Mars–Jupiter Conjunction

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Mars and Jupiter appear just 1.2° apart in the sky on November 15, 2026, reaching their closest approach at approximately 05:00 PM Phoenix time. A planetary conjunction is a beautiful celestial alignment where two planets appear very close together in the night sky, though in reality they are hundreds of millions of miles apart. The effect is purely a line-of-sight coincidence as seen from Earth. Conjunctions are best viewed shortly after sunset or before sunrise when the sky is dark but the planets are still above the horizon. How to watch: No telescope needed for bright planets — the naked eye is enough to appreciate the pairing. Binoculars will reveal both planets in a single field of view, and a telescope will show their disks and features side by side. Mars: Mars glows with a distinctive reddish-orange hue, caused by iron oxide (rust) on its surface. It's best seen when it's higher in the sky and away from the horizon's atmospheric distortion. Jupiter: Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Its four largest moons — the Galilean moons — are visible through even a basic pair of binoculars.