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Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for Ottawa, Ontario

  • Thu 8 Oct night
  • 45.411° N, 75.698° W
  • 71 m
  • EDT · America/Toronto
Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Clear until about 10:00 PM, then cloudier; no moonlight (new Moon).

  • Dew risk: the temperature comes within 2 °C (3.6 °F) of the dew point by 2:00 AM — optics may fog without a dew heater.

· MET Norway forecast issued 8 Oct, 17:18 UTC

Cloud cover
28%Partly cloudy
Dark hours
9 h 25 min8:07 PM–5:32 AM
Moon
2%9 h 25 min moon-free
Wind
11 km/hLight
Low temperature
8°CDuring the dark hours
Dew risk
HighAir comes within 1° of the dew point

Photo: Milky Way over Paranal — ESO/A. Ghizzi Panizza (www.albertoghizzipanizza.com), CC BY 4.0

Hourly forecast

Cloud by layer, hour by hour. Darker blue means clearer sky; each cell shows its percentage. Low cloud blocks the sky outright; thin high cloud only dims it.

Hourly cloud cover (%) and conditions tonight in Ottawa
EDTThu 8Fri 9Sat 10
Hour4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12p1p2p3p4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a
Sky: Daylight 4p–7p, Nautical twilight 7p–8p, Dark 8p–5a, Astronomical twilight 5a–6a, Nautical twilight 6a–7a, Daylight 7a–7p, Nautical twilight 7p–8p, Dark 8p–6a, Nautical twilight 6a–7a, Daylight 7a–8a
Total cloud1017243918282731211626634449869897591427153145814716611513961300000
Low cloud26517615521724691216691667132019311611205460000000
Mid cloud7162437132626300226161081302921827427859501100000000
High cloud200000000513225933388296975600000000411109561300000
Sun & Moon
Temperature °C161614131111111010998888889111213131414131312111099777666555
Dew point °C; dew risk (within 2° of the dew point): 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a5666776667777777777554445555554333443332
Wind km/h18151511111311121411101110101111131314161820211917171211101111646677665
Rain (mm)000000000000000000000000.10000000000000000
Cloud cover0–9%10–24%25–44%45–64%65–84%85–100%
SkyDaylightCivil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical twilightDark
Sun altitudeMoon altitude12dew risk (within 2° of the dew point)Scroll sideways for the next 40 hours →

Weather data: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Next 7 nights

Average cloud during each night's dark hours, with the Moon. The first two to three nights use hourly data; later nights use MET Norway's 6-hourly steps and are less certain.

  1. Tonight8 Oct

    28%Partly cloudy

    2% · 9 h 25 min moon-free

    8:07 PM–5:32 AM

  2. Fri9 Oct

    6%Clear

    0% · 9 h 28 min moon-free

    8:06 PM–5:34 AM

  3. Sat10 Oct

    99%Cloudy

    0% · 9 h 31 min moon-free

    8:04 PM–5:35 AM

    6-hourly data

  4. Sun11 Oct

    82%Cloudy

    3% · 9 h 34 min moon-free

    8:02 PM–5:36 AM

    6-hourly data

  5. Mon12 Oct

    98%Cloudy

    7% · 9 h 37 min moon-free

    8:00 PM–5:38 AM

    6-hourly data

  6. Tue13 Oct

    63%Partly cloudy

    13% · 9 h 41 min moon-free

    7:58 PM–5:39 AM

    6-hourly data

  7. Wed14 Oct

    31%Partly cloudy

    20% · 9 h 44 min moon-free

    7:57 PM–5:40 AM

    6-hourly data

Sun & twilight

Twilight ends in three steps. Faint galaxies and the Milky Way need astronomical darkness, when the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon.

Sunset
6:29 PM
Civil dusk (−6°)
6:59 PM
Nautical dusk (−12°)
7:33 PM
Astronomical dusk (−18°)
8:07 PM
Astronomical dawn (−18°)
5:32 AM
Nautical dawn (−12°)
6:07 AM
Civil dawn (−6°)
6:41 AM
Sunrise
7:11 AM

Dark window: 8:07 PM – 5:32 AM EDT (9 h 25 min)

The Moon

New Moon

Illuminated
2%
Age
27.6 days
Moonrise
6:02 AM
Moonset
5:28 PM
Moon-free dark time
9 h 25 min

Next phases

  1. New MoonSat 10 Oct11:50 AM
  2. First QuarterSun 18 Oct12:13 PM
  3. Full MoonMon 26 Oct12:12 AM
  4. Last QuarterSun 1 Nov3:28 PM
Next lunar eclipse visible here
Partial · Tue 11 Jan 2028, 11:13 PM · Moon 64° up
Next solar eclipse visible here
Partial · Sun 14 Jan 2029, 12:49 PM · 50% of the Sun covered

Planets tonight

Naked-eye planets that climb more than 10° above the horizon during the astronomically dark hours.

