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Tonight's sky

What is in the sky tonight in New York?

As of 6 October 2026, 01:17 UTC, the time of MET Norway's forecast, the best window for looking up tonight in New York is 22:00 to Tue 6 Oct 06:00 local time, with 0 percent cloud in MET Norway's forecast. The Moon is a waning crescent, 22 percent lit, and rises at Tue 6 Oct 02:22. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are well placed in the dark, and no ISS pass is sunlit while the sky is dark. Local times are America/New_York (UTC-04:00).

Forecast time 6 October 2026, 01:17 UTC.

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What this means

• The night lasts 9 h 40 min, from 21:17 (the Sun was already down at the forecast time) to sunrise at Tue 6 Oct 06:57.
• The best window is 22:00 to Tue 6 Oct 06:00: the Moon rises at Tue 6 Oct 02:22, inside the window (22 percent lit), and the cloud forecast for it averages 0 percent.
• Cloud in the best window (0 percent) is about the same as the average for the whole night (0 percent).
• The Moon is a waning crescent, 22 percent lit, and rises at Tue 6 Oct 02:22.
• Jupiter is the brightest planet well placed in the dark tonight (magnitude -1.9), highest in the dark at Tue 6 Oct 06:27, 43 degrees up in the east-southeast; 2 more planets are well placed too.
• The ISS does not pass at least 10 degrees up during tonight's window.

Cloud forecast: MET Norway's, not ours. Data from The Norwegian Meteorological Institute, shortened MET Norway, licensed under NLOD 2.0 and CC BY 4.0.

See also: all six cities, the ISS today, aurora tonight, all live numbers right now, Moon phases, planet events, meteor showers.

When is it dark and clear tonight in New York?

Tonight runs from 21:17, the forecast time (the Sun had already set) to sunrise at Tue 6 Oct 06:57: 9 h 40 min. The forecast gives 0 percent cloud for every hour. The forecast is mostly clear all night. How the viewing score works.

Where is the Moon tonight?

The Moon is a waning crescent and 22 percent lit at Tue 6 Oct 00:00. Tonight it rises in the east-northeast at Tue 6 Oct 02:22. It is highest at Tue 6 Oct 06:47, 46° up in the east-southeast. New, first quarter, full and last quarter each cover about 22.5 degrees of the cycle; crescent and gibbous cover about 67.5 degrees each. So "first quarter" here means 40 to 60 percent lit, and another almanac may name the night differently.

Which planets are up tonight?

Mercury is below the horizon all night; it is not up while the sky is dark. Venus is below the horizon all night; it is not up while the sky is dark. Mars rises at Tue 6 Oct 01:08; while up in a dark sky it is highest at Tue 6 Oct 06:27, 58° in the east-southeast. Jupiter rises at Tue 6 Oct 02:31; while up in a dark sky it is highest at Tue 6 Oct 06:27, 43° in the east-southeast. Saturn is up at the start, sets at Tue 6 Oct 06:50; while up in a dark sky it is highest at Tue 6 Oct 00:37, 51° in the south. Well placed means at least 15° up in a dark sky at magnitude 3 or brighter (lower is brighter).

What does the sky look like at 00:00?

Figures drawn: Lyra, Auriga, Taurus, Cygnus, Perseus, Ursa Minor, Aries, Cetus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Draco and Pegasus. Brightest named stars up: Vega, Capella, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Altair, Aldebaran, Pollux, Fomalhaut and Deneb.

When does the ISS pass over New York tonight?

The ISS does not pass at least 10° above the horizon of New York between 21:17 and Tue 6 Oct 06:57 (element set of 5 October 2026, 19:42 UTC).

How this page is made

Computed, not observed: the Sun, Moon and planets with astronomy-engine, the ISS with SGP4 from CelesTrak's element set; the cloud is MET Norway's forecast. Published only while that forecast is under 6 hours old. Method and what was checked.

Questions

When is the best time to look at the stars in New York tonight?

22:00 to Tue 6 Oct 06:00 local time by our viewing score, with 0 percent cloud forecast; a score, not a promise.

What phase is the Moon tonight?

Waning crescent, 22 percent lit at Tue 6 Oct 00:00.

Which planets are up tonight from New York?

Mars (highest 58° at Tue 6 Oct 06:27), Jupiter (highest 43° at Tue 6 Oct 06:27) and Saturn (highest 51° at Tue 6 Oct 00:37).

When can I see the ISS from New York tonight?

No pass tonight is sunlit in a dark sky by our calculation.

Sources

• MET Norway Locationforecast. The hourly cloud forecast (total cloud cover for all heights). Data from The Norwegian Meteorological Institute, shortened MET Norway
• astronomy-engine. The MIT licensed library that computes the Sun, Moon and planets, and their rise and set times
• CelesTrak current GP data. The ISS element set (NORAD 25544)
• ESA Hipparcos and Tycho catalogues. The stars on the chart come from the app's Hipparcos-based catalogue, whose provenance is not recorded. ESA's page gives CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO and Credit: ESA; which licence applies to this exact file is NOT CONFIRMED
• IAU Catalog of Star Names. The star names on the chart and in its table. IAU products are released under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY), as the file's header states
• d3-celestial. The constellation stick figures on the chart (one common way of joining the stars, not the IAU's). Its data licence is not stated: NOT CONFIRMED
• IAU constellations. The constellation names on the chart and in its tables