November 2026 Planet Parade: 5 planets in the morning sky

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus share the morning sky around Nov 18, 2026. Below: what each planet looks like, how to catch the line-up, and how this parade compares with its neighbors.

When several planets climb into the same twilight, we call it a planet parade. They are not gathering in space; they only share a direction from Earth, all of them close to the ecliptic because the Solar System is nearly flat. Treat the times and bearings below as a guide for mid-northern latitudes (around 40°N), and use the live tracker to pin them to your exact spot.

Planet by planet

Mercury hangs low, only about 8° up in the east-southeast, so it needs a flat, open horizon in that direction. Because it hugs the Sun, Mercury only ever shows in a short window at dawn or dusk, so catching it inside a parade is a small triumph.

Venus sits a comfortable 19° above the horizon in the east-southeast. After the Sun and Moon it is the brightest object in the sky, unmistakable even from a light-polluted city.

Mars rides high, about 64° up in the south, well clear of any horizon haze. Mars swings around to a bright close approach only every 26 months, so how brilliant it looks in any given parade is a roll of the orbital dice.

Jupiter rides high, about 63° up in the south, well clear of any horizon haze. Hold binoculars steady on Jupiter and its four bright moons string out beside it, their line-up shifting from one night to the next.

Uranus sits a comfortable 17° above the horizon in the west-northwest. Binoculars show it as a faint blue-green star; a telescope at high power turns it into a tiny disk.

On the zodiac that morning, Mercury stands in Scorpio; Venus stands in Libra; Mars and Jupiter share Leo; Uranus stands in Gemini. Signs here are the tropical longitudes the tables on this site use, counted from 0° at the spring equinox.

How to watch this parade

Set an alarm: the sweet spot is about 51 minutes before local sunrise on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, late enough that every planet in the list has cleared the horizon, early enough that dawn has not yet washed out the faint ones.

The limiting planet is Mercury at only about 8° up, so pick a viewing spot with an unobstructed view toward the east-southeast. The line stretches about 153° along the ecliptic, so sweep your gaze along the Sun's daily path to trace it.

One pairing stands out this time: Mars and Jupiter sit less than a degree apart, close enough to frame together in binoculars or a single photo.

You need no equipment for Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter; Uranus is the reason to bring binoculars or a small telescope.

How good is this one?

Our tracker scores every parade from 0 to 100. This one rates 59 out of 100: 25 of 35 points for the number of planets, 20 of 25 for naked-eye planets, 3 of 20 for how tightly they group, 10 of 10 for altitude, and 1 of 10 for staying power.

The window is forgiving: good mornings run for roughly 3 weeks (Nov 6, 2026 to Nov 29, 2026), so one cloudy night costs you nothing. The previous parade over this reference location peaked in September 2026 with 5 planets; the next comes in February 2027 with 5 planets.

Is there any physical effect? No. A parade is something you see, not something that happens to the planet under your feet. Add up the pull of every planet at once and it still comes to thousands of times less than the Moon's, far below anything that could touch tides or weather. It is worth looking at for its own sake.

Frequently asked questions

Which planets are part of the November 2026 planet parade?

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are visible to the naked eye; Uranus needs binoculars or a telescope.

What time should I look for the November 2026 planet parade?

Set an alarm for about 51 minutes before local sunrise, with the best morning on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. Good mornings run from Nov 6, 2026 to Nov 29, 2026.

Do I need a telescope to see this planet parade?

Not for the highlights: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter show with the unaided eye. You only need binoculars or a telescope for Uranus.

Where in the sky should I look?

Face the southern sky about 51 minutes before sunrise. The planets sit between about 8° and 64° above the horizon, strung along the ecliptic.

Keep exploring: the Planet Parade Tracker for any date and place, the Planetary Alignment Calculator for exact conjunction dates, and the Synodic-Period Calculator for how often two planets meet.