86° UPCassiopeiathe Queen
Looksouthern 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.
SKY · CONSTELLATIONS · ICELAND
Constellations Visible Tonight — Reykjavík
Tonight over Reykjavík, 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 · REYKJAVÍK
Dark byNo true dark
Until3:08 AM
High up now13
Never rise here5
Altitudes computed for Reykjavík (64.1°, -21.9°) during tonight's dark hours.
High in the sky over Reykjavík tonight
82° UPUrsa Majorthe Great Bear / the Big Dipper
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAlioth
How to know itHome to the Big Dipper (the Plough), whose two end stars point to Polaris, the North Star.
71° UPPerseusthe Hero
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starMirfak
How to know itA rich slice of the Milky Way and the radiant of the August Perseid meteor shower.
68° UPCygnusthe Swan / the Northern Cross
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starDeneb
How to know itA great cross of stars flying down the summer Milky Way, with brilliant Deneb at its tail.
64° UPAndromedathe Chained Princess
Looksouthern 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.
63° 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.
56° UPBoötesthe Herdsman
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starArcturus
How to know itA kite-shaped figure led by Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern spring sky.
51° UPGeminithe Twins
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starPollux
How to know itThe twin stars Castor and Pollux head two parallel lines of stars — and host the December Geminid meteors.
46° UPPegasusthe Winged Horse
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starMarkab
How to know itThe "Great Square" of Pegasus is a big, easy autumn signpost high in the eastern sky.
44° UPTaurusthe Bull
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAldebaran
How to know itMarked by orange Aldebaran and the tiny, sparkling Pleiades star cluster on the Bull’s shoulder.
41° UPLeothe Lion
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starRegulus
How to know itA backwards question-mark (the "Sickle") forms the Lion’s head, anchored by bright Regulus.
29° UPAquilathe Eagle
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAltair
How to know itBright Altair completes the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb, straddling the celestial equator.
26° UPOrionthe Hunter
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starRigel / Betelgeuse
How to know itThe most recognisable constellation on Earth — the three-star Belt sits almost on the celestial equator, so nearly everyone can see it.
“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 Reykjavík
These clear the horizon but stay low, so trees and buildings may hide them: Canis Major (~4°, southern).
Out of reach from Reykjavík
At Reykjavík's latitude these never climb above the horizon, so you can't see them from here at any time of year: Sagittarius, Scorpius, Centaurus, Crux, Carina. To catch them, you'd need to travel toward the Southern Hemisphere.
Reykjavík right now
More sky over Reykjavík
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over Reykjavík in real time.