Jupiter and Saturn are about 5 degrees apart now in the evening, southern sky, according to the Astronomical League. By mid-November, the pair will be about 3 degrees apart and at Thanksgiving, they will be at a little more than 2 degrees apart. In late December, both will appear incredibly close.

Of the two planets, Jupiter can be spotted at -2.1 magnitude, very bright and easily seen by evening dog walkers. Saturn is found at 0.6 magnitude, substantially dimmer. The young crescent moon passes this duo Nov. 18-19.

Last month, Earth’s neighbor Mars was the coolest planetary kid in the cosmic class — incredibly bright at -2.6 magnitude — from our earthly perspective. In November, find Mars hanging out the in the southeastern sky in the constellation Pisces. The planet starts the month at -2.2 magnitude (very bright), but it ends November at -1.3 magnitude, where its brilliance has been substantially reduced. On Nov. 25, find the moon under Mars.

In the morning hours before sunrise, find Earth’s bright neighbor Venus loitering in the east (in the constellation Virgo), along with the planetary pal Mercury.

If you look to the east Nov. 10, catch the crescent moon hanging above the brilliant Venus (-3.9 magnitude). Below Venus — and a little to the east, see fleet Mercury (-0.6 magnitude, bright, mid-month) — the closest planet to the sun.

The moon gets a little closer to Venus during the early morning hours on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and the moon scoots by the effervescent Venus on Nov. 12 and by Mercury on Nov. 13.

If skies are clear late in the evening Nov. 17-18, you may catch a few Leonid meteors zipping across the heavens. Astronomers predict a small number at shower’s peak. The American Meteor Society (amsmeteors.org) and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada predict 15 to 20 at the peak.

Meteors result from Earth orbiting the sun and running into the dusty trails left from earlier comets. Earth’s atmosphere strikes the dust and it burns in our atmosphere, showing up as a bright meteor.

Comet Tempel-Tuttle is the parent of the Leonid meteors. Co-discoverer Horace P. Tuttle was an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The moon officially becomes full Nov. 30 at 4:30 a.m., and it will be in a penumbral eclipse, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. The moon will pass through the Earth’s penumbral (outer) shadow between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Mid-eclipse will be 4:43 a.m. You’ll see a hint of darker gray.

●Nov. 6 — “Is There a Crisis in Cosmology?” An online lecture by Wendy Freedman, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, University of Chicago, on the value of the Hubble constant. 8 p.m. Hosted by PSW Science. For online meeting details: pswscience.org.

●Nov. 12 — “A New Creation Story for the Earth and Moon,” an online lecture by Sarah T. Stewart, professor at the University of California, Davis, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. 6:30 p.m. Hosted by Carnegie Science. For online meeting details: carnegiescience.edu.

●Nov. 14 — “A Geochemist’s Perspective on Planetary Differentiation,” an online talk by Anat Shahar, a staff scientist at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Science. Hosted by the National Capital Astronomers. Online doors open at 7 p.m. For meeting details and online registration: capitalastronomers.org.

Blaine Friedlander can be reached at PostSkyWatch@yahoo.com.