On November 15 and 16, 2026, Jupiter and Mars will be separated by just 1.2° in Leo. That’s two full-moon diameters between the two brightest planets in the morning sky. Visible to the naked eye throughout Switzerland and France, as well as through binoculars or a telescope. Here’s how to observe this conjunction.
1.2° is about twice the apparent diameter of the full Moon. To the naked eye, Jupiter appears as a bright, creamy-white dot, and Mars as a fainter, orange-red dot just above and to the left of Jupiter when facing south. The two are separated by a tiny gap.
Through 10×50 binoculars, both planets fit within the same field of view. You can see two points of light in different colors—one brilliant (Jupiter), the other more subdued (Mars)—with Regulus 4–5° lower to the left. It’s a simple and elegant sight.
Through a telescope, the view changes. At low magnification (25–50x), both planets fit within the field of view: you can see Jupiter’s disk with its Galilean moons, and the small disk of Mars right next to it. At higher magnifications, you have to choose: either frame Jupiter to see its cloud belts and the Great Red Spot, or frame Mars to see its orange disk (7.1 arcseconds in diameter, 89 % illuminated).
At magnitude -2.1, Jupiter is the brightest object in the morning sky. Its disk is 37.4 arcseconds in diameter. Through a telescope, even at 50x magnification, you can see the two main equatorial bands (the bright equatorial zone between the two dark bands). At 100x magnification and higher, details become visible: the Great Red Spot when it is facing us, the temperate belts, and the light and dark zones.
The four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are visible through binoculars as points aligned on either side of Jupiter. Their positions change night after night.
Mars has a magnitude of +0.7, making it 12 times less bright than Jupiter. Its disk measures only 7.1 arcseconds, compared to 37.4 for Jupiter. That’s small: you need at least 100x magnification to see a sharp disk, and 200x to begin distinguishing details. Mars is at 89 % illuminated (almost full), which is favorable for observation.
Mars is approaching its opposition (November 25): the conjunction with Jupiter is a good opportunity to start observing it night after night. Its magnitude will decrease from +0.8 to +0.5 in November, and its disk will grow larger. Now is the time to start.
Regulus (Alpha Leonis, magnitude +1.4) is 4.4° from the conjunction. It forms a triangle with Jupiter and Mars: Regulus at the bottom, Jupiter in the center, and Mars at the top. Regulus is the brightest star in Leo, a blue-white B-type star that is 150 times more luminous than the Sun.
From both Switzerland and France, the two planets rise around 11:00 p.m. (CET) in the east-southeast. They are 20° above the horizon around 2:00 a.m., 40° around 4:00 a.m., and reach their highest point at over 50° around 5:30–6:00 a.m. before dawn. The best viewing window is between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. (CET), when the planets are high in the sky and atmospheric turbulence is minimal.
With the naked eye : two nearby points of light, one bright (Jupiter) and the other fainter and orange (Mars), with Regulus nearby.
10×50 Binoculars : Both planets are in the same field of view. Jupiter shines brightly, Mars is next to it, and Regulus is below them. Jupiter's Galilean moons may be visible.
70–100 mm Telescope : At 25–50x magnification, both planets are in the field of view. Jupiter’s disk with its belts, and the orange disk of Mars next to it.
150–200 mm Telescope : At 100–200x magnification, details on Jupiter (the Great Red Spot if visible), and the Martian disk with possible details under good seeing conditions.
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This article is based on predictions from Sterngucker.de (Night Sky November 2026), TelescopeAdvisor.com (Mars-Jupiter Conjunction November 2026), EarthSky, and the Astroshop.eu Blog. The positions and magnitudes are verified for November 15–16, 2026, from 47°N.
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