Now through the end of November is a great time to look for easy-to-find planets in the pre-dawn sky. These bright objects require no skill to find and can serve as a great introduction to skywatching.

This guide to the November Planet Parade [All-Sky Map Below] is good for any morning this month, including Tuesday Nov. 19, when millions of people will be out looking for shooting stars during the Leonid meteor shower peak.

Three bright planets Jupiter, Saturn and Venus along with Mars all grace the morning sky right now. You can quickly identify some nearby stars once you've identified these planets.

Jupiter

A good-sized backyard telescope will reveal subtle color differences that represent the cloud bands of the giant gas planet. A small telescope or even binoculars will allow you to spot up to four pinpricks of light very near Jupiter. These are the Galilean satellites, Jupiters four largest moons. Galileo Galilei first spotted them in the early 1600s, using a very crude telescope. He was as amazed to see them as you might be.

Saturn is the next most noticeable planet thats easy to find all morning. Saturn actually rises shortly after sunset and is a fine evening target right now. By midnight, it is nearly overhead. Before sunrise, Saturn has moved over to the west, preparing to set (the planet sets after the Sun rises, so thats an event we dont see).

Saturn presents a fine view in small telescopes, which reveal the its glorious rings as two lobes sticking out to the sides.

The most stunningly bright planet of all, for viewers who happen upon it, is Venus. It shines brighter than anything in the night sky except the Moon. And Venus is just now re-emerging in our morning sky. It rises right around daybreak in mid-November, and earlier by the end of the month.

To spot Venus this month, you need an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon. If you see it, youll know it. (Soon others will see it, be shocked, and call their local law enforcement offices to find out what that alien light is along the horizon.)

Mars has entered the morning scene now, and it can be found close to Venus in the east. Mars is dim right now, but it has begun an orbital trek that will, by next August, bring it closer to Earth than ever in the past 73,000 years.

November is a remarkable skywatching month this year in many ways. While the Leonid meteor shower might command the bulk of most peoples' attention, there is yet one more event to plan for. On Tuesday evening, Nov. 19, the night after the Leonids peak, the Moon will dip into Earths partial shadow, for a so-called penumbral eclipse.

This partial blocking of sunlight on its path to the Moon will generate an eerie dimness on Earths only natural satellite. The event begins at 6:32 p.m. EST (23:32 UT) and peaks around 8:47 p.m. EST. For people in western North America, the eclipse begins during daylight, but viewers there will see a portion of the event after moonrise.

Also, since the Moon will be nagging your Leonid experience anyway, see our Skywatcher's Guide to the Moon, which includes a printable Moon map.