85° UPCygnusthe Swan / the Northern Cross
Looksouth-eastern sky
Anchor starDeneb
How to know itA great cross of stars flying down the summer Milky Way, with brilliant Deneb at its tail.
SKY · CONSTELLATIONS · USA
Constellations Visible Tonight — Portland
Tonight over Portland, 9 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 · PORTLAND
Dark by10:31 PM
Until5:26 AM
High up now9
Never rise here7
Altitudes computed for Portland (45.5°, -122.7°) during tonight's dark hours.
High in the sky over Portland tonight
81° UPLyrathe Lyre
Looksouthern 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.
71° UPBoötesthe Herdsman
Looksouth-western sky
Anchor starArcturus
How to know itA kite-shaped figure led by Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern spring sky.
48° UPUrsa Majorthe Great Bear / the Big Dipper
Looknorth-western sky
Anchor starAlioth
How to know itHome to the Big Dipper (the Plough), whose two end stars point to Polaris, the North Star.
47° UPAquilathe Eagle
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAltair
How to know itBright Altair completes the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb, straddling the celestial equator.
45° UPCassiopeiathe Queen
Looknorth-eastern 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.
45° UPPegasusthe Winged Horse
Lookeastern sky
Anchor starMarkab
How to know itThe "Great Square" of Pegasus is a big, easy autumn signpost high in the eastern sky.
37° UPAndromedathe Chained Princess
Lookeastern 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.
23° UPLeothe Lion
Lookwestern sky
Anchor starRegulus
How to know itA backwards question-mark (the "Sickle") forms the Lion’s head, anchored by bright Regulus.
“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 Portland
These clear the horizon but stay low, so trees and buildings may hide them: Perseus (~19°, north-eastern) · Sagittarius (~16°, southern) · Scorpius (~14°, southern).
Out of reach from Portland
At Portland's latitude these never climb above the horizon, so you can't see them from here at any time of year: Gemini, Centaurus, Taurus, Crux, Orion, Canis Major, Carina. To catch them, you'd need to travel toward the Southern Hemisphere.
Portland right now
More sky over Portland
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over Portland in real time.