South Africa’s night sky will put on a spectacular show this November

South Africans who enjoy looking up at the night sky have plenty to look forward to this November, with meteor showers, bright planets and a supermoon all making an appearance.

The month is particularly busy for skywatchers, with several events taking place within just a few weeks.

And the best part is that many of them can be enjoyed without a telescope or other specialist equipment.

Taurid meteor showers kick off the month

The first major highlight comes early in November with the Southern Taurid meteor shower, which peaks around 5 November.

The Taurids aren’t known for producing huge numbers of shooting stars. Under ideal conditions, only around five meteors an hour may be visible.

However, the shower has another attraction: bright fireballs.

NASA notes that occasional Taurid meteors can produce particularly bright flashes, making it worth spending some time outside even if the sky isn’t filled with shooting stars.

The Northern Taurids follow, reaching their peak around 12 November.

For the best chance of spotting meteors, find somewhere away from bright city lights, give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness and look across as much of the sky as possible.

Mars and Jupiter will appear close together

One of November’s easiest planetary events takes place around 15 and 16 November, when Mars and Jupiter appear close together in the pre-dawn sky.

From our perspective, the two planets will appear just 1.2 degrees apart.

They are, of course, nowhere near each other in space. Their apparent proximity is simply the result of their positions relative to Earth.

Both planets are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, with Jupiter appearing considerably brighter and Mars taking on a reddish hue.

Look towards the southeastern sky before sunrise for the best chance of spotting the planetary pairing.

The Leonids bring more shooting stars

The month’s main meteor-shower event comes in the second half of November.

The Leonid meteor shower peaks around 17–18 November, with the best viewing expected in the early morning hours after the Moon has set.

Under ideal conditions, the Leonids could produce around 15 meteors per hour, although actual rates will vary depending on light pollution, weather and viewing conditions.

Unlike the Taurids, the Leonids are famous for producing more noticeable meteor activity, although 15 meteors an hour is an idealised rate rather than a guarantee.

A supermoon arrives on 24 November

Then comes one of the month’s biggest attractions. The Full Moon on 24 November will be a supermoon, marking the first of three consecutive full supermoons.

A supermoon occurs when a full Moon coincides with the Moon being relatively close to Earth in its elliptical orbit. This makes the Moon appear somewhat larger and brighter than an average full Moon, although the difference is subtle to the naked eye.

The Moon will also appear particularly impressive as it rises near the horizon, although part of that oversized appearance is caused by the well-known Moon illusion rather than the supermoon itself.

Venus reaches its brightest

November ends with another bright planetary attraction.

On 27 November, Venus reaches its greatest brightness of 2026. The planet will be visible in the pre-dawn sky, making it another relatively easy target for people without telescopes.

Venus is already one of the brightest objects in the night sky after the Sun and Moon, so it should be hard to miss under clear conditions.

There’s even more to see

November also brings several opportunities to see planets and the Moon close together.

On 20 November, the Moon will appear close to Saturn, while on 30 November, the Moon, Jupiter and Mars will appear together near the bright star Regulus in Leo.

Uranus also reaches opposition on 25 November, putting it in a favourable position for observation. However, binoculars or a telescope will give you a much better chance of spotting the distant planet.