90° UPAndromedathe Chained Princess
Looknorthern 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.
SKY · CONSTELLATIONS · USA
Constellations Visible Tonight — San Francisco
Tonight over San Francisco, 16 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 · SAN FRANCISCO
Dark by9:43 PM
Until5:48 AM
High up now16
Never rise here2
Altitudes computed for San Francisco (37.8°, -122.4°) during tonight's dark hours.
High in the sky over San Francisco tonight
89° 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.
86° 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.
83° UPPerseusthe Hero
Looknorthern sky
Anchor starMirfak
How to know itA rich slice of the Milky Way and the radiant of the August Perseid meteor shower.
82° UPBoötesthe Herdsman
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starArcturus
How to know itA kite-shaped figure led by Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern spring sky.
77° 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.
72° 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.
72° 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.
70° 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.
68° 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.
67° UPLeothe Lion
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starRegulus
How to know itA backwards question-mark (the "Sickle") forms the Lion’s head, anchored by bright Regulus.
55° UPAquilathe Eagle
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starAltair
How to know itBright Altair completes the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb, straddling the celestial equator.
52° 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.
30° UPCanis Majorthe Great Dog
Looksouthern sky
Anchor starSirius
How to know itContains Sirius, the brightest star in the entire night sky, trailing just behind Orion.
24° 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.
22° 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.
“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 San Francisco
These clear the horizon but stay low, so trees and buildings may hide them: Centaurus (~2°, southern).
Out of reach from San Francisco
At San Francisco's latitude these never climb above the horizon, so you can't see them from here at any time of year: Crux, Carina. To catch them, you'd need to travel toward the Southern Hemisphere.
San Francisco right now
More sky over San Francisco
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over San Francisco in real time.