Mars and Jupiter pair up before dawn this week; rain may hide their closest meeting Sunday

Mars and Jupiter are drawing together in the predawn sky over San Jose.  On the mornings of Sunday and Monday, Nov. 15 and 16, they will appear about 1.2 degrees apart, NASA's November skywatching guide says, a little more than the width of two full moons side by side.  Rain in the forecast could hide that closest pairing, so this week's clear mornings may be the better bet.

When and where to look

The pair rises in the east-northeast between about 11:30 and 11:50 p.m. and is highest, about 60 to 65 degrees up, or roughly two-thirds of the way from the horizon to overhead, in the southeast to south-southeast around 5 to 6 a.m., our calculations show.  Look before the sky brightens:  civil twilight begins at 6:14 a.m. Tuesday and 6:20 a.m. Nov. 16, U.S. Naval Observatory data for San Jose show.

They are about 2.4 degrees apart Tuesday morning, 1.5 degrees Friday and 1.2 degrees Sunday and Monday, then drift apart, by our calculations.  Jupiter is the brighter one, roughly 13 times brighter than Mars by our arithmetic; Mars is fainter and orange-red.  Venus, brighter than both, sits low in the east-southeast before sunrise.  The moon sets in the evening all week, so it won't interfere.

How far apart they really are

They only look close.  On Nov. 15, Mars is about 122 million miles from Earth, so its light takes about 11 minutes to reach us.  Jupiter is about 490 million miles away, or 44 light-minutes, four times farther, and the two planets are about 368 million miles apart, our calculations show.

Jupiter, a giant ball of mostly hydrogen and helium, is 11 times wider than Earth; Mars, a rocky desert world, is about half Earth's size, NASA's fact pages say.  Mars circles the sun every 687 days and Jupiter about every 12 years, so Mars catches up with and passes Jupiter in our sky about every two years and three months, by our arithmetic.

The weather

The National Weather Service forecast for San Jose, updated at 1:26 a.m. Monday, calls for mostly clear to partly cloudy nights through Friday night, with patchy fog possible after 2 a.m. Tuesday. It gives a chance of rain Saturday night and says rain is likely Sunday, the first of the two closest mornings; the forecast does not yet reach Monday morning. A forecast six days out can change.

Is it worth getting up?

Yes, if the sky is clear and you are up before 6 a.m. anyway.  It takes a minute:  step outside, face south-southeast and look high.  Both planets are bright enough to see from a lit city street with the naked eye, so no dark site, telescope or long wait is needed, unlike a meteor shower.  Binoculars show both in one view.  Don't set an alarm for Sunday if it is raining; Tuesday through Saturday mornings look nearly as good.

Source:  NASA Science, "What's Up: November 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA" (Nov. 2, 2026), "Mars Facts" and "Jupiter Facts"; U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department, sun and moon data for San Jose (37.34 N, 121.89 W), Pacific Standard Time, retrieved Nov. 9, 2026; National Weather Service forecast for San Jose, updated 1:26 a.m. PST Nov. 9, 2026.  Planet positions, distances and brightness are the Daily News's own calculations from NASA/JPL's DE421 planetary ephemeris.  Drafted by AI for San Jose using NASA source material.  NASA did not write or review this story.