Your personal observatory forecast — planets, the Moon, true darkness and meteor showers, computed for your location and any date.
Computing your sky…
Even a terrace away from direct streetlights doubles what you can see. For the Milky Way, head to the outskirts — light pollution is the #1 sky-killer.
Your night vision takes ~20 minutes to fully develop — and one glance at a phone screen resets it. Use red light if you need to see.
A bright Moon washes out faint objects. Check the dashboard's best window — or embrace it and observe the Moon itself through binoculars.
Stars twinkle; planets shine steadily. That's the quickest way to pick Venus, Jupiter or Mars out of the crowd.
The major showers that return every year — plan your nights around the peaks.
| Shower | Peak | Rate | Radiant | Parent Body |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | Jan 4 | ~110/hr | Boötes (NE, after midnight) | Asteroid 2003 EH1 |
| Lyrids | Apr 22 | ~18/hr | Lyra (NE, late night) | Comet Thatcher |
| Eta Aquariids | May 6 | ~50/hr | Aquarius (E, pre-dawn) | Comet 1P/Halley |
| Delta Aquariids | Jul 30 | ~25/hr | Aquarius (S, after midnight) | Comet 96P/Machholz |
| Perseids | Aug 13 | ~100/hr | Perseus (NE, after midnight) | Comet Swift-Tuttle |
| Orionids | Oct 21 | ~20/hr | Orion (SE, after midnight) | Comet 1P/Halley |
| Leonids | Nov 17 | ~15/hr | Leo (E, after midnight) | Comet Tempel-Tuttle |
| Geminids | Dec 14 | ~150/hr | Gemini (E, from ~9 PM) | Asteroid 3200 Phaethon |
| Ursids | Dec 22 | ~10/hr | Ursa Minor (N, all night) | Comet 8P/Tuttle |
Rise, set and twilight times are computed with the astronomy-engine library using precise astronomical algorithms for your exact latitude, longitude and date — the same math used in planetarium software. Times are shown in your device's local time zone.
It's the longest stretch of true darkness (Sun more than 18° below the horizon) when the Moon is also below the horizon — the ideal time for faint targets like the Milky Way, nebulae and meteor showers.
Clouds, haze and local obstructions (buildings, trees) aren't accounted for — and objects very low on the horizon are hard to spot. A planet is easiest when it's at least 15–20° above the horizon.
Five planets are naked-eye objects: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Uranus needs binoculars and dark skies; Neptune needs a telescope.
Knowing what's up is step one — seeing Saturn's rings through a professional telescope is step two. Join a Skygaze India stargazing session, guided by expert astronomers.