November’s night skies are going to be bright and busy.

There are comets for those willing to put in the work to spot them, shooting stars for those with some patience, and constellations and planets for folks who value reliability.

“November is where we can really start transitioning to the winter sky,” said Jackie Faherty, astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. “For November, Orion is a good winter constellation, big and beautiful.”

Comets

For a second month, stargazers should be able to spot comets Lemmon and Swan. The comets are definitely visible with binoculars, and Lemmon may become bright enough for naked eye viewing. Comets are notoriously unpredictable, and can brighten or dim suddenly.

Comet Swan is bright enough to be seen with binoculars by looking at the southern horizon after sunset. This comet is green, and can be tricky to spot.

Most stargazers will have an easier time finding Comet Lemmon. It can be viewed with the naked eye under dark skies, away from light pollution. It has a double tail that is about 12 moon diameters long. The green comet can be found by looking to the southwest, 15 degrees above the horizon at dusk. Astronomers predict the comet could be at its brightest on Nov. 8. Gothamist has consistently tracked this comet with binoculars from the Manhattan side of the Hudson River.

“ It’s pretty bright. You just sweep around with your binoculars. You’ll see it above the horizon,” said Bart Fried, a member of the American Astronomical Society. “It’s bright now, but comets do what they want.”

Meteors

Meteors can be harder to spot because they appear in an instant and are gone in a blink of an eye. Looking for shooting stars doesn’t require binoculars, but does call for patience and staring up into the darkness.

There’s an opportunity to see a shooting star every night, but to maximize chances, the second half of the month has darker skies because the moon is not as illuminated. The moon is the brightest during its full moon phase on Nov. 5, which is also a supermoon. A supermoon is when the moon appears larger because it’s at its closest distance to Earth. This month’s moon is also predicted to be the brightest of the year.

The Southern Taurids are peaking on Nov. 4 and 5. And the Orionids will fade out on Nov. 7, after peaking in October. These showers have five shooting stars per hour, but may be difficult to see because of moonlight.

The Northern Taurids will peak on Nov. 11 and 12, during a waning gibbous moon, which means the moon is only half illuminated, making it better for viewing fireballs.

The best time to see a shooting star is on Nov. 16 and 17, when the Leonids peak during an almost completely dark waning crescent moon. The meteors from the Leonids can be very bright and colorful with up to 20 shooting stars per hour during the peak.

“ Leonids meteor shower is always a good one. It tends to be a pretty popular one,” Faherty said.

Constellations and planets

The stars of the fall constellations – Pegasus, Andromeda and Pisces – are bright for peak viewing. By the end of the month, the winter constellations will begin to rise, including Taurus, Orion and Gemini.

Uranus is another celestial sight to look out for this month. The seventh planet from the sun is at opposition on Nov. 21, which means the blue sphere is at its closest distance to Earth. To locate the ice giant, look in the constellation of Taurus with binoculars after sunset.

To get a close-up of planets and stars, the Amateur Astronomers Association is hosting its rescheduled 30th annual Autumn Starfest on Nov. 1 at Pat’s Lawn at Inwood Hill Park, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public of all ages. Dozens of telescopes will be pointed at night sky objects like Saturn and the moon. There will be a star talk by Astronomy on Tap.