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Botswana Sky Calendar


Night Skies of November

– Harold Hester

Recording of Harold’s Presentation is below:


Night Skies of December

– Harold Hester

Recording of Harold’s Presentation is below:



Night Skies for November 2025

Credits to the  South African Astronomical Observatory


Moon

  • Full Moon
    5 November 2025 15:19

  • Last Quarter
    12 November 2025 07:28

  • New Moon
    20 November 2025 08:47

  • First Quarter
    28 November 2025 08:59

The moon is at perigee (closest to Earth) on 06/11 at 00:29, at a distance of 356 833 km.

  • It is at apogee (furthest from Earth) on 20/11 at 04:48, at a distance of 406 693 km.

Planets

  • Mercury (in Scorpius)
    ↑ 06:11 ↓ 20:19

  • Venus (in Libra)
    ↑ 05:01 ↓ 18:23


  • Mars (in Ophiuchus)
    ↑ 23:51 ↓ 09:55


  • Jupiter (in Gemini)
    ↑ 06:52 ↓ 16:43

    Near the Moon on 10/11

  • Saturn (in Aquarius)
    ↑ 14:40 ↓ 03:05

    Near the Moon on 01/11, 02/11 and 29/11

  • All the details (apart from the proximity to the Moon) are for mid-month in Cape Town.

Some bright stars in the evening sky

  • Altair

    White star, brightest star in Aquila

  • Antares

    Red supergiant in Scorpius

  • Betelgeuse

    Red supergiant in Orion

  • Canopus

    Yellowish-white star in Carina

  • Procyon

    Yellowish-white star in Canis Minor

  • Rigel

    Blue supergiant in Orion

  • Sirius

    Brightest star in the night sky, in Canis Major

  • The Pointers

    Alpha and Beta Centauri

Meteor showers


  • The Southern Taurids are active from 20/09 until 20/11, peaking on 05/11 with 7 meteors per hour. They are best viewed between 21:30 and 03:30. 

  • The Orionids are active from 02/10 until 07/11, peaking on 21/10 with 20 meteors per hour. They are best viewed between 00:00 and 04:00. 

  • The Northern Taurids are active from 20/10 until 10/12, peaking on 12/11 with 5 meteors per hour. They are best viewed between 21:30 and 03:30. 

  • The Leonids are active from 06/11 until 30/11, peaking on 17/11 with 10 meteors per hour. They are best viewed between 03:00 and 04:00. 

  • The alpha-Monocerotids are active from 15/11 until 25/11, peaking on 21/11 with less than 5 meteors per hour. They are best viewed between 23:00 and 04:00.