A dark-sky window opens.

Properly dark 21:13–05:49 · 8h 37m

waxing crescent · 30% lit · 7h 33m of moon-free darkness

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How we’d play it

A genuinely dark window — galaxies and nebulae are on the menu, and Saturn and Mars are well-placed for the eyepiece. The kind of night we plan a full session around.

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Worth looking at

SaturnBest 02:46High around the middle of the night (around 02:46) — 54° in the south.rises 20:33sets 08:53highest 02:46 (54°)
MarsBest 05:49Well-placed in the east — 40° just before dawn (05:49), still rising as the sky brightens.rises 02:14sets 16:52highest 05:49 (40°)
JupiterBest 05:49Low in the east, still climbing when the sky brightens at 05:49 — only 18°.rises 04:13sets 18:06highest 05:49 (18°)
VenusBest 19:43Low in the southwest — 12° as darkness falls (19:43), then dropping, a bright twilight object.rises 10:48sets 20:51highest 19:43 (12°)

Twilight stages & sun times +

Sunset19:43
Civil twilight ends20:09
Nautical twilight ends20:41
Fully dark21:13
First light05:49
Nautical twilight (dawn)06:21
Civil twilight (dawn)06:53
Sunrise07:19

All times WEST (local). Moon-free windows: 22:16–05:49.

Sun, Moon & planet altitude +

Altitude across the night (WEST), sunset to sunrise. A target is easy to observe when its curve is high during the shaded dark band. Tap “show planets” to overlay them.

Not tonight?

Darker nights suit galaxies and nebulae. The Moon thins out toward the end of the week.

Coming up

Orionids meteor showerWed 21 October · Peak night. Halley’s Comet again, ~20/hour.in 5 weeks
Leonids meteor showerTue 17 November · Peak night. Fast and bright, ~15/hour.in 9 weeks
Geminids meteor showerMon 14 December · Peak night. The year’s best — up to ~120/hour, bright and slow.in 13 weeks
Quadrantids meteor showerSun 3 January · Peak night. Sharp peak, up to ~40/hour — brief but rich.in 16 weeks

Show essentials

We bring the telescope, and we read the sky for you — so the night lands on the right hour.

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