November 2025

Hello and welcome to UT Skywatch!

The Leonid meteor shower will peak on the night of the 16th and morning of the 17th but mostly predawn of the 17th. The moon will not be a problem so find a dark location, dress appropriately, lie on the ground and watch as the fly overhead. There might be as many as 20 per hour but there can always be a surprise so be sure to look.

Saturn still rules the early evening sky in the Southwest this month and is setting about 2:30 a.m. by mid-month. Saturn is joined by a waxing gibbous moon on the 1st and again on the 29th.

Jupiter rises about 11:30 by mid-month and is joined by a bright waning gibbous moon on the 9th. See if you can spot any of the Galilean Moons with a pair of binoculars. It takes a little persistence.

Venus is moving toward the sun and rises about 6:40 a.m. so it will be difficult to track it down. An extremely thin waning crescent moon joins Venus on the 18th. Venus and Mercury are in conjunction on the 25th but difficult to see at best.

The moon phases for this month are full on the 5th, last quarter on the 12th, new on the 20th and first quarter on the 28th.

Don’t forget to turn your clocks back 1 hour on the evening of the 1st because Daylight Saving Times goes off on the 2nd. Enjoy that extra hour.