The Sky This Week from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1: 2025’s final Super Moon

Sky This Week is dropped at you partially by Celestron.

Friday, November 28
First Quarter Moon happens at 1:59 A.M. EST. While Luna shouldn’t be seen within the morning, our satellite tv for pc will grace the night sky, hanging close to Saturn because the planet involves a stationary level at 8 P.M. EST. Both are positioned in Aquarius, excessive within the south a number of hours after sundown. First-magnitude Saturn is the brightest gentle on this area of the sky and ought to be readily seen to the bare eye, even with the waxing Moon close by. The planet hangs simply to the higher left of the crescent Moon. 

If you’ve received a telescope, take a while to admire Saturn’s pretty rings by way of the eyepiece — though they at the moment seem fairly skinny, tilted simply 0.4° to our line of sight. And simply 4.4° to Saturn’s northeast is distant Neptune, shining faintly at magnitude 7.7. Scan slowly to its location along with your telescope and search for a dim, “flat” star with a blueish or grayish hue. Its tiny disk stretches simply 2” throughout, in contrast with Saturn’s disk of 18”. 

Sunrise: 7:00 A.M.
Sunset: 4:36 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:49 P.M.
Moonset: —
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (59%)
*Times for dawn, sundown, moonrise, and moonset are given in native time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. native time from the identical location.

Saturday, November 29
Mercury now involves its stationary level at 10 A.M. EST, ending its retrograde path and turning to slip eastward (prograde) towards the background stars as soon as extra. The photo voltaic system’s smallest planet, seen within the japanese sky earlier than dawn, shines at magnitude 0.4, considerably brighter than the final time we seen it a number of days in the past. 

Try for it some 40 minutes earlier than dawn, when Mercury is 8° excessive and climbing above the japanese horizon within the constellation Libra. Bright Venus — magnitude –3.9 — has simply cleared the horizon right now. Give it one other 10 minutes, and it reaches 2° in altitude. You’ll want a transparent horizon to identify it, however it’s brilliant, which actually helps. 

If you’ve received a telescope, take a couple of minutes to watch every of the 2 planets by way of the eyepiece earlier than you might want to pack away your gear previous to dawn. Mercury’s 8”-wide disk is a few 30 p.c lit; examine this with Venus 10”-diameter disk, which is sort of totally illuminated at 99 p.c.

Later right this moment, the Moon passes 4° north of Saturn at 2 P.M. EST, then passes 3° north of Neptune at 9 P.M. EST.  By night, our satellite tv for pc will lie in Pisces, now to the higher left of naked-eye Saturn, reversing the pair’s positions from yesterday.

Sunrise: 7:01 A.M.
Sunset: 4:35 P.M.
Moonrise: 1:12 P.M.
Moonset: 12:33 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (70%)

Sunday, November 30
Titan reappears from an occultation behind Saturn this night starting at 6 P.M. EST, a short-lived occasion seen for these with darkish skies within the japanese half of the U.S. Those on the East Coast may have the best time; observers throughout the Midwest will discover the sky beginning to darken however may additionally have some luck. 

Make certain your telescope is zeroed in on Saturn not less than a number of minutes earlier than the beginning time. Keep a detailed eye on the planet’s southeastern limb, as that is the place the big moon will seem. It takes some quarter-hour for mid-Eighth-magnitude Titan to totally emerge from behind Saturn, and it’s a captivating occasion to observe. Observers farther west will see the moon transferring away from Saturn to the planet’s east after darkness falls within the Mountain and Pacific time zones. 

Also seen could also be Saturn’s trio of Tenth-magnitude moons, Tethys, Rhea, and Dione. Dione lies to Saturn’s east, off the tip of the rings, whereas Rhea is way from the planet on the west and Tethys nearer to Saturn, additionally on the west. Tethys is closing in for its personal occultation behind the ringed world, and can disappear behind Saturn’s northwestern limb shortly after 9:45 P.M. EST. Note, nonetheless, that Tethys could be very near the edge-on rings, which can dim the moon’s brightness considerably.  

