Sun 27 December · London
A dark-sky window opens.
Properly dark 18:01–06:02 · 12h 1m
waning gibbous · 81% lit · 2h 43m of moon-free darkness
How we’d play it
A genuinely dark window — galaxies and nebulae are on the menu, and Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are well-placed for the eyepiece. The kind of night we plan a full session around.
Plan a night with us →Worth looking at
- JupiterBest 03:31High in the small hours (around 03:31) — 52° in the south.rises 20:17sets 10:43highest 03:31 (52°)
- MarsBest 04:16High in the small hours (around 04:16) — 49° in the south.rises 21:23sets 11:21highest 04:16 (49°)
- SaturnBest 18:16Well-placed in the evening twilight (around 18:16) — 39° in the south.rises 12:01sets 00:17highest 18:16 (39°)
- VenusBest 06:02Low in the southeast, still climbing when the sky brightens at 06:02 — only 15°.rises 03:58sets 13:34highest 06:02 (15°)
Twilight stages & sun times +
- Sunset15:57
- Civil twilight ends16:37
- Nautical twilight ends17:20
- Fully dark18:01
- First light06:02
- Nautical twilight (dawn)06:42
- Civil twilight (dawn)07:25
- Sunrise08:06
All times GMT (local). Moon-free windows: 18:01–20:44.
Sun, Moon & planet altitude +
Altitude across the night (GMT), 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
- Quadrantids meteor showerSun 3 January · Peak night. Sharp peak, up to ~40/hour — brief but rich.in 7 days
- Annular solar eclipseSat 6 February · Only visible along a narrow track on Earth — check whether it passes near you (never look at the Sun unprotected).in 6 weeks
- Penumbral lunar eclipseSat 20 February · A shadow crosses part of the Moon — visible wherever the Moon is up at the time.in 8 weeks
- Lyrids meteor showerThu 22 April · Peak night. Modest but reliable, ~15/hour.in 17 weeks
Show essentials
We bring the telescope, and we read the sky for you — so the night lands on the right hour.
Get in touch →