What two planets can you see tonight

The eclipse will peak at a. You can check out our guide to lunar eclipses for more information.. If you're eager to see the next total eclipse, when the moon turns red, the "blood moon," will occur May , and it will be visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter howellspace. Follow us on Twitter Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more!

And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space. Elizabeth Howell is a contributing writer for Space. She is the author or co-author of several books on space exploration. Elizabeth holds a Ph. She also holds a bachelor of journalism degree from Carleton University in Canada, where she began her space-writing career in From November 2 to 20, the orbital motion of the dwarf planet Ceres red path with labelled dates:time will carry it directly through the Hyades, the large open star cluster that forms the V-shaped face of Taurus, the bull.

Magnitude 6. In the southwestern sky after sunset on Sunday, November 7, the young crescent moon will shine several finger widths to the lower right or 5 degrees to the celestial west of the very bright planet Venus - close enough for them to share the field of view in binoculars green circle. The duo will set at about 7 p. Hours later, in midday on November 8, observers in parts of northeastern Asia and the western Aleutian Islands can see the moon occult Venus - while surrounding regions will see the moon pass very close to the planet.

For this conjunction Mars will appear one-tenth as bright as Mercury. In mid-northern latitudes, the best viewing time will be after about 6 a. Tropical latitude observers will see the two planets higher and in a darker sky.

The duo will be close enough to appear together in the field of view of a low-magnification backyard telescope from Tuesday to Thursday, and will be binoculars-close green circle from November 5 to 15 — but be sure to turn your optical aids away from the eastern horizon well before the sun rises.

Or wait until Saturn is visible with your unaided eyes, after about p. Much brighter and whiter Jupiter will be shining off to their upper left all evening. When the moon completes the first quarter of its journey around Earth on Thursday, November 11 at a. EST or GMT, its 90 degree angle from the sun will cause us to see the moon exactly half-illuminated - on its eastern side. At first quarter, the moon always rises around mid-day and sets around midnight, so it is also visible in the afternoon daytime sky.

The evenings around first quarter are the best ones for viewing the lunar terrain while it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary separating its lit and dark hemispheres. Somewhat fainter and creamy-colored Saturn will become visible off to their right once the sky darkens more.

The moon will bid adieu to the bright planets after tonight, until it visits them again on December Several times a year, for a few hours near its first quarter phase, features on the moon called the Lunar X and Lunar V become visible in strong binoculars and backyard telescopes. On Thursday, November 11 the lunar letters are predicted to start developing at around 5 p. Meteors from the Northern Taurids shower, which appear worldwide from October 13 to December 2 annually, will reach a maximum rate of about 5 per hour on Friday, November The best viewing time will occur at around 1 a.

Keep an eye out for Northern Taurids on Thursday evening, too. On Monday night, November 15, the terminator on the waxing gibbous moon will fall west of Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows. Sinus Iridum is almost craterless, but hosts a set of northeast-oriented wrinkle ridges that are revealed at this phase. In the eastern sky after dusk on Wednesday night, November 17, the very bright, nearly-full moon will shine two thumb widths to the lower left or 2.

The best viewing time for Leonids will be Thursday morning before dawn, when the radiant in Leo will be high in the eastern sky — but you can watch for occasional Leonids on Wednesday evening, too.

Unfortunately, a full moon on the peak night will severely reduce the number of meteors seen. The moon will reach its full phase, directly opposite the sun in the western pre-dawn sky, at a. At maximum eclipse, at a. The moon will first contact the umbra at a. You should notice a slight darkening of the moon while it traverses the zone encircling the umbra, both after a. The entire eclipse will be visible from North America and nearly all of the Pacific Ocean.

In the constellation of Perseus, the star Algol, also designated Beta Persei, represents the glowing eye of Medusa from Greek mythology. It is among the most accessible variable stars for skywatchers. During a ten-hour period that repeats every 2 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes, Algol dims and re-brightens noticeably while a companion star orbiting nearly edge-on to Earth crosses in front of the much brighter main star, reducing the total light output we perceive. Algol normally shines at magnitude 2.

On Saturday, November 20 at p. Five hours later the star will shine at full intensity from a perch overhead in the western sky. When the waning gibbous moon rises among the stars of eastern Taurus after 6 p. Look for the trio sitting low in the east-southeastern sky before sunrise, particularly around 6 a. Mars and the two stars will be telescope-close on Sunday and Tuesday, too — with the small, 3.

A few minutes before 7 p. The trio will cross for 2. This event will begin during evening twilight on the west coast. In late November, the Andromeda Galaxy is positioned very high in the southeastern sky during evening. This large spiral galaxy, also designated Messier 31 and NGC , is 2. Under dark skies, M31 can be seen with unaided eyes as a faint smudge located 1.

Binoculars green circle will reveal the galaxy very well. It is possible to see the 5 planets closest to Earth with the naked eye. They look like very bright stars. They appear to move across the stars at night. Mercury is the hardest to spot because it is never very far from the Sun.

If you want to see Uranus or Neptune you need to use a telescope. The 8 planets of our Solar System all orbit the Sun at different speeds. This means we see the planets at different times each year.