Man Stargazing

Moon Phases

Eye on the Night Sky, November 18, 2025

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Today:
Just past 8 PM, three stars will rise in the eastern sky, appearing close together and vertically aligned, to comprise Orion’s belt. These stars are much less bright than Orion’s brightest, those being Orion and Betelgeuse. But the close alignment of the belt stars makes Orion’s belt the easiest part of the constellation to identify.

Wednesday:
At 9 PM, the Summer Triangle still shines, involving two stars that are closer to the horizon: Altair in the west, and Vega in the northwest; higher and in between is Deneb. A simultaneous triangle appears in the east-southeast, with Aldebaran the higher in the heavens, below it are Betelgeuse, closer to east, and Rigel, closer to southeast.

Thursday:
A 6 PM, look for Saturn about halfway up in the southeast, continuing across the southern sky the first half of the night, and setting in the west around 1 AM. Saturn will be quite noticeable, as it will be relatively far-removed from other bright objects, the nearest being the quirky star Fomalhaut, the thirteenth brightest star in the northern sky, which will appear roughly halfway between Jupiter and the horizon.

Start Chart:

Early risers on September 19th are rewarded with one of this year’s best displays of the Moon and Venus, with the added bonus of the star Regulus right next to them.

January Start Chart

This program is a partnership between the Fairbanks Museum and Vermont Public.