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 Aug73%
  2. Wed5 Aug62%
  3. Thu6 Aug51%
  4. Fri7 Aug40%
  5. Sat8 Aug29%
  6. Sun9 Aug19%
  7. Mon10 Aug11%

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

MunichCET

Tuesday 8 December
all times CET (local)

New moon · 0% lit

Moon-free dark skies (it sets at 16:09) — ideal for galaxies and nebulae.

Rises 08:41·sets 16:09

Darkness tonight

  • Sunset16:19
  • Civil twilight ends16:56
  • Nautical twilight ends17:35
  • Fully dark — a session can start18:13
  • First light — dark ends05:58
  • Nautical twilight (dawn)06:36
  • Civil twilight (dawn)07:15
  • Sunrise07:52

Planets tonight

  • JupiterHigh just before dawn (around 04:59) — in the south.rises 21:56sets 12:03highest 04:59 (55°)
  • MarsHigh just before dawn (around 05:28) — in the south.rises 22:33sets 12:30highest 05:28 (54°)
  • SaturnWell-placed in the evening (around 19:41) — in the south.rises 13:30sets 01:42highest 19:41 (43°)
  • VenusStill climbing when the sky brightens at 05:58 — reaches 18° in the southeast.rises 03:53sets 14:25highest 05:58 (18°)
  • MercuryJust catchable low before dawn in the southeast — a tricky one.rises 06:46sets 15:37highest 07:52 (8°)

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ISS pass times are unavailable right now — The ISS orbit data is out of date — check back later.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

Coming up

  • Geminids meteor showerMon 14 DecemberPeak night. The year’s best — up to ~120/hour, bright and slow.in 6 days
  • Quadrantids meteor showerSun 3 JanuaryPeak night. Sharp peak, up to ~40/hour — brief but rich.in 4 weeks
  • 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 9 weeks
  • Penumbral lunar eclipseSat 20 FebruaryA shadow crosses part of the Moon — visible wherever the Moon is up at the time.in 11 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 Munich’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.