The Sky Today on Friday, November 6: Nab the North America Nebula

Glowing near bright Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, the North America Nebula is an excellent target under dark skies tonight. | Published: November 6, 2026 The North America Nebula (NGC 7000; left) is a great small scope target, named for its resemblance to the continent of North America. To its west (right) is the smaller Pelican Nebula (IC 5067/5070). Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Adam Block Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. November 5: Smoke out the Southern Cigar As fall gets into full swing, we are seeing less of the summertime stars. By 6 P.M. local time, the Summer Triangle — which flies high overhead on short summer nights — is now starting to set in the west. Lowest of its three points is Vega in Lyra; to Vega’s upper left is Altair in Aquila, while Deneb in Cygnus is almost directly above Vega and the highest of the three. With no Moon in the sky, let’s use Deneb to find a favorite deep-sky object: NGC 7000, the North America Nebula. It’s a great small scope target, and its location just 3° east of Deneb makes it easy to center in the eyepiece. However, this huge emission nebula stretches about 2° across, so note that it requires a larger field of view to capture all in one go. It definitely benefits from a nebula filter if you have one. On the sky, the nebula’s western side looks like the eastern coast of the continent for which it is named, and vice versa. The curve that mimics the Gulf of Mexico is particularly prominent, so start there if you’re having trouble seeing the shape. Look also to NGC 7000’s west — across a dark gulf, you’ll see a fainter, more compact patch of nebulosity. This is IC 5067/5070, also known as the Pelican Nebula. Sunrise: 6:35 A.M.Sunset: 4:52 P.M.Moonrise: 3:56 A.M.Moonset: 3:16 P.M.Moon Phase: Waning crescent (5%)*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location. Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.