evening of Wednesday November 5th; the fully-illuminated Moon rises in the north-east before sunset, shines high in the south at midnight and sets again in the north-west over almost two hours after sunrise the following morning. Throughout the night the Moon will appear to the right of the Pleiades, though binoculars may be required to see the star cluster in the bright moonlight.
A few nights later, on Sunday 9th, the waning gibbous Moon lies among the stars of Gemini, to the upper right of the bright planet Jupiter.
Last Quarter is on the morning of Wednesday November 12th; the half Moon rises in the north-east late in the evening of Tuesday 11th and shines high in the south at dawn. In the early hours of the following morning, Thursday 13th, the broad waning crescent will sit just to the left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation of Leo, the Lion.
The narrowing crescent Moon may then be followed into the brightening dawn sky up until Monday 17th.
New Moon is on the morning of Thursday November 20th, and the young crescent Moon should become visible very low above the south-west horizon from Monday 24th onwards.
The Moon is at First Quarter on Friday November 28th, when the half-illuminated Moon appears low in the south as the sky grows dark. On the following evening, Saturday 29th, the Moon will appear directly above the planet Saturn.
Mercury is in the evening sky for the first part of November, but is setting very soon after the Sun and won’t be visible in the bright twilight. It then passes between the Earth and the Sun at inferior conjunction on November 20th, and moves into the morning sky. By the end of the month it will appear very low above the south-east horizon at dawn, to the upper right of Venus.
Venus can be spotted very low in south-east shortly before sunrise at the start of November, shining at magnitude -3.9. It gradually sinks lower each morning, and by the end of the month is rising less than an hour before the Sun and will be more difficult to find in the bright dawn sky.
Mars is setting less than 30 minutes after the Sun this month and won’t be visible.
Jupiter rises in the north-east at 2045 UT at the start of November and shortly before 1900 UT by the month’s end. It shines brightly at magnitude -2.4 among the stars of Gemini, to the lower right of Castor and Pollux , and is high in the south in the early hours of the morning.
Saturn is in the south-east as the sky grows dark, at magnitude -0.9. It reaches its highest in the south by mid-evening, when it is at an altitude of around 30o. By the end of the month it will be setting shortly before midnight.
Uranus is at opposition on November 21st, and will be at its brightest this month. It can easily be found in binoculars, appearing as a faint ‘star’ in the western part of the constellation of Taurus, to the lower right of the Pleiades. The finder chart on the right is an enlarged section of the all-sky map below, and shows stars to around the same brightness as Uranus. If followed over the course of the month, the planet’s slowly changing position against the background stars will be noticed as it moves from east to west across the sky (the position of Uranus on the chart is shown for mid-month).
Neptune lies in southern Pisces close to the border with Aquarius, about 4o to upper left of Saturn. At magnitude 7.8 it can be seen in binoculars.
Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon remains an easy binocular object in early November at around magnitude 4; however it is now travelling southwards and will be difficult to spot from Scottish latitudes by about the middle of the month. The finder chart which was included in last month’s Sky Notes is reproduced below, showing the position of the comet until November 7th.
Bright, slow meteors from the Taurid shower may be seen in early November; the Southern branch of the shower peaks on November 5th, with a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of 5-10. A week later on November 12th the Northern branch also reaches maximum, with a similar ZHR. The radiants of both branches of the shower lie close to the Pleiades in Taurus. This year however there will be serious interference from moonlight, with Full Moon falling on the 5th and Last Quarter on the 12th .
Conditions are better for the Leonids, which peak on November 17th under near moonless skies. With a radiant in the Sickle of Leo, this shower is best observed in the early hours of the morning when rates of 7-8 meteors an hour may be seen.
The ‘Summer Triangle’ of Deneb, Vega and Altair is now sinking lower in the west, with the distinctive little pattern of Delphinus the Dolphin just to the left. The faint zodiacal constellation of Aquarius the Water Carrier is low in the south-west; the planet Saturn is currently shining as an additional yellow ’star’ in eastern Aquarius.
The great Square of Pegasus the Winged Horse stands high in the south. The two stars on the right-hand side of the Square lead the way down to Fomalhaut which barely clears the horizon; this is the most southerly of the first-magnitude stars visible from Scotland. The stars of Andromeda run off from the top left corner of the Square, towards the bright stars of the hero Perseus. Above them are Cassiopeia and Cepheus, Andromeda’s mythological parents.
Below Andromeda are two small constellations – Triangulum the Triangle and the zodiacal group Aries, the Ram. Low in the south is the very large – but faint – pattern of Cetus, the whale. This winter Jupiter lies in southern Aries, just above the tail of Cetus.
Round in the east the winter constellations are becoming prominent. The V-shaped head of Taurus the Bull – along with the little cluster of the Pleiades or Seven Sisters – and Auriga the Charioteer are well up, while Gemini the Twins is climbing higher in the north-east. This winter Jupiter lies in Gemini, to the lower right of Castor and Pollux. Orion the Hunter has only partly cleared the eastern horizon, but his three Belt stars along with bright Betelgeuse and Rigel should be easy to spot.
Centred on the Pole Star are the circumpolar stars, which remain above the horizon all night long, all year round. The most famous of these are probably the seven stars that make up the pattern of the Plough or Big Dipper, two of which point the way to the Pole Star. On the opposite side of the Pole from the Plough is the distinctive ‘W’ shape of Cassiopeia along with her mythological husband Cepheus.
Phil Rourke. Phil used an ED80 telescope and an ASI294 one shot colour camera to capture the image, which combines 120 exposures of 2 minutes each – a total of four hours of imaging.
THE SKY AT 9 PM GMT IN MID-NOVEMBER
The map above shows the night sky as it will appear from central Scotland at the time and date shown. The point in the sky directly overhead is at the centre of the map; the outer circle is the horizon with the cardinal compass points in the direction shown.
The map shows the brighter stars that are visible to the unaided eye. Some of the more distinctive constellations are outlined.