Will it be clear for stargazing in Cape Town tonight?

Best clear spell 21:00–00:00; no moonlight (new Moon). That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Cape Town, South Africa on the night of 8 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy. Most of the cloud is high and thin, which dims faint objects rather than hiding the sky.

When does it get dark in Cape Town tonight?

In Cape Town, South Africa on the night of 8 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 20:19 and lasts until 04:47 GMT+2 — 8 h 27 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 18:54, and nautical twilight ends at 19:49.

Is the Moon up tonight in Cape Town?

On the night of 8 October 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, the Moon is a waning crescent, 3% illuminated. It sets at 16:52 and rises at 05:18, GMT+2. 8 h 27 min of the dark window is moon-free.

Which planets can I see from Cape Town tonight?

From Cape Town, South Africa on the night of 8 October 2026: Mars (04:09–04:47, highest 18° in the NE at 04:47, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (04:47–04:47, highest 11° in the NE at 04:47, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (20:19–04:47, highest 54° in the N at 00:19, magnitude 0.2). Times are GMT+2; all are visible to the naked eye.

Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for Cape Town, South Africa

Thu 8 Oct night
33.926° S, 18.423° E
25 m
GMT+2 · Africa/Johannesburg

Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Best clear spell 21:00–00:00; no moonlight (new Moon).

Most of the cloud is high and thin, which dims faint objects rather than hiding the sky.

Updated 20:24 GMT+2 (8 Oct, 18:24 UTC) · MET Norway forecast issued 8 Oct, 17:18 UTC

Cloud cover: 47%Partly cloudy
Dark hours: 8 h 27 min20:19–04:47
Moon: 3%8 h 27 min moon-free
Wind: 12 km/hLight
Low temperature: 12°CDuring the dark hours
Dew risk: ModerateAir comes within 3° 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 Cape Town
GMT+2	Thu 8				Fri 9																								Sat 10
Hour	20	21	22	23	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11
Sky: Dark 20–05, Nautical twilight 05–06, Daylight 06–19, Nautical twilight 19–20, Dark 20–05, Nautical twilight 05–06, Daylight 06–12
Total cloud	43	11	13	10	84	6	59	96	98	72	99	98	100	100	100	100	99	88	56	58	72	27	32	88	75	41	90	98	88	23	39	29	13	40	23	26	24	8	4	2
Low cloud	0	0	1	2	4	2	3	7	4	3	38	88	100	100	100	99	98	38	11	8	13	8	25	88	68	8	6	2	8	6	6	3	2	2	4	9	9	8	2	1
Mid cloud	14	8	8	2	2	0	2	5	8	2	1	2	2	5	5	1	1	0	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
High cloud	34	4	6	6	82	4	57	95	98	70	99	88	97	95	98	96	87	81	48	54	68	20	9	1	23	37	88	98	88	19	36	26	9	38	20	19	16	0	2	2
Sun & Moon
Temperature °C	14	14	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	14	16	18	18	19	19	20	21	21	20	20	18	17	16	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	13	14	16	19	22	25
Dew point °C; dew risk (within 2° of the dew point): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	11	11	12	12	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	12	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	13	12	12	11
Wind km/h	11	12	13	12	13	14	13	12	12	13	12	12	12	14	15	17	18	17	17	15	14	14	14	14	18	17	17	18	19	18	17	16	15	11	8	8	8	5	4	9
Rain (mm)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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.

Tonight8 Oct
47%Partly cloudy
3% · 8 h 27 min moon-free
20:19–04:47
Fri9 Oct
55%Partly cloudy
1% · 8 h 25 min moon-free
20:20–04:45
Sat10 Oct
1%Clear
0% · 8 h 22 min moon-free
20:21–04:44
Sun11 Oct
0%Clear
2% · 8 h 20 min moon-free
20:22–04:42
6-hourly data
Mon12 Oct
82%Cloudy
6% · 7 h 38 min moon-free
20:23–04:41
6-hourly data
Tue13 Oct
0%Clear
11% · 6 h 35 min moon-free
20:24–04:39
6-hourly data
Wed14 Oct
50%Partly cloudy
18% · 5 h 33 min moon-free
20:25–04:38
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: 18:54
Civil dusk (−6°): 19:19
Nautical dusk (−12°): 19:49
Astronomical dusk (−18°): 20:19
Astronomical dawn (−18°): 04:47
Nautical dawn (−12°): 05:17
Civil dawn (−6°): 05:47
Sunrise: 06:12

