Seeing Stars: November planets
Keith Wilson has had a lifelong interest in the night sky and has written for space and astronomy publications in both the UK and USA. He lives under the dark night skies of the Isle of Gigha.
If you have a good view to the south west, you will find a very bright star low on the horizon. As the month progresses, it will appear higher in the south-western sky. This blazing beacon, however, is not a star but our neighbouring planet, Venus.
Venus is similar in structure and size to Earth but is sometimes called Earth’s ‘evil twin’. It has an atmosphere, but it is nothing like ours. Dense clouds in the atmosphere of Venus contain droplets of sulfuric acid, as well as acidic crystals suspended in a mixture of gases. It’s not very pleasant!
Because of its dense atmosphere, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. The temperatures on the surface are so high that they would melt lead.
The clouds are also very reflective and this is what makes Venus so bright in our night sky. In fact, if you know where to look, Venus can be seen in daylight from Earth.
Our other neighbour in space, Mars, has numerous robot spacecraft and rovers exploring its surface. Venus, on the other hand, is very difficult to observe close up because of the extreme conditions on its surface. Spacecraft do not survive more than an hour!
Venus rotates on its axis very slowly so that a day on Venus is longer than its year. One day on Venus equals 243 Earth days! However, the time it takes to orbit the sun (a year) is only 225 Earth days.
If viewed from above, Venus rotates on its axis in a direction that is the opposite of most planets. That means on Venus, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east whereas on Earth, the sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
If you want to find some more planets in our November night sky then use the Moon as a guide to help you find them.
On November 10, the Moon will be just below the ringed planet Saturn but, if you want to see the planet’s rings, you will need a telescope.
On November 17, the Moon will be just to the left of the bright planet Jupiter. The bright star on the right of the Moon is Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus, the bull.
If you use binoculars, you should be able to spot a few of Jupiter’s bright moons. They will look like tiny stars close to the planet.
On November 20, at around 11pm you will find reddish coloured Mars just below and to the right of the Moon. The two bright stars above the Moon and Mars are ‘The Twins’, Castor (top) and Pollux (below) in the constellation of Gemini.
Sign up to our daily Newsletter
Permission Statement
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.
You may also like
Seeing Stars: The Red Planet
Seeing Stars: Take up stargazing this year
Seeing Stars: Seasonal cosmic quiz
Sign up to our daily Newsletters
Permission Statement
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.
© 2025 Wyvex Media Limited.