# Night sky news, November 2, 2026: moon, events, aurora

Waning Crescent, 36% lit. 1 sky event this week and 3 sourced news items for November 2, 2026.

## The sky on November 2, 2026

**Moon.** On the evening of November 2, 2026 the Moon is waning crescent, 36% illuminated. That day the Moon sets at 1:45 PM MST. Times are for Denver, Colorado; they shift by minutes to an hour elsewhere in the US and Canada.

### Visible this week

- [Aurora Outlook: Solar Cycle 25 Decline](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/events/aurora-outlook-2026-2028), September 24, 2026 to December 31, 2028. Northern US states and all of Canada; strong geomagnetic storms can push visibility as far south as the mid-latitude US.

## Sourced stories

### [James Webb Space Telescope uncovers new clues about the origins of 'interstellar invader' comet 3I/ATLAS](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/nightly-news/2026-11-02/james-webb-space-telescope-uncovers-new-clues-about-the-origins-of-interstellar-invader-comet-3i-atlas)

Source: [Space.com](https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/james-webb-space-telescope-uncovers-new-clues-about-the-origins-of-interstellar-invader-comet-3i-atlas)

James Webb Space Telescope finds 3I/ATLAS comet has unique ice grains. The comet's ice grains are similar to those of trans-Neptunian objects beyond Neptune's orbit. 3I/ATLAS was discovered entering the solar system in summer 2025.

### [Stars make oxygen for small galaxies, but they lose most of it](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/nightly-news/2026-11-02/stars-make-oxygen-for-small-galaxies-but-they-lose-most-of-it)

Source: [Phys.org (Space News section)](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-stars-oxygen-small-galaxies.html)

Scientists found that small galaxies have less oxygen than their stars produce. Researchers studied 37 dwarf galaxies within 22 million light-years of Earth using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

### [What’s Up: November 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA](https://darkskiesdirectory.com/nightly-news/2026-11-02/what-s-up-november-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa)

Source: [NASA (all news)](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/whats-up-november-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/)

NASA releases November 2026 skywatching tips. The Southern Taurids peak around November 5, and the Northern Taurids peak around November 12, with around five meteors per hour under ideal conditions. Mars and Jupiter will appear 1.2 degrees apart before sunrise on November 15-16.

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Canonical: https://darkskiesdirectory.com/nightly-news/2026-11-02
Updated: 2026-11-02T23:00:23.140Z