Sunrise: 7:02 A.M.
Sunset: 4:35 P.M.
Moonrise: 1:36 P.M.
Moonset: 1:43 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (80%)

Monday, December 1
Jupiter is the article you’ll need to be watching this night, as Ganymede prepares to transit together with its shadow. About an hour earlier than that occasion begins, Ganymede and Europa line up as the 2 moons go one another east of Jupiter. 

The fuel big rises shortly earlier than 8 P.M. native time. Once it’s seen above the horizon, prepare your telescope on it to take a look at the view. Io lies alone to the planet’s west; Callisto is way to the planet’s east. Early within the night, Europa sits off Jupiter’s japanese limb and Ganymede is farther east. Watch as the 2 moons strategy one another, lastly passing simply minutes earlier than midnight EST, when Ganymede strikes 12” due south of Europa. The two moons could seem to briefly blur into one for observers.

After this, Ganymede continues to shut in, whereas Europa slips farther away to the east. Around 1:07 A.M. EST (now December 2nd for the Eastern and Central time zones), Ganymede’s shadow seems on Jupiter’s cloud tops to precede the moon throughout. It will take the big shadow some 10 minutes to totally seem. It continues throughout the face of Jupiter as Ganymede approaches; by 4:18 A.M. EST (now the 2nd throughout the U.S.), the shadow lastly reaches the western limb and begins its egress. Ganymede lastly strikes onto the disk not lengthy after, at 4:44 A.M. EST. The giant moon will take greater than three hours to cross Jupiter’s disk. Observers within the Eastern and Central time zones will see the Sun rise with Ganymede nonetheless making its approach throughout; the moon lastly ends its transit because the Sun is rising throughout the Mountain time zone. 

Sunrise: 7:03 A.M.
Sunset: 4:35 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:02 P.M.
Moonset: 2:57 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (88%)

Tuesday, December 2
The colourful double star Albireo in Cygnus the Swan is a summertime deal with. Although totally different constellations now grace our year-end sky, there’s the same jewel seen on December evenings within the constellation Canis Major the Big Dog. 

Most well-known for its brightest star, Sirius (Alpha [α] Canis Majoris), Canis Major is house to many different worthy sights. One is 145 CMa, a beautiful double star additionally referred to as the Winter Albireo for its resemblance to the eponymous pair. 145 CMa is positioned close to the hindquarters of the Big Dog, to the decrease left of brilliant Sirius. Around native midnight, all the constellation is seen within the southeast, with blazing Sirius nicely on show. From Sirius, drop down about 11° to seek out 2nd-magnitude Wezen (Delta [δ] CMa). From this star, transfer about 3.6° northeast to 145 CMa. 

Shining with a mixed magnitude of 4.8, 145 CMa consists of a magnitude 5.0 major and magnitude 5.9 companion. They are separated by virtually 27”; Astronomy contributor Phil Harrington says he can repeatedly break up them in 16×70 binoculars. Any small scope also needs to do the trick. 

The purpose for his or her identify is the pair’s contrasting colours: The brighter major shines with a definite golden hue, whereas the fainter secondary seems blue-white. 

Sunrise: 7:04 A.M.
Sunset: 4:35 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:34 P.M.
Moonset: 4:14 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (95%)

Wednesday, December 3
The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus within the constellation Taurus at 10 P.M. EST; earlier than that, although, an almost Full Moon passes in entrance of a number of stars within the Pleiades star cluster (M45), occulting them for observers in North America, Greenland, and elements of Europe. The complete occasion takes place between about 7 P.M. and 9:30 P.M. CST, with not less than some disappearances and reappearances seen throughout the U.S. 

By the time darkness falls, the Pleiades and the Moon ought to be seen shut collectively within the japanese sky. The first brilliant star within the cluster to vanish behind our satellite tv for pc is magnitude 3.7 Electra (17 Tauri), which vanishes behind the darkish vanguard of the Moon simply after 7 P.M. CST. Other stars, together with magnitude 4.3 Taygeta (19 Tau) and magnitude 3.9 Maia (20 Tau), comply with. To watch the occasion, you’ll need binoculars or a telescope — the latter is finest. Bump up the magnification to essentially zoom in on the Moon’s vanguard, which is able to lower extra of the intense, blinding Moon out of your area of view and allow you to give attention to its strategy to every star. 

