Tonight’s sky

When it gets dark, what the moon’s doing, and which planets are up — for planning a night under the stars.

Next 7 nights — tap a night to see it

  1. Tonight4 Aug69%
  2. Wed5 Aug58%
  3. Thu6 Aug47%
  4. Fri7 Aug36%
  5. Sat8 Aug25%
  6. Sun9 Aug15%
  7. Mon10 Aug8%

Darker nights (lower %) are best for galaxies and nebulae. Tap any night to see its darkness, moon, planets and ISS passes.

AthensEET

Thursday 17 December
all times EET (local)

Waxing gibbous · 55% lit

A 55%-lit moon is up for some of the dark window — deep-sky objects still show, brightest targets best.

Rises 12:22·sets 01:05

Darkness tonight

  • Sunset17:07
  • Civil twilight ends17:36
  • Nautical twilight ends18:09
  • Fully dark — a session can start18:41
  • First light — dark ends06:00
  • Nautical twilight (dawn)06:33
  • Civil twilight (dawn)07:06
  • Sunrise07:35

Planets tonight

  • JupiterHigh in the small hours (around 04:36) — in the south.rises 21:51sets 11:20highest 04:36 (65°)
  • MarsHigh just before dawn (around 05:18) — in the south.rises 22:39sets 11:56highest 05:18 (63°)
  • SaturnHigh in the evening twilight (around 19:10) — in the south.rises 13:08sets 01:17highest 19:10 (53°)
  • VenusStill climbing when the sky brightens at 06:00 — reaches 23° in the southeast.rises 03:49sets 14:38highest 06:00 (23°)

ISS passes (naked eye)

ISS pass times are unavailable right now — The ISS orbit data is out of date — check back later.

Sun & Moon path (altitude over 24h)

+60°+30°-30°-60°000306091215182124
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The shaded band is the genuinely-dark part of the night. A target is easy to observe when its curve is high (above ~30°) during that band; low on the horizon means haze and rooftops. Times are EET (local).

Coming up

  • Quadrantids meteor showerSun 3 JanuaryPeak night. Sharp peak, up to ~40/hour — brief but rich.in 17 days
  • Annular solar eclipseSat 6 FebruaryOnly visible along a narrow track on Earth — check whether it passes near you (never look at the Sun unprotected).in 7 weeks
  • Penumbral lunar eclipseSat 20 FebruaryA shadow crosses part of the Moon — visible wherever the Moon is up at the time.in 9 weeks

Meteor showers are best on a moonless night away from town lights — use the moon panel above to judge. Eclipse and shower dates are worldwide; whether it’s above your horizon depends on your location and time.

Every time is shown in Athens’s own local clock, with daylight saving applied for the date. “—” means the event doesn’t occur (for example, some nights the moon doesn’t rise); “stays light” means the sky never reaches that stage (northern summer). ISS pass times use live orbital data and show only passes visible to the naked eye (bright enough, in a dark-enough sky). Planet visibility is judged during the genuinely-dark window, not by a daytime high point — so a planet only appears here when you could actually see it.