85° UPAquilathe Eagle
Looknorth-eastern sky
Anchor starAltair
How to know itBright Altair completes the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb, straddling the celestial equator.
SKY · CONSTELLATIONS · KENYA
Constellations Visible Tonight — Nairobi
Tonight over Nairobi, 13 of the bright, easy-to-spot constellations climb high into a dark sky. Here's what's up, how high, and which way to face.
DARK-SKY WINDOW TONIGHT · NAIROBI
Dark by7:23 PM
Until6:33 AM
High up now13
Never rise here2
Altitudes computed for Nairobi (-1.3°, 36.8°) during tonight's dark hours.
High in the sky over Nairobi tonight
65° UPPegasusthe Winged Horse
Looknorth-eastern sky
Anchor starMarkab
How to know itThe "Great Square" of Pegasus is a big, easy autumn signpost high in the eastern sky.
63° UPLeothe Lion
Looknorth-western sky
Anchor starRegulus
How to know itA backwards question-mark (the "Sickle") forms the Lion’s head, anchored by bright Regulus.
63° UPSagittariusthe Archer / the Teapot
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starKaus Australis
How to know itIts bright stars form a "Teapot" — and it points straight at the dense, glowing centre of the Milky Way.
61° UPScorpiusthe Scorpion
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAntares
How to know itA genuinely scorpion-shaped curve of stars led by red Antares, riding low across the southern summer sky.
59° UPBoötesthe Herdsman
Looknorthern sky
Anchor starArcturus
How to know itA kite-shaped figure led by Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern spring sky.
52° UPLyrathe Lyre
Looknorthern sky
Anchor starVega
How to know itSmall but led by Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky and a corner of the Summer Triangle.
47° UPCygnusthe Swan / the Northern Cross
Looknorthern sky
Anchor starDeneb
How to know itA great cross of stars flying down the summer Milky Way, with brilliant Deneb at its tail.
41° UPCentaurusthe Centaur
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAlpha Centauri
How to know itHolds Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to the Sun, and wraps around the Southern Cross.
37° UPAndromedathe Chained Princess
Looknorth-eastern sky
Anchor starAlpheratz
How to know itHome to the Andromeda Galaxy — the most distant thing visible to the naked eye, a faint smudge on a dark night.
31° UPUrsa Majorthe Great Bear / the Big Dipper
Looknorthern sky
Anchor starAlioth
How to know itHome to the Big Dipper (the Plough), whose two end stars point to Polaris, the North Star.
31° UPCruxthe Southern Cross
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAcrux
How to know itThe smallest constellation, but the most famous in the south — its long axis points toward the south celestial pole.
20° UPCassiopeiathe Queen
Looknorthern sky
Anchor starSchedar
How to know itA bright "W" or "M" of five stars, circling the north pole opposite the Big Dipper — useful for finding north.
“Up” is the highest the centre of each pattern gets above the horizon tonight — your fist at arm's length spans about 10°. Directions are where to face when it's best placed.
Low on the horizon from Nairobi
These clear the horizon but stay low, so trees and buildings may hide them: Carina (~15°, south-western) · Canis Major (~12°, western) · Gemini (~11°, north-western) · Perseus (~8°, north-eastern).
Out of reach from Nairobi
At Nairobi's latitude these never climb above the horizon, so you can't see them from here at any time of year: Taurus, Orion. To catch them, you'd need to travel toward the Northern Hemisphere.
Nairobi right now
More sky over Nairobi
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over Nairobi in real time.