TRAC Monthly Report: November 2025

Stargazing

Winter Constellations

During our epic stargazing session on 17 Nov 2025, we managed to identify nearly all of the prominent winter constellations.

Betelgeuse, the red supergiant in Orion, was strikingly bright this month. Through binoculars it showed an exceptionally rich orange-red hue – perhaps the most vivid I've ever seen in a star look.

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: Matey K took this night sky photo facing east at 19:28 on 23 Nov 2025. The distinctive V-shape of the Hyades can be seen alongside the bright star Aldebaran in Taurus, the Bull. Above the Hyades, the beautiful Pleiades star cluster shines, while higher still, the constellation of Perseus can be spotted.

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: This annotated version of the previous photo marks out the constellations of Taurus and Perseus. Orion has not yet fully risen, but its bright star, Betelgeuse, is visible at the bottom of the frame. Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, is just out of view.

51 Pegasi

We located this historically significant star on 23 Nov 2025. At magnitude +5.5, it was easy to find with binoculars.

In 1995, astronomers discovered an exoplanet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. This was the first time a planet had been found outside of our own solar system.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: The location of 51 Pegasi, close to Scheat and Markab in the constellation of Pegasus.

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: Matey K took this photo of the Great Square of Pegasus using his phone mounted on a tripod. The camera sensor was able to detect light from 51 Peg. See below for an annotated version.

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: This annotated version of the previous image shows the Great Square of Pegasus and parts of adjacent constellations. In the full-size version, the star to the left of the "Pegasus" label is 51 Pegasi. Click or tap the image to view it in full size.

Deep Sky Objects

Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

We viewed our nearest major galaxy (M31) on 17 Nov 2025. Andromeda appears as a faint patch of light. One day we hope to photograph the galaxy with a smart telescope.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: The Andromeda Galaxy was easy to locate when using this star chart. It has been colour inverted and horizontally flipped so that it matches the view in the telescope eyepiece.

Ring Nebula (M57)

For the first time ever, we were able to find the Ring Nebula on 23 Nov 2025 using the telescope and the 15 mm eyepiece. The nebula (mag. +8.8) was too faint to be seen with binoculars.

Viewed at 100x magnification, it appeared as a very faint smudge of light. I was not impressed with the results. Our Bortle 5/6 sky conditions let us down. I believe we have reached the limit of what is possible to observe from Rainham.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: The position of the Ring Nebula in the constellation Lyra. It sits roughly halfway between the stars Sulafat and Sheliak.

Astrophotography

TRAC's Matey K used his phone to take some wide-angle starry sky shots in the early evening. Facing north, he imaged the northern circumpolar region of the night sky, focusing on the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great Bear and the Little Bear.

The Plough (Ursa Major)

The seven stars of the Plough (Big Dipper) form the most recognisable asterism in the sky. The Plough are the brightish stars which make up the tail of the Great Bear (Ursa Major).

As the photo shows, the Plough is low in the sky in the early evening at this time of year (November).

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: The Plough stretches across the sky above the trees and houses in this shot. The second star from the tip of the Plough is Mizar, a magnitude 2 star. It's a naked-eye double star, with its fainter companion, Alcor, visible to the top-left of Mizar in the photo.

Ursa Major & Ursa Minor (with Polaris)

High above the Plough, we find Polaris, also called the "North Star".

Polaris sits at the tip of the tail of the Little Bear (Ursa Minor). The other stars in Ursa Minor are dimmer, and the constellation can only be seen on exceptionally clear nights here in Rainham.

The two stars at the end of the bowl of the Plough are called "The Pointers" because they point towards Polaris.

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: The Plough with Ursa Minor high above it. Polaris is the bright white star at the top-right corner of the photo.

Image credit: MK/JM (TRAC)

Above image: This annotated version shows the constellations visible in the previous photo. In addition to Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Draco can be seen snaking across the sky. The two-star constellation Canes Venatici is also visible, hiding lower in the sky behind the tall tree in the corner of the park.

Lunar Observations

"Supermoon" (05 Nov 2025)

We were hoping to see the moonrise, but it was too cloudy for three evenings in a row.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: The best view possible of the "Supermooon". Taken at 22:22 on 04 Nov 2025.

Moon–Jupiter Conjunction (11 Nov 2025)

I saw the Moon close to the bright planet Jupiter early in the morning. The photos did not turn out very well at all.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: This embarrassingly poor-quality photo of the Moon and Jupiter was the best that was possible with the Lumix camera. We need to get hold of some better photography equipment in 2026. Taken at 01:07 on 11 Nov 2025.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: This photo of the Moon came out a little better.

Moon–Regulus Conjunction (13 Nov 2025)

The Moon was close to the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo. Regulus is a blue-white star, which indicates that it has a high surface temperature.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: The blue colour of Regulus was clearly visible. Taken at 02:20 on 13 Nov 2025.

Planets

Saturn

We took a quick look at the ringed planet on 17 Nov 2025. Its rings appeared extraordinarily thin, almost not visible unless you looked really closely and allowed your eyes time to adjust.

Jupiter

Jupiter was amazingly bright all month. We saw its four largest moons all in a line and observed its two dark belts – but still no sign of the Great Red Spot (GRS) in our 5" scope.

Uranus

Success! We managed to locate the planet Uranus on 17 Nov 2025 using the telescope. We were able to resolve it as a small, slightly bluish disc.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: The position of Uranus in the constellation Taurus in November 2025.

Uranus was really easy to spot with binoculars – simply find the Pleiades and move lower to find it. It was much harder to find using the telescope due to the reduced field of view at the higher magnification.

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

Above image: This inverted and horizontally flipped star chart helped us locate Uranus using our Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT telescope.

Summary

Satellites & Meteors

On 17 Nov 2025, Krum and I saw a white meteor low in the sky while looking SW. On the same evening, Matey saw a meteor go right across the sky heading W to SW.

We all saw the ISS go over a few times in November, an event which can be predicted a long time in advance. What was unexpected was seeing another SpaceX Starlink satellite train above us at 18:00 on 21 Nov 2025. I counted over 30 satellites. There could easily have been as many as 50 during this launch.

Looking Ahead

Sadly, we were unsuccessful in our attempts at locating Ceres this month. It was too faint and difficult to locate. If you didn't see a minor planet this year, you will need to wait until 2026.

In December, we'll test out some new equipment – a pair of Celestron 15x70mm binoculars.

James M
TRAC Team Leader
02 Dec 2025 – Rainham, Kent