This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Sunday, November 2, 2025.
Information updated weekly or as needed.
Times given as local St. Louis time this week will be in Central Standard Time (CST). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times posted in Universal Time (UT), St. Louis is -6 hours when CST. Times posted in the Night Sky Update are in the 24-hour format.
Join us for our next star party, Friday, November 7, 2025, held in association with the St. Louis Astronomical Society.
For details, see the information at the bottom of this page or visit: https://www.slsc.org/explore/mcdonnell-planetarium/public-telescope-viewings
Observing Highlight Comets C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) 11/2/2025
For northern hemisphere observers, our chance to see comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is coming to an end. After this week, the comet will likely be too low to the horizon for many of us to see due to an increasing southern declination.
Perihelion for comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) occurs on November 8,2025. Recent observations of the comet show its magnitude at 4.2 which is indicating a decrease in magnitude. The comet should remain easy to find through November 10, but your southwestern horizon will determine if you have a chance to see it. Around 6 pm this week, C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) will be found between 13° and 15° above the horizon if viewing from St. Louis, Missouri. These altitude values will change depending on the latitude of your viewing location.
C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) will be found in the constellation Ophiuchus this week which should be easy to find around 6 pm. To find this part of the sky I recommend starting by locating the asterism known as the Summer Triangle. This will be visible high overhead about 30 minutes after sunset. Once you have identified this pattern use the bright stars Deneb and Vega to point you towards the west. If you follow the direction they point it will take you to a dimmer bow tie shape of stars. This is the body of Hercules.
This image shows the location of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) in relation to the constellations Hercules and Ophiuchus from November 2 to November 10 at 6 pm from St. Louis, Missouri. Image created using Stellarium.
Once you have found Hercules, pan your view to the southwest and you will be in the constellation Ophiuchus. There are four moderately bright guide stars in Ophiuchus that will get you close to the comet’s location over the next week. These stars are δ Oph, ε Oph, ζ Oph and η Oph. If you pan your binoculars just above or east of these stars over the next week, you will find C/2025 A6 (Lemmon).
Image created using Stellarium
If you would like more detailed information about C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), I recommend visiting the websites linked below. If you have difficulties finding this comet, I encourage to you to continue trying over the next week when weather conditions allow. C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is not hard to see but it will be difficult to find if you are brand new to star gazing. You can always check your local astronomy clubs to see if they have any public observing events over the next week. Even if they do not plan to view the comet during the events you can ask them for advice on how to find it.
COBS – Comet Observation Database
T CrB Nova Update 11/2/2025
If you are still interested in seeing the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis, there is still hope. The nova has not yet occurred meaning we are in a waiting game. It could happen this year or it could happen next year. We will have to wait and see. If you are still interested in this event, the part of the sky the nova will appear in is found low in the west once it is dark. By 19:00, the constellation Corona Borealis will be hard to find due to tree lines or buildings. Spaceweather.com is still posting magnitude estimates from the AAVSO. This is the resource I recommend following to keep up with any changes in the star’s brightness. Current magnitude of the system is 9.6.
The Sun and Moon
The Moon as seen from the International Space Station, on July 31, 2011.
Credit: NASA
Sun
Sunrise on Sunday, November 2 is at 06:26 and sunset is at 16:59 providing roughly 10.5 hours of daylight this week. Even after sunset, light from the Sun will dimly illuminate our sky for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. This period is called twilight, which ends around 18:29 this week. For those with a sundial, local noon occurs around 11:44 on November 2, 2025.
Moon
Moonrise for Sunday, November 2, is at 15:14 and moonset occurs at 04:07 the following day. On November 2, 2025, the Moon will exhibit a waxing gibbous phase with 90% disk illumination. By November 10, 2025, the Moon will exhibit a waning gibbous phase with 64% disk illumination. Full moon occurs on November 5, 2025, at 07:19.
International Space Station (ISS) Observing
Visible passes of ISS from St. Louis for the week of November 2 occur during morning hours. By the end of the week, ISS passes will shift to evening times. The table below lists the best of these passes. If you do not live in the area, you can use https://heavens-above.com/ to set your viewing location and get times for where you are.
Magnitude (Mag): The Measure of brightness for a celestial object. The lower the value is, the brighter the object will be.
Altitude (Alt): The angle of a celestial object measured upwards from the observer’s horizon.
Azimuth (Az): The direction of a celestial object, measured clockwise from an observer’s location with north being 0°, east being 90°, south being 180° and west being 270°.
Detailed information regarding all unmanned exploration of our universe, missions past, present, and planned, can be found at Jet Propulsion Laboratories
The Visible Planets
Looking south at 18:00 on November 2, 2025. Credit: Stellarium, EG
Looking southeast at 00:00 on November 3, 2025. Credit: Stellarium, EG
Three naked eye planets will be visible this week. Saturn is visible after sunrise in the southeast. Jupiter can be found in the east around 11 pm and Venus will be found low in the east around 6 am.
Venus
Venus is found in the east before sunrise for the rest of the year. It currently rises around 05:15. Venus should be high enough for most to see after 06:00 but morning twilight will be well underway. Venus reaches superior conjunction on January 6, 2026.
Jupiter
This week, Jupiter rises around 21:44. Look for Jupiter in the east around 23:00. Jupiter reaches opposition on January 10, 2026. As we continue towards this date, Jupiter will continue to rise earlier each week.
Saturn
Saturn is now visible after sunset in the southeast once it is dark. Saturn reaches solar conjunction on March 12 next year. As we head towards this date, Saturn will be seen more and more west each week.
Our next Star Party will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025, from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm
On the first Friday of each month, the St. Louis Astronomical Society and the Saint Louis Science Center will set up a number of telescopes outdoors and be on-hand to answer your questions. Telescope viewing begins once it is dark. Regardless of the weather on November 7, join us indoors in our planetarium theater for our free monthly sky lecture.
The St. Louis Astronomical Society helps host the monthly Star Parties at the Saint Louis Science Center. In addition to our nighttime viewings, they also help facilitate our daytime event called Solar Sundays. These daytime viewing sessions occur every third Sunday each month from 11:00-15:00 weather permitting. Visit SLAS’s website linked above to learn about other telescope events SLAS hosts around the St. Louis area.
James S. McDonnell Planetarium
Night Sky Update: November 2-10, 2025
Subjects