Altitude through the night

0°30°60°90°6:00 PM8:00 PM10:00 PM12:00 AM2:00 AM4:00 AM6:00 AMMarsJupiterSaturn
Planets tonight — Ottawa
PlanetRisesTransits (altitude)SetsBest seen tonightBrightnessIn
JupiterVisible2:18 AM9:24 AM · 60°4:34 PM3:27 AM–5:32 AM, Emag -1.9Leo
SaturnVisible6:26 PM12:35 AM · 46°6:45 AM8:07 PM–5:32 AM, Smag 0.2Cetus
MarsVisible12:58 AM8:27 AM · 64°3:57 PM2:07 AM–5:32 AM, Emag 1.1Cancer
Venus9:30 AM2:04 PM · 23°6:34 PMBelow 10°mag -4.6Virgo
Mercury9:33 AM2:21 PM · 27°7:10 PMBelow 10°mag -0.1Libra

Lower magnitude = brighter. Venus and Jupiter outshine every star.

Sky events — next 90 days

Moon phases, seasons, planet highlights and eclipses, with times for this city.

  1. Oct10Sat

    Moon · 11:50 AM

    New Moon

    Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.

  2. Oct12Mon

    Planet · 6:06 AM

    Mercury at greatest evening elongation

    25° from the Sun — the best evening view of Mercury, low in the west after sunset.

  3. Oct26Mon

    Moon · 12:12 AM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  4. Oct28Wed

    Moon · 2:04 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.

  5. Nov9Mon

    Moon · 2:02 AM

    New Moon

    Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.

  6. Nov24Tue

    Moon · 9:54 AM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  7. Nov25Wed

    Moon · 4:02 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.

  8. Dec8Tue

    Moon · 7:52 PM

    New Moon

    Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.

  9. Dec21Mon

    Season · 3:50 PM

    Winter solstice

    The longest night of the year — the most hours of darkness.

  10. Dec23Wed

    Moon · 8:28 PM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  11. Dec24Thu

    Moon · 3:32 AM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 356,641 km.

  12. Jan3Sun

    Planet · 12:56 PM

    Venus at greatest morning elongation

    47° from the Sun — the best morning view of Venus, low in the east before sunrise.

Quick answers

Will it be clear for stargazing in Ottawa tonight?
Clear until about 10:00 PM, then cloudier; no moonlight (new Moon). That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Ottawa, Canada on the night of 8 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy.
When does it get dark in Ottawa tonight?
In Ottawa, Canada on the night of 8 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 8:07 PM and lasts until 5:32 AM EDT — 9 h 25 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 6:29 PM, and nautical twilight ends at 7:33 PM.
Is the Moon up tonight in Ottawa?
On the night of 8 October 2026 in Ottawa, Canada, the Moon is a new moon, 2% illuminated. It sets at 5:28 PM and rises at 6:02 AM, EDT. 9 h 25 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from Ottawa tonight?
From Ottawa, Canada on the night of 8 October 2026: Mars (2:07 AM–5:32 AM, highest 46° in the E at 5:32 AM, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (3:27 AM–5:32 AM, highest 33° in the E at 5:32 AM, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (8:07 PM–5:32 AM, highest 46° in the S at 12:37 AM, magnitude 0.2). Times are EDT; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location
45.411° N, 75.698° W
Elevation
71 m
Time zone
America/Toronto (EDT)
Weather model
MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0
Forecast issued
8 Oct, 17:18 UTC
Next update expected
≈ 8 Oct, 18:54 UTC
Page generated
8 Oct, 18:24 UTC
Astronomy
Computed with astronomy-engine for these coordinates

Computed for 45.411° N, 75.698° W, elevation 71 m, time zone America/Toronto. City centres are light-polluted; the times here apply anywhere within about 50 km, so drive out to darker skies.

Sun, Moon and planet positions are calculated with astronomy-engine. Twilight uses the Sun's geometric centre; sunrise and sunset use the upper limb with standard refraction.

The summary line restates the hourly total-cloud forecast inside the dark window (clear under 25%, cloudy from 65%) and the Moon's times. It is not a score — the Tonight score lives in the app.

Seeing and transparency forecasts are coming to the app first (North America via Environment Canada's model, a worldwide beta elsewhere).

Nearby city forecasts

Get tonight's score on your phone

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