Check the November 2026 Night Sky Schedule Date by Date

All times below are Korea time from KASI's November table, checked on October 17.

What is on the calendar for November?

Checked 2026-10-17; source: KASI monthly astronomical events. The NASA and IMO labels next to each ZHR are copied as written in the table.

The table does not say whether each object is above the horizon in Korea at the time of a close approach. For approaches listed at night, such as Venus and Spica, check the altitude in an astronomy app before heading out.

When is the moonlight weakest?

To see meteor showers or faint clusters, pick a time after moonset or before moonrise. November is centered on the new Moon of the 9th, so moonlight is less of a worry.

• Before dawn on November 6, the waning crescent rises at 03:47, almost the same time as the Southern Taurid peak at 03:45. The Moon is very thin, so it does little harm.
• Before dawn on November 13, the Moon has set at 19:07 on the 12th, so there is no Moon in the sky around the 03:02 peak.
• On the night of November 17, the first-quarter Moon sets at 00:01 on the 18th. For the Leonids, the hours after that are dark.
• Around the full Moon on November 24, the Moon is up all night, which is poor for meteor showers.

These are the two dates to remember: before dawn on the 13th and on the 18th.

How much should you expect from the Leonids?

KASI's table gives a ZHR of 15, and NASA says to expect fewer than 3 per hour under dark skies. NASA lists the active period as November 6 to 30 and the peak night as November 16 to 17.

Because the two sources use different bases, their peak dates differ by a day. Pick whichever of the nights of the 16th and 17th looks clearer. Hour-by-hour moonset times are in the separate Leonids post.

When should you look for Mercury and Venus?

Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 20° at 09:00 on November 21. Western elongation is when Mercury rises before the Sun and shows up in the eastern sky before dawn. Sunrise on the 21st is at 07:18, so look before then from a spot with an open eastern horizon.

Venus passes its stationary point (west to east) at 00:00 on November 12, and the table lists "Venus at greatest illuminated area" at 23:00 on the 29th. The table does not give the time Venus rises that day, so check when and where it rises in an astronomy app first.

Which dates are easiest for the naked eye?

Dates when the Moon passes a star are the easiest. At 8:18 p.m. on November 24, the Moon comes within 0.9° of the Pleiades. It is just before full Moon and very bright, so the cluster's small stars show up better through binoculars.

At 11:35 p.m. on November 30, the Moon comes within 1.1° of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. The Moon rises at 23:29 that night, so at the time of the approach it sits just above the eastern horizon.

What if the weather is bad?

According to NASA, the Leonids stay active until November 30. If it is cloudy around the peak, try before dawn on the 19th and 20th. The Moon sets at 01:03 and 02:05 respectively, so the sky is dark after that. After the full Moon on the 24th, the Moon stays up until dawn and meteors become hard to see. Before you set out, check the Korea Meteorological Administration cloud forecast and look up that day's moonset time in KASI's table once more.