Four planets align in rare November 2026 pre-dawn parade

Best viewing times and safety precautions

Observers should view the alignment 45 to 60 minutes before sunrise. Sky at Night Magazine provides identical advice for timing and observation.

Viewers need a dark site away from light pollution with a clear view of the eastern horizon and should let their eyes adjust for 20 minutes. Observers must avoid staring directly at the eastern horizon to prevent accidental sun glare or exposure.

A clear view remains necessary to spot the lower planets, Mercury and Venus. The viewing interval requires Mercury to be at least 5° above the horizon, while the other three planets must reach at least 10°. The Sun must remain below -6° for visibility.

The best viewing time occurs when the Sun sits 8° below the horizon, rounded to the nearest five minutes. On 20 November 2026, the parade is best viewed at 05:55 PST in Los Angeles, 06:10 EST in New York, 06:35 GMT in London, and 05:45 JST in Tokyo.

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Identifying Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter

Mercury and Venus reside in the constellation Virgo, while Mars and Jupiter occupy the constellation Leo.

Mercury is the lowest of the four planets and remains the most difficult to spot. Spotting Mercury requires a clear, flat eastern or southeastern horizon.

Venus appears much brighter and higher than Mercury, sitting above and to the right of the smallest planet. Venus may appear near Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.

Jupiter and Mars appear higher in the sky and cluster together to resemble a bright double star. Mars sits higher than Jupiter in the sky.

Optimal dates for planetary observation

November 14 provides a compact horizontal arrangement of the four planets. This alignment remains visible across the Northern Hemisphere through November 22.

Observers should watch between November 20 and 22 to identify all four planets. Mercury appears higher and brighter during this window, offering better viewing conditions than on November 14.

Mars-Jupiter conjunction and other planetary milestones

Mars and Jupiter enter a conjunction on November 15–16. The two planets appear about 1.2 degrees apart, according to starlust.org.

Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on November 20, appearing 19.6 degrees from the sun.

Mars, Jupiter, and Regulus form a nearly isosceles triangle before dawn on November 22.

Uranus reaches opposition on November 25 at 5 p.m. CST, or 6 p.m. EST. It appears at its brightest of the year at +5.6 magnitude. The planet rises in the east at sunset, remains visible all night, and sits in the Taurus constellation near the Pleiades, though observers need binoculars to see it properly.

It shines about 20 times brighter than Sirius and remains visible to the naked eye. Observers should choose a low-light-pollution site with an unobstructed eastern horizon, though binoculars or a telescope will enhance the view.

Supermoons and meteor showers in late November

A full Moon, the first of four consecutive supermoons, will rise on November 24. Known as the Beaver Moon, it reaches peak illumination at 9:53 a.m. EST that day. The Moon will appear full on the night of November 24 and the following evenings.

On November 29, the Moon will be in its third-quarter phase near the eastern horizon with Jupiter, Mars, and the star Regulus. By November 30, the Moon will form an even tighter grouping with those planets and the star, serving as a guide for observers.

The Orion constellation will also appear prominently in the eastern sky this November. It sits opposite the Sun and features the distinct three-star belt of Alnilam, Mintaka, and Alnitak, along with the red star Betelgeuse.

Starlust.org reports that the Leonid meteor shower remains active from November 6 through November 30, with a peak occurring around November 17–18. NASA clarified that these meteors are separate from the ongoing Taurid meteor showers.

The Southern Taurids peaked on November 4–5, with an additional display on November 11–12.

Photography and equipment recommendations

Mercury may prove difficult to photograph against the brightening dawn light.

For more detail, a 70–100 mm refractor telescope at 50–100× magnification allows viewers to see the phase of Venus as well as the cloud belts and moons of Jupiter.

Observers should never point binoculars at the Sun or use them after sunrise.

Global visibility and orbital mechanics

Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are visible to the naked eye throughout November 2026.

The event is strictly a morning phenomenon and cannot be seen after sunset.

In Wales, observers will see Mercury and Venus in Virgo, while Mars and Jupiter will appear in Leo.

While Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible in the night sky during November, Saturn and Neptune appear in the evening rather than the morning. Newsbeep.com and Skyatnightmagazine.com reported that because Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are also visible in the morning, it is possible to see all seven worlds of the solar system, excluding Earth, within a 24-hour period.