Frequently Asked Questions
Is it a full moon tonight?
On most nights, no: the Moon is only properly full for about a day in each 29.5-day cycle. Enter your postcode in the Sky Score tool above and it gives tonight's exact phase and how much of the disc is lit, worked out live for your location. A bright Moon is not a wasted night either, because the Moon itself and the brighter planets shine straight through it.
How do I know if the Moon will spoil my stargazing tonight?
Moon phase makes up 25% of the Sky Score, so a low score on an otherwise clear night usually means moonlight. The Moon card shows the phase, the percentage lit, and how many hours it is actually above the horizon during the evening. A nearly full Moon that sets early matters far less than a half Moon that is up all night.
Is there a meteor shower tonight?
The tool checks for active showers automatically and lists anything running in the What's in the Sky Tonight section. Across the year the UK gets around a dozen, with the Perseids in mid-August and the Geminids in mid-December the two strongest. Our meteor shower calendar carries the peak dates for each one.
What can I see in the night sky tonight?
Put your postcode in above and you get the planets that are up, the Moon's phase and any active meteor showers for your location tonight, plus a live map of what is over your horizon. Which planets are visible changes through the year, so it is worth checking rather than guessing.
What can I see tonight without a telescope?
Quite a lot: the Moon, whichever bright planets are up, and several dozen constellations are all naked-eye objects. The Milky Way needs a genuinely dark site, so most UK gardens at Bortle 5 to 7 will not show it. Binoculars are the cheapest real upgrade and bring in Jupiter's moons, star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy.
Is tonight a good night for stargazing?
The Sky Score gives you a single number from 1 to 10, built from live cloud cover, Moon phase, light pollution, active events and atmospheric transparency. Seven or above is a genuinely good night, and it is the threshold our free email alerts use. Below about three it is usually not worth going out, though the Moon and bright planets often cut through when fainter things will not.