For particulars on the precise timing of disappearances and reappearances out of your location, go to the International Occultation Timing Association’s web site for lunar occultations here and scroll right down to the December 4 occasions (all occasions are given in Universal Time). 

Uranus, now simply previous opposition, nonetheless lies about 4.5° south of the Pleiades. It shouldn’t be removed from a pair of equally brilliant Sixth-magnitude stars, 13 and 14 Tau, simply 0.4° east of the latter. You’ll want binoculars or a telescope to identify the planet, and will discover it difficult with the intense Moon close by.

Sunrise: 7:05 A.M.
Sunset: 4:35 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:13 P.M.
Moonset: 5:36 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (99%)

Thursday, December 4
The Moon reaches perigee, the closest level to Earth in its orbit, at 6:07 A.M. EST, when it stands 221,806 miles (356,962 kilometers) away. Some 12 hours later, Full Moon happens at 6:14 P.M. EST, bringing us the December Cold Moon. 

Because this Full Moon happens when the Moon is close to its closest level to Earth, it’s categorized as a Super Moon, closing out the yr because the third in a sequence of 4 Super Moons that started in October. According to the late astronomer Fred Espenak’s AstroPixels website, the subsequent Super Moon will probably be January 3, 2026, adopted by a lull till November 2026. (Note, nonetheless, that the definition of Super Moon can differ between assets; for instance, the Royal Observatories Greenwich doesn’t contemplate January or November 2026’s Full Moons shut sufficient to Earth to be referred to as Super Moons. Instead, this establishment classifies December 2026’s Full Moon as the subsequent Super Moon after right this moment.)

With the Moon so massive and brilliant within the sky, it makes for a first-rate goal with a telescope. Look towards Luna’s western edge for the darkish, spherical spot of the crater Grimaldi. Spanning some 107 miles (173 km) and sinking 1.7 miles (2.7 km) deep, Grimaldi seems at first look to have a flat, darkish ground of uniform grey. But look nearer, and also you’ll discover shade variations within the shading, in addition to streaks of lighter ejecta thrown throughout the crater by later impacts. Also examine Grimaldi’s easy ground to that of Riccioli to its east. The latter’s ground is way rougher, as it’s too removed from Oceanus Procellarum to have been flooded with lava from this supply.

Sunrise: 7:06 A.M.
Sunset: 4:34 P.M.
Moonrise: 4:03 P.M.
Moonset: 6:57 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full

Friday, December 5
Our view of Mercury has continued to enhance over the previous few days. Rising virtually two hours earlier than the Sun, the little planet seems 7° excessive an hour earlier than dawn within the east. It shines at magnitude –0.3, an easy-to-find naked-eye object within the slowly brightening sky. Through a telescope, its disk now seems 54 p.c lit, a much bigger chunk receiving daylight in comparison with earlier within the week and a tidy clarification for its improve in brightness. 

Mercury will attain its best elongation west of the Sun in simply two days, when it’s going to stand 21° from our star. High above it and barely to the left is magnitude –0.1 Arcturus in Boötes, whereas magnitude 1.0 Spica sits to Mercury’s higher proper. See how lengthy you’ll be able to comply with these stars in addition to the planet into the encroaching daybreak. 

Bright Venus (magnitude –3.9) chases Mercury up into the predawn sky, now rising about half-hour earlier than the Sun. There’s a short alternative to view it, however provided that your horizon is evident. Venus remains to be 99 p.c lit and nearly indistinguishable from a full section. 

As at all times, ensure that to place away any optics not less than a number of minutes earlier than dawn out of your location. 

Sunrise: 7:07 A.M.
Sunset: 4:34 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:05 P.M.
Moonset: 8:14 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (98%)