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Sky guide, 51.5°N

The night sky over London

What changes through the year in the sky above London: how dark it gets, which constellations you can and cannot see, and what the eclipses and meteor showers of 2026 and 2027 look like from here.

Open the live sky for London

Sunrise, sunset and darkness through 2026

London is at 51.5°N. The table gives sunrise, sunset and day length on the 15th of each month in local time (Europe/London), and the hours of full astronomical darkness, when the Sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon and the faintest stars and the Milky Way show. The longest dark nights are around December, with about 12 h 01 min of darkness.

Sun and darkness in London, 15th of each month, 2026. Local time.
MonthSunriseSunsetDay lengthFull darkness
January07:5916:208 h 21 min11 h 37 min
February07:1417:1510 h 01 min10 h 13 min
March06:1418:0411 h 50 min8 h 23 min
April06:0519:5713 h 52 min5 h 47 min
May05:0820:4515 h 37 minnone
June04:4221:1916 h 37 minnone
July05:0021:1116 h 10 minnone
August05:4520:2314 h 37 min4 h 39 min
September06:3519:1512 h 40 min7 h 29 min
October07:2418:0710 h 43 min9 h 37 min
November07:1816:118 h 53 min11 h 15 min
December07:5915:517 h 52 min12 h 01 min

Constellations and your latitude

How much of the sky you can see depends on latitude. From London, in the northern hemisphere, 5 constellations never set: Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco and Ursa Minor. 22 never rise above the horizon: Apus, Ara, Carina, Chamaeleon, Circinus, Crux, Dorado, Horologium, Hydrus, Indus, Mensa, Musca, Norma, Octans, Pavo, Phoenix, Pictor, Reticulum, Telescopium, Triangulum Australe, Tucana and Volans. 15 more only partly clear it: Antlia, Caelum, Centaurus, Columba, Corona Australis, Eridanus, Fornax, Grus, Lupus, Microscopium, Puppis, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Sculptor and Vela. These come from the IAU's constellation boundaries and are geometric, so they ignore haze, hills and buildings near the horizon.

Eclipses from London, 2026 and 2027

Eclipses 2026 and 2027 and what London sees
DateEclipseFrom London
17 Feb 2026Annular solar eclipseNot visible from here
3 Mar 2026Total lunar eclipseNot visible from here
12 Aug 2026Total solar eclipseVisible from here: 91% of the Sun is covered at the peak, with the Sun 10° up. The greatest eclipse is near 65°N, 25°W. Never look at the Sun without proper eclipse glasses.
28 Aug 2026Partial lunar eclipseThe partial phase lasts about 199 minutes. From here the Moon is 8° up at the peak.
6 Feb 2027Annular solar eclipseNot visible from here
20 Feb 2027Penumbral lunar eclipseA penumbral eclipse is a faint shading that is hard to see by eye. From here the Moon is 46° up at the peak.
18 Jul 2027Penumbral lunar eclipseNot visible from here
2 Aug 2027Total solar eclipseVisible from here: 42% of the Sun is covered at the peak, with the Sun 40° up. The greatest eclipse is near 25°N, 33°E. Never look at the Sun without proper eclipse glasses.
17 Aug 2027Penumbral lunar eclipseNot visible from here

Meteor showers: how high the radiant gets

The radiant is the point a meteor shower seems to stream from; the higher it climbs, the better the shower works. This is the highest each radiant gets from London. See the meteor shower table for peak dates and the Moon.

Radiant altitude from London
ShowerHighest radiantPeakZHR
Quadrantids87°4 Jan80
Draconids86°9 Oct5
Perseids84°13 Aug110
Lyrids72°23 Apr18
Geminids71°14 Dec150
Leonids60°18 Nov15
Orionids54°22 Oct20
Southern Taurids53°6 Nov7
Eta Aquariids37°6 May50
Southern Delta Aquariids22°31 Jul25

How this was worked out

Sun and darkness times come from the astronomy-engine library. The sunrise and sunset times on both 2026 solstices at this and five other places were compared with the US Naval Observatory's tables (20 times) and the largest difference was 30 seconds. The other mid-month figures use the same calculation but were not compared one by one. Constellation visibility comes from the IAU boundaries.

Sources

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