Dark window: 20:19 – 04:47 GMT+2 (8 h 27 min)

The Moon

Waning Crescent

Illuminated: 3%
Age: 27.6 days
Moonrise: 05:18
Moonset: 16:52
Moon-free dark time: 8 h 27 min

Next phases

New MoonSat 10 Oct17:50
First QuarterSun 18 Oct18:13
Full MoonMon 26 Oct06:12
Last QuarterSun 1 Nov22:28

Next lunar eclipse visible here: Partial · Thu 6 Jul 2028, 20:19 · Moon 30° up
Next solar eclipse visible here: Partial · Mon 25 Nov 2030, 07:34 · 72% 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

Planets tonight — Cape Town
Planet	Rises	Transits (altitude)	Sets	Best seen tonight	Brightness	In
JupiterVisible	03:48	09:09 · 41°	14:32	04:47–04:47, NE	mag -1.9	Leo
SaturnVisible	18:23	00:20 · 54°	06:17	20:19–04:47, N	mag 0.2	Cetus
MarsVisible	03:04	08:11 · 36°	13:19	04:09–04:47, NE	mag 1.1	Cancer
Venus	06:42	13:49 · 77°	20:51	Below 10°	mag -4.6	Virgo
Mercury	07:12	14:04 · 73°	20:56	Below 10°	mag -0.1	Libra

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.

Oct10Sat
Moon · 17:50
New Moon
Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.
Oct12Mon
Planet · 12:06
Mercury at greatest evening elongation
25° from the Sun — the best evening view of Mercury, low in the west after sunset.
Oct26Mon
Moon · 06:12
Full Moon
Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.
Oct28Wed
Moon · 20:04
Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)
Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.
Nov9Mon
Moon · 09:02
New Moon
Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.
Nov24Tue
Moon · 16:54
Full Moon
Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.
Nov25Wed
Moon · 23:02
Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)
Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.
Dec9Wed
Moon · 02:52
New Moon
Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.
Dec21Mon
Season · 22:50
Summer solstice
The shortest night of the year — the fewest dark hours.
Dec24Thu
Moon · 03:28
Full Moon
Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.
Dec24Thu
Moon · 10:32
Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)
Closest to Earth this month: 356,641 km.
Jan3Sun
Planet · 19:56
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 Cape Town tonight?: Best clear spell 21:00–00:00; no moonlight (new Moon). That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Cape Town, South Africa on the night of 8 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy. Most of the cloud is high and thin, which dims faint objects rather than hiding the sky.
When does it get dark in Cape Town tonight?: In Cape Town, South Africa on the night of 8 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 20:19 and lasts until 04:47 GMT+2 — 8 h 27 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 18:54, and nautical twilight ends at 19:49.
Is the Moon up tonight in Cape Town?: On the night of 8 October 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, the Moon is a waning crescent, 3% illuminated. It sets at 16:52 and rises at 05:18, GMT+2. 8 h 27 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from Cape Town tonight?: From Cape Town, South Africa on the night of 8 October 2026: Mars (04:09–04:47, highest 18° in the NE at 04:47, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (04:47–04:47, highest 11° in the NE at 04:47, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (20:19–04:47, highest 54° in the N at 00:19, magnitude 0.2). Times are GMT+2; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location: 33.926° S, 18.423° E
Elevation: 25 m
Time zone: Africa/Johannesburg (GMT+2)
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 33.926° S, 18.423° E, elevation 25 m, time zone Africa/Johannesburg. 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

All forecasts in South Africa Moon phase calendar Telescope FOV calculator

Get tonight's score on your phone

The Astronight app adds an hourly sky score, the best window, seeing and transparency, and alerts for clear nights.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play