What's in the Sky November 2025

Welcome to the November edition of our observing guide! Wondering what planets you can see tonight? The southern sky has plenty to offer, from Jupiter and Saturn to Uranus and Neptune. Whether you’re checking what’s in the sky tonight or planning a telescope session, you’ll also be able to enjoy galaxies, bright star clusters, and other stunning celestial sights. There’s something for every observer, whether you’re using binoculars, a small telescope, or a smart scope.

JUPITER

The big news this month is that Jupiter is starting to rise at the end of the night this month.

You’ll still need to be up late, (around 1am and later), though by Christmas it’ll be better positioned in the sky for observing, but if you can’t wait till then, you’ll be able to catch Jupiter starting this month.

One of our favourite things about observing the Jupiter is that it’s not alone, as you’ve also got it’s 4 Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. While you won’t be able to see detail on the surface of these 4 moons, each day you observe Jupiter you’ll see them in a different orientation as they dance around the planet.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for there to be occasions where the moons will appear cross the disk of Jupiter, called a transit, or even cast shadows on its surface!

Simulated image of Jupiter's double shadow transit event on the 2nd of November. Credit: Stellarium

We’ve put below some of the dates where you’ll be able to see this phenomena through your telescope below (all times are Sydney/Melbourne time AEDT):

Jupiter is visible between 1am all the way until sunrise this month, and technically is at it's highest in the sky right before sunrise, so if you’re keen to check out our Solar System’s biggest planet, you’re up for some late nights (or early mornings). We still say it’s worth it.

SATURN

Saturn is perfectly situated in the sky for observing this month. It’s nice and high early in the night, making it a great target to observe right when it gets dark. While observing, you might find yourself wondering where Saturn’s famous rings went! This is because they’re actually perfectly edge on this month, meaning they all but disappear from our view. This is a rare phenomenon to observe, only occurring every 14-15 years.

And for those wondering, yes fear not, Saturn’s rings will be back, from December onwards they’ll start to slowly open up again, becoming more and more visible.

Saturn is visible from sunset until midnight this month, but is best observed right after sunset, when it’s really high in the sky.

URANUS

Uranus is in opposition this month! We’ve talked about what an opposition event is in other months, but for those who haven’t been watching, it’s when a planet reaches it’s closest distance to Earth! Now for a planet as far out as Uranus, it won’t make a world shattering difference, but it still means it’s the best opportunity this year to observe the planet, as it’ll be just around 10% larger, and a little brighter too.

With low magnification, Uranus will appear as a small bluish grey point of light, but with a high magnification and a telescope 6” and up in size, that blue-grey point of light will turn into a tiny blue-grey disk.

Not the most dramatic object to observe, but still, a great opportunity to tick one of the 8 planets off the list.

Uranus is visible in the sky between 8:30pm until 3am, but is best observe when it’s at it’s highest at around midnight.

NEPTUNE

We’d be remiss not to also mention Neptune this month. Like we’ve mentioned in previous editions, there isn’t a whole lot to observe, but if you’re already looking at Saturn, Neptune is a short hop away.

To observe the furthest planet in our solar system, you’ll be able to find it from sunset until midnight, but the best time to observe it is around 8:30 pm, right after Saturn.

DEEP SKY OBJECTS:

If you'd like to go further than the Solar system this month, we've got loads of objects for you to observe, including some of the southern hemisphere's very best objects.

47 TUC (NGC 104)

Image credit: ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey.
Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

If you only observe one deepsky object this month, make sure it’s 47 Tucanae, the 2^nd globular cluster in the night sky.

Globular clusters are huge, tightly packed groups of stars, often containing hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars all bound together by gravity. They’re usually spherical, very old, and orbit the outskirts of our galaxy, appearing in telescopes as dazzling, sparkling balls of stars.

And Brighter than all other globulars bar Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae might also be the prettiest. It’s got an incredible depth and texture to it, giving it an almost 3d-like quality through a telescope, making it an object with no peers in the sky.

47 Tucanae is bright enough that even in light polluted city skies, you’ll still get great views of it, but of course the darker the skies, the better your view gets.

You’ll find 47 Tucanae in the constellation Tucana, and It’s visible from 9pm all the way until 2am.  To see the most detail, we recommend you observe between the 10^th and the 20^th, when The Moon won’t be in the sky.

THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD/SMC

Image Credit: ESO/VISTA VMC

Right next to 47 Tucanae, is of course the SMC, which we talked about at great lengths last month. This month it’s still just as visible, and worth checking out still. Check out last months guide/video for more information on one of the the Southern Hemisphere’s most unique objects.

Just like 47 Tucanae, the SMC is visible from 9pm until 2am, and we really suggest waiting until between the 10^th and the 20^th, when the Moon isn’t visible, as the SMC is an object that really get’s washed out by the Moon. This is also an object that needs darker skies, so if your visually observing this one, we’d skip it, unless you’ve got a smart telescope, in which case, it’s a great target.

THE SCULPTOR GALAXY (NGC 253)

Image credit: ESO/INAF-VST
Acknowledgement: A. Grado/L. Limatola/INAF-Capodimonte Observatory

NGC 253, also known as the Sculptor Galaxy, is one of the brightest galaxies in the southern hemisphere, and is a great target for telescopes in darker skies, and perfect for Smart Telescopes wherever you are.

The Sculptor Galaxy is actually a spiral galaxy, much like our own, though given it’s fairly shallow apparent angle to us, it can be hard to tell. It’s also a starburst galaxy, meaning it’s forming stars at an unusually high rate.

Because it’s quite bright for a galaxy, as well as being edge on, it presents well in most telescopes, just make sure you have skies dark enough to observe it.

The Sculptor galaxy is also a great target for astrophotography, as it’s got tons of detail that can be brought out with long exposures. And also like we mentioned, it’s great for smart telescopes as well.

The Sculptor Galaxy can be found in wouldn’t you guess, the constellation Sculptor. It’s best observed between 8:30 pm and 1am, and like the rest of the objects on this list, we’d suggest waiting until the Moon isn’t in the sky to observe it.

THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY (M31)

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)

Speaking of Spiral galaxies, we thought we’d also mention that this month is the best to observe the closest one to us, the famous Andromeda Galaxy.

Now before we continue, a word of warning, the Andromeda Galaxy will be very low in the sky, as it’s primarily a Northern Hemisphere object, but that won’t stop us here down south from trying!

You’ll need a really clear Northern horizon, and if your further south than Sydney, I’d probably give this one a skip (sorry Melbourne). You’ll also need very dark skies.

So if you’ve ticked off everything above, then the Andromeda Galaxy is actually a naked eye object, and even better with Binoculars.

You can find the Andromeda Galaxy just a few degrees above the horizon looking north, and it’s in wouldn’t you know, in the constellation Andromeda. Look for it between 9-11pm, and again, on days with no moon.

CONCLUSION

Does that answer what planets can I see tonight, or curious what’s visible in the night sky? November brings a mix of planets, bright clusters, and distant galaxies perfect for observing. Grab your telescope, binoculars, or smart scope, and enjoy a night under the stars, the southern sky has plenty of wonders waiting to be discovered.