Is Tonight Good for Stargazing?

What makes a good stargazing night?

Three things, in order of impact. Cloud coveris king — a perfectly dark sky is worthless under overcast, so we rate the average cloud across tonight's dark hours, not just the moment you look. The Moon comes next: a bright Moon up during the night washes out the Milky Way, meteors and faint stars, though bright planets and the brightest constellations shrug it off. And true darkness — at far-northern latitudes in summer the sky may never get properly dark at all, and we say so plainly rather than pretend. How dark your site is — light pollution — is the companion layer.

Each city page reads tonight's dark-hours cloud cover for that location, combines it with the Moon and the dark-sky window, and gives a plain verdict — plus what's realistically worth looking for.

Plan a better night out