Venus moves more than 1° along the ecliptic each day. By November 5, it’s adjacent to Porrima (Gamma [γ] Virginis), with just 1° between them. A crescent Moon enters Virgo on November 11 and is 6.5° from Venus an hour before sunrise on November 12. At the same time, Venus lies 18' from 4th-magnitude Theta (θ) Virginis.
Venus sits 4° due north of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, on November 15. Both Venus and Mercury are moving in tandem, now separated by 13°. As Mercury is lost in twilight, Venus maintains its brilliance, dimming by only 0.1 magnitude. It quickly crosses the rest of Virgo to reach neighboring Libra November 28.
Venus changes little this month. On November 1, the 13"-wide disk is lit 82 percent. By November 30, it is 12" wide and 89 percent lit.
Mercury appears in the morning sky of early November, joining Venus as two morning “stars.” It is magnitude 1.6 on November 1 and brightens to match Spica at magnitude 0.9 the next morning. Mercury and Spica stand side by side, separated by 4°, rising an hour before the Sun. The rapidly brightening sky offers a narrow window to catch the pair. To find the elusive planet, draw a line in your mind’s eye from Venus east toward the horizon, where you expect the Sun to rise. Look for two specks of light in the twilight glow. Mercury and Spica stand a little less than 5° high 45 minutes before sunrise.
Mercury increases in elevation and brilliance through November 10, when it achieves greatest elongation (19°) from the Sun. Now an easy magnitude –0.5, Mercury stands 13° high at 6:15 A.M. local time for mid-northern latitudes in the U.S. Venus is nearly 25° high.
Following greatest elongation, Mercury continues to brighten even though its distance from Earth is increasing because its phase is also increasing. With a telescope, you can follow it from 16 percent lit on November 1, through 50 percent on November 8, to 85 percent lit by November 20. The disk’s diameter shrinks from 9" to 6" over the same period.
Don’t miss the stunning view of a slender crescent Moon standing 5° above Mercury (now magnitude –0.7) in the predawn sky November 13. Spica shines 7° southwest of the Moon, while Venus is 8.5° west of our satellite.
See how far you can follow Mercury as it sinks lower each morning. By November 20, it stands about 10° high in the eastern sky 45 minutes before sunrise. That elevation drops to 7° five days later, As November closes, the winged messenger flies into the brilliant glow of the Sun, advancing into the evening sky in late December.