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Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for Zurich, Switzerland

  • Thu 8 Oct night
  • 47.367° N, 8.550° E
  • 429 m
  • GMT+2 · Europe/Zurich
Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Overcast all night; no moonlight (new Moon).

  • Rain or showers possible from about 20:00.
  • Dew risk: the temperature comes within 2 °C (3.6 °F) of the dew point by 20:00 — optics may fog without a dew heater.

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

Cloud cover
100%Cloudy
Dark hours
9 h 20 min20:33–05:53
Moon
3%9 h 20 min moon-free
Wind
7 km/hCalm
Low temperature
9°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 Zurich
GMT+2Thu 8Fri 9Sat 10
Hour20212223000102030405060708091011121314151617181920212223000102030405060708091011
Sky: Astronomical twilight 20–21, Dark 21–06, Nautical twilight 06–07, Civil twilight 07–08, Daylight 08–19, Nautical twilight 19–20, Astronomical twilight 20–21, Dark 21–06, Nautical twilight 06–07, Civil twilight 07–08, Daylight 08–12
Total cloud10010010010010010010010010010092593459793859758882639999991001001007010010010010010010010010010063100100
Low cloud1001009794879595861313172023527634557083781291011536201007740212361494100337873
Mid cloud1001001001001001001001001001008753169521129419899991001001003566848888991001001001004599100
High cloud00000060214311311151469182692452152727566853859910010010097971400190
Sun & Moon
Temperature °C111111101010101010998891011131314141514131111111111101111111111101010101212
Dew point °C; dew risk (within 2° of the dew point): 20, 21, 22, 23, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11101010101010998877787766655566667777776778991011
Wind km/h1310865466764335781011131313141310101097778101213151617171818
Rain (mm)0.50.30.10.20.10000000000000000000000000000.20.40.61.80.40.21.20
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

    100%Cloudy

    3% · 9 h 20 min moon-free

    20:33–05:53

  2. Fri9 Oct

    97%Cloudy

    1% · 9 h 24 min moon-free

    20:31–05:55

  3. Sat10 Oct

    86%Cloudy

    0% · 9 h 27 min moon-free

    20:29–05:56

  4. Sun11 Oct

    99%Cloudy

    2% · 9 h 30 min moon-free

    20:27–05:57

    6-hourly data

  5. Mon12 Oct

    18%Clear

    6% · 9 h 34 min moon-free

    20:25–05:59

    6-hourly data

  6. Tue13 Oct

    47%Partly cloudy

    11% · 9 h 37 min moon-free

    20:23–06:00

    6-hourly data

  7. Wed14 Oct

    66%Cloudy

    18% · 9 h 40 min moon-free

    20:21–06:02

    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
18:51
Civil dusk (−6°)
19:22
Nautical dusk (−12°)
19:57
Astronomical dusk (−18°)
20:33
Astronomical dawn (−18°)
05:53
Nautical dawn (−12°)
06:29
Civil dawn (−6°)
07:04
Sunrise
07:35

Dark window: 20:33 – 05:53 GMT+2 (9 h 20 min)

The Moon

Waning Crescent

Illuminated
3%
Age
27.6 days
Moonrise
06:09
Moonset
17:47
Moon-free dark time
9 h 20 min

Next phases

  1. New MoonSat 10 Oct17:50
  2. First QuarterSun 18 Oct18:13
  3. Full MoonMon 26 Oct05:12
  4. Last QuarterSun 1 Nov21:28
Next lunar eclipse visible here
Partial · Wed 12 Jan 2028, 05:13 · Moon 29° up
Next solar eclipse visible here
Partial · Mon 2 Aug 2027, 11:07 · 55% 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°20:0022:0000:0002:0004:0006:0008:00MarsJupiterSaturn
Planets tonight — Zurich
PlanetRisesTransits (altitude)SetsBest seen tonightBrightnessIn
JupiterVisible02:3709:48 · 58°17:0203:43–05:53, Emag -1.9Leo
SaturnVisible18:4900:59 · 44°07:1020:33–05:53, Smag 0.2Cetus
MarsVisible01:1508:50 · 62°16:2702:23–05:53, Emag 1.1Cancer
Venus10:0114:29 · 21°18:51Below 10°mag -4.6Virgo
Mercury10:0114:44 · 25°19:28Below 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 · 17:50

    New Moon

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

  2. 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.

  3. Oct26Mon

    Moon · 05:12

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  4. Oct28Wed

    Moon · 19:04

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.

  5. Nov9Mon

    Moon · 08:02

    New Moon

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

  6. Nov24Tue

    Moon · 15:54

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  7. Nov25Wed

    Moon · 22:02

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.

  8. Dec9Wed

    Moon · 01:52

    New Moon

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

  9. Dec21Mon

    Season · 21:50

    Winter solstice

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

  10. Dec24Thu

    Moon · 02:28

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  11. Dec24Thu

    Moon · 09:32

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 356,641 km.

  12. Jan3Sun

    Planet · 18:56

    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 Zurich tonight?
Overcast all night; no moonlight (new Moon). That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Zurich, Switzerland on the night of 8 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy. Rain or showers possible from about 20:00.
When does it get dark in Zurich tonight?
In Zurich, Switzerland on the night of 8 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 20:33 and lasts until 05:53 GMT+2 — 9 h 20 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 18:51, and nautical twilight ends at 19:57.
Is the Moon up tonight in Zurich?
On the night of 8 October 2026 in Zurich, Switzerland, the Moon is a waning crescent, 3% illuminated. It sets at 17:47 and rises at 06:09, GMT+2. 9 h 20 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from Zurich tonight?
From Zurich, Switzerland on the night of 8 October 2026: Mars (02:23–05:53, highest 45° in the E at 05:53, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (03:43–05:53, highest 32° in the E at 05:53, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (20:33–05:53, highest 44° in the S at 01:03, magnitude 0.2). Times are GMT+2; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location
47.367° N, 8.550° E
Elevation
429 m
Time zone
Europe/Zurich (GMT+2)
Weather model
MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0
Forecast issued
8 Oct, 17:18 UTC
Next update expected
≈ 8 Oct, 18:55 UTC
Page generated
8 Oct, 18:24 UTC
Astronomy
Computed with astronomy-engine for these coordinates

Computed for 47.367° N, 8.550° E, elevation 429 m, time zone Europe/Zurich. 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